Performance Enhancing Studs

Last year when I Loop the Lake I fell down a lot. Falling on ice  hurts bad. With no traction the Forces at impact are higher. If you remember your physics, F = MA is the problem. 'A' means Acceleration (other Mass). Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity of a body changes with time and can best be understood as a vector. That is, Magnitude and Direction. When I crash in summer I have Friction (breaking) over Time to control both Magnitude and Direction. On ice, I have neither.

My Mass is moving at only a few miles an hour multiplied by my mass making the Force that I must dissipate but without breaks I have to dissipate that force by bouncing off the ice and it hurts.

So I got Performance Enhancing Stud Tires to put friction breaking back into the equation and set off in a new Direction.

With all the ice diving of late I know the ice should be good enough to ride on and with little to no snow I knew this ride was going to require the studs. I ride out onto a remote lake and start cruising around. The ice looks thick at times and others not so but keep my head on a swivel for thin ice and open water.

I don't have any destination so these ribbons of ice work well and I ride around for an hour or more.

After 20 minutes or so I'm comfortably in control and the studs are gripping great. I almost forget I'm on ice at times. Without studs this ride could not happen.

I stop to take the first picture below and immediately fall on my Acceleration. The ice is so smooth I have no control with the hard soles of my boots. To add to that, the wind holds me to a crawl.

After I learn to not walk on the ice I try and cross a large open grassy marsh to gain access to more lake but get walled in by thick grass. On my way out I run across these large prints. I presume Goose but they look too large.

This is the only open water I find all day. I'm standing on at least 5 inches of ice yet the hole is only feet from me. This hole is from the wind. You can tell from the course ice on the far side that this has been keep open by the wind and likely assisted by carp schooling below it. I've seen that once on an ice dive where the fish swimming in circles hollow the ice from below. I don't understand why but if I had to guess the thin ice allows more light and more algae or weeds grow.

I finish my ride without crashing and I'm hooked.

If anyone asks me I have to say I use Performance Enhancing Studs.