Homer's Travels: A Day Made For Bike Riding

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Day Made For Bike Riding

I finally got out today and it felt great.  I washed the car, stopped by the mart to get some sweats, and took a nice bike ride.

Today turned out to be a perfect day for a bike ride.  Temps in the 30s and 40s, just a tiny bit of wind, and blue skies.  I headed up the Keystone Trail -Central and continued on the Keystone Trail - North for a bit.  All in all I did 18.4 miles.

The trail was pretty clear except for some ice hiding in a few shadows.  I coasted over most of the ice without difficulty.  Most of the icy spots were either level or small.  I only had a problem at one spot where the icy patch was a couple or three bike lengths and was on a slight grade.  I lost momentum as I coasted over the ice and I had to pedal.  ZWOOP, my rear tire swung to the left.  I managed to stay upright and not crash.  On the way back, that spot wasn't much better but the sliding of my rear wheel wasn't nearly as scarey.

The most difficult thing about the ride was deciding what to wear.  I was  caught between being too cold and too warm.  I wore long Bike pants, long thermal underwear (bottoms and tops), sweat pants, and a long sleeve T-Shirt.  I also wore my new balaclava and gloves for the first time.  I was roasty-toasty but not too hot.  It was a little chilly at the start but by the time I got back I was just starting to break a sweat.  If anything my gloves are a little too warm.

Tomorrow, it's supposed to be even warmer with temps in the 50s.  I think that calls for a long walk.

2 comments:

  1. You're a lucky man. I would'a slipped on that ice and face-planted for sure!

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  2. GH: While I was mid-slip I thought I was going down. I'm still not sure how I got out of it intact and upright.

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