This morning I rode to a local bicycle advocacy meet-up and then took a road ride out to Salem Corners and Byron and back for 36 miles. It was a bit breezy so it was a bit of a slog out to Byron, but I mostly had a tailwind coming home. It was 60F (16C) by the time I got back home and I saw folks wearing shorts while walking the #RochMN city trails. I also heard frog calls in Southeast Rochester.
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Today was cloudy, windy and cold, almost 40 degrees colder than yesterday afternoon. But yesterday's heat wave melted off all but the piled up snow, and the Douglas State Trail was again ridable. I rode the #RochMN city trails and the Douglas Trail to Douglas and back for 30 miles. The wind was a bit tough heading up, but it made for a nice tailwind coming back. I should now be able to ride other trails if we get a nice day this week.
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Happy Equinox! This morning was also very pleasant for riding a bike, but I was again limited to where I could ride. The plowed #RochMN city trails were open, but the unplowed trails, like the Douglas State Trail, were not. The Bear Creek Trail did not have much snowmelt, but the other trails did and I have the water/mud stripe up my backside to prove it. There were a couple places where street plows created snow mounds to climb over mostly at crosswalks. I rode 30 miles total.
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This afternoon was awfully pleasant for riding a bike, 52F (11C), sunny and very light winds. But the remnant snow limited my choices. The #RochMN city trails were mostly open but there were spots where I had to dismount and one where I had to climb over a huge snowbank. One other place had not been plowed so I had to detour. There was a lot of snowmelt on the trails, so a bicycle with fenders was the best option. I rode my Brompton for 15 miles.
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We had a Clipper move through overnight which deposited another inch of snow on top of the foot that came on Sunday. So a fat bike ride was in order again. It was below freezing when I set off, but the March sun warmed things up and the melting has begun. It will take a while to dispatch the piles we have. I rode the #RochMN trails and around Soldiers Field Park for 11 miles.
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#BikeStreak Day 59:
What a difference 24 hours makes. Yesterday 55F (13C) and sunny, today 20F (-7C) and snowing heavily. So I climbed back on my fatbike with studded tires and rode the #RochMN city trails for 11 miles. On the way back, I couldn't even see my tracks from an hour earlier as it was snowing so hard. It will be back above freezing starting Monday, so we'll see how long this snow lasts.
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#BikeStreak Day 40:
It was almost 40F (4C) when I set out on my ride. I rode 31 miles on #RochMN city trails and county roads West of town. As I live in far Southeast Rochester, I have to ride through town whenever heading West or North, so my "road" ride today was more on city trails than roads. Fortunately the Mayowood Trail was *mostly* clear of snow and ice so I was able to head out that way today. I still need to work on my stamina for longer rides and for climbing hills.
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#BikeStreak Day 35:
Today is the midpoint of astronomical winter or the beginning of Solar Spring (Northern Hemisphere), with the darkest quarter of the year now over. That it falls near Groundhog Day and Candlemas Day is not a coincidence.
Today I rode to a meeting with a local elected to discuss restoring bicycle access to downtown #RochMN after Mayo Clinic's Bold. Forward. Unbound. program will cause the existing bike lanes to get vacated with a new hospital construction.
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