Snowy morning ride

This Ride: 21.1 miles
Kona Distance: 5,223.5 miles
Month to date: 182.5 miles
2010 Total: 5,715 miles (285 to go for 6,000)

I woke up excited that it was 36 degrees. Not only is that the warmest it has been at 5 am for a while, but that meant it was above freezing! With all the rain we had the past couple of days, temps in the 20s would have meant that a ride would have been too dangerous. I could do 36!

I pulled on all the gear, put the fenders on the bike, and stepped outside to … snow showers!  It was snowing!  I was as excited as a kid with the first snow of winter.  This was going to be fun!

The snow showers were light, but were pushed by a very stiff northwesterly wind.  As I moved north, the snow stung my face and rattled against my coat, but it wasn’t sticking on the road surfaces.  I learned that an LED light is not a steady state light, but rather cycles on and off.  The snow blowing in my headlights was making these patterns that were fun to watch — — — — — — .

I made it to the Rusty Bridge early, so I added some distance, returned to the bridge and waited.  At 5:46, there were no other riders, so I pushed off anticipating a solo ride.  Soon, however, there were lights ahead, and Dan was riding up the trail.  So Dan and I set off and enjoyed one another’s company, and both loving the snow.

Bunnies were out in full force this morning.  We had at least 5 or 6 cross our path along the ride.  The only slick spots were the wooden bridges on the trail.  We were careful to cross these with no change of direction.  On our return, our outbound tire tracks on the bridges had been covered by fresh snow.  We met one other rider, no runners, and one walker on the route.

After I got home, Lori saw white on the deck in the back of the house, and asked, “Is that frost or snow?”  With a big grin, I said, “Snow!”  She just shook her head slowly from side to side and said, “You’ve been waiting all morning to tell me that, haven’t you?”  I had.