I followed everyone’s advice, including my own, and took the road bike out yesterday afternoon. It was actually quite comfortable.
It looks like today is shaping up to be another decent day for riding. Don’t procrastinate though, as it looks like it’s going to get cold for about a week.
How many more days until January is over? Sigh…
The mountain bike trails on the west side are horrible right now as the snow is melting. It’s a combo of greasy mud and snow. The road biking is great though if you can stand the wind chill!
Kristy and I toured the west side, hitting Kings Canyon, Combs Canyon, and the roads in between. The mostly dry roads make a fun alternative to the awful trails.
Word of caution though… Watch out for ice in the shade! We were caught off guard by a few patches yesterday, so steer around the shady sections when in doubt.
Photo note:Â Kristy tried hard not to smile for Brian (aka oldmanandhisbike, aka BG Phone Home), who accused her of smiling too much.
Man, it was cold today. The Pavilion Sign at Mills Park advertised 24 degrees F when I passed by on the morning commute. Although with no winds, it wasn’t all that bad. Riding in 24 degrees gives me confidence that it won’t be that bad commuting when the snow starts to fall. I still have more weather armor to put on.
The real cold came at the lunch time ride, as the north winds tried to pierce any part of clothing not protected by wind stopper. 32 degrees with a wind chill of 24. All of us complained about not being able to feel this or that at some point in the ride. My pinkies went numb. Once we got up into the canyon though, the sun came out and the canyon walls blocked the wind. It felt like fall again for the brief time we spent up in the canyon.
Today’s riders were me, Scott, Marcus, and Keith. The climb was fast paced, but it was keeping me warm. We paused for a bit at the top of the creek trail, and the guys agreed to let me go ahead and find a good photo spot. I’m lucky that day after day, people put up with me and my camera! Two days off the trails, and I was feeling a bit sloppy. I made a few mistakes on the creek trail, and one almost resulted in a crash. I pulled it together for the 2nd half of the descent though, and had a good rest of the run.
I posted these pictures over on Flickr, and one viewer in New Zealand had this to say, “It’s weird. Your photos still look like summer but the riders are all wrapped up. This guy looks like a vicar on his way to church in July.” That cracked me up! He’s right though…it does look pretty warm in these pictures!
The wind died down for the commute home. Like the commute in, it was cold but pretty tolerable. Nevertheless, I was still glad to be home and warm up with a hot bowl of French onion soup, a half a loaf of bread, two big bowls of salad, and a couple glasses of wine.