SNOW!!!

I enjoyed a fun ride in the snow today. The roads were pretty bad so I broke down and rode on the sidewalk until I got to a main street. The Bruce Vento trail is only about a mile from my house so I didn't have far to go before I got on the trail. Thank You Ramsey county for plowing the trail. There was still enough snow on the trail to make it fun but not so much that it became a chore. I pedaled just about 8 miles; which doesn't seem like a lot of miles but when you throw in the snow, ice and headwind it felt like 20 miles. Worked up a pretty good sweat too! 

I think I'll check out the Gateway trail tomorrow. It doesn't get plowed so depending on how much traffic it had today it could be a fun ride! 

Happy trails...

Tough Ride

I'll take the extreme hot, the extreme cold, wind, snow, ice, rain, thunder, lightening whatever but I do not like this cold drizzly crap. When the weather is extreme cold or hot you prepare yourself for it and it's a challenge. Wind, rain, snow, ice they are all an adventure and challenge your skills. This drizzly cold stuff just makes my bones hurt :p

I had to give myself a pep-talk before riding today. The temperature was hovering around 20 degrees, the roads were slushy, icy in places and wet. There was a mist in the air when I started out and it slowly because drizzly then I don't know what. Not quite snow but not rain either; something in between. 

The Vento trail was actually nice, nothing but the sound of my tires rolling across the trail. The trail hasn't been plowed so it's a little slick at the intersections. I worked up a nice sweat while riding which gave me an excuse to have a second helping of Channa Masala at dinner tonight :) mmmm I love me some Indian food. 

Calendar

On the first of the year started using a calendar dedicated to my riding. This gives me an overview of where I ride and how many miles. It also let's me pencil in all the rides I want to do this year :) 

My mileage is a bit of guess work because the MTN bike I'm riding doesn't have a computer thingy on it. I use MapMyRide.com to figure out my miles. I could put a computer thingy on it but it's not my bike and they don't always work well when the weather gets cold. The one on my road bike has indicated that on one of my rides my maximum MPH was 99; I"m thinking that might not be accurate :)

Minnesota has finally decided to turn down the heat and bring on some snow. Yesterdays ride was my first below zero ride. Both the temperature and windchill were below zero; how far below I don't know. I'm not big on checking the weather. When it gets cold everyone talks about it so I have an idea. 

I stayed plenty warm on my ride but would like to change a couple things. I need to find a face mask that doesn't get wet and cold from breathing and doesn't fog my glasses. Yesterday I used my goggles which worked much better. I'd also like to get better riding shoes. I'm thinking maybe hiking boots; something I can put thicker socks into and is wind/rain proof. 

It looks like I'll be riding in the snow today. Not the big fluffy stuff that is fun but the icy pellet snow; ick! This will also make the roads slippery so I'll head to the bike trails. I'm really fortunate that I have both the Gateway trail and the Bruce Vento trails within 1 mile from my house. 

Where's my notes?

I was trying to jot down a couple things to post but now I've misplaced my notes! Oh well...


I've been riding the Gateway Trail and the Bruce Vento trail a lot this winter. The Bruce Vento gets plowed the Gateway does not. This gives me a fun ride through the snow on the Gateway and an easy cruise on the Bruce Vento. Last week while riding the Vento trail in Maplewood I spotted a beautiful hawk perched in a tree, numerous deer tracks frozen in the ice and watched one of the best sunsets so far this winter. 


The Vento trail is a great ride in the winter not only because it gets plowed but also because it's fairly flat and allows me to get to the book store, coffee shop and hair supply store with ease. 


The Gateway trail is fun because they don't plow it and I get a great workout. I can also get to the Credit Union, bike shop and movie theater using the trail. 


If you want to ride in the winter and not deal with cars I highly recommend both of these trails. Just remember to use the fat tires on the Gateway! 


Happy Trails! :)

Hit by a Mini Van!

I'm going to attempt to get back to posting on this blog and with the New Year just beginning there's no better time than the present. 


The New Year started with a bang!


Yesterday, January 1, 2012 I was hit by a mini-van while riding my bike. Both the bike and myself are fine. I was crossing at an intersection, a woman in a mini-van was stopped at the stop sign. I had the right-of-way. As I was passing in front of her she stepped on the gas and hit my back wheel with the drivers side bumper. It knocked the back of the bike one direction and the front another. I managed to stay on the bike and get out of the intersection. I put the bike down, turned around and shouted to the woman. It looked as though she was about to take off! A man in a car pulled up behind her; he had seen her hit me. The woman got out of the van and asked if I was alright. I shouted at her about talking on a cell phone, not paying attention and hitting me. She never once apologized! Can you believe that? I called the police to make a report. They arrived quickly and gave the woman a citation for inattentive driving and now she will have to go to court for it. I'm thanking my mountain bike skills for pulling me through this. If I hadn't ever ridden a mountain bike I believe I would have hit the asphalt. 


The woman acted as though it was such an inconvenience to her. If she had acted as though she gave a damn I don't think I would have even called the police. I was so pissed off all I really wanted to do was hit the woman. I hope the judge makes her pay a big fat fine. 


After work today I checked out the bike and made a couple adjustments; the handle bars were skewed and the seat was a little off. Other than that it seemed fine. I went for about a 5 mile ride tonight and everything worked great! Even though the temperature was below 20 degrees I worked up a sweat riding on the ice and snow. Riding in the snow is fun, riding on the ice is not. 


With Minnesota finally starting to feel like winter I'm ramping up my search for a face mask. I have a couple but they don't seem to work. I can't find one that fits my face, I think most of them are made for man faces. In any case I think that's about all I need for my winter riding gear.

HAPPY NEW YEAR pedal, pedal, pedal