December rides...

[ny biker]

Let's get this party started!

I haven't ridden yet this month, but posted a club ride for tomorrow because the weather forecast looked good, sunshine with temps in the high 40s. Then they added "windy" to the forecast. So not sure if it will be okay or too windy. Canceling and rescheduling for Sunday would be an option, though it will be cloudy so we won't have the warmth from the sun. We shall see...

[north woods gal]

Wow! December, already? I'm still a bit off balance with this strange weather of ours. Here it is, December, and no snow cover or even ice on the lakes. The good news is that I am still hitting the MTB trails for all they're worth before the snow comes. Will still ride the fatties in the snow when it comes, but that's a whole different kind of riding than technical trail riding. May even dust off the road bike and take it out.

[emily_in_nc]

I started the month yesterday with another excellent ride on the West Orange Trail. Had a great tail wind all the way out so felt great. The way back, the wind died for awhile, surprising but nice, since we'd expected a head wind. But it picked up again right in our face towards the end, lowering our speeds, as did hunting for an elusive upholstery shop downtown.

Anywho, a nice ride in shorts and short sleeves, right before a cold front blew in. 33 miles. Less than 100 left to reach my goal for the year of 3K, which I should be able to beat by a bit. :)

[ny biker]

I guess I should upload all the rides on the Garmin so I can see my total miles so far this year, in case I'm close to a milestone. I haven't uploaded anything since May.

I'm still trying to figure out my weekend. I really want to get the new saddle on the bike before I ride this weekend because I don't know how many chances I'll have to test ride it during the 30-day guarantee period. (Of course that's the main drawback with testing a saddle this time of year.) I was going to get the saddle tomorrow morning before my scheduled ride but the guy at the LBS won't be in tomorrow. I could move the ride to Sunday and get the saddle Sunday morning, but would probably have to start the ride a bit later in that case. And with the early sunset I would be risking getting home after dark if anyone on the ride has a mechanical that causes a delay.

Decisions, decisions.

[Crankin]

We had the exact weather that NY described above, today. It was very windy, not that cold (44) and partly cloudy. There was no sun when we left and some when we got home. So, just a little 16 mile ride, where we started out going uphill to warm up, which did achieve that objective, but generally is not good for me. The wind gusts were vicious at times, probably up to 25 mph, but it seemed like the frequency died down a bit when we were out.
Saw a few other lone cyclists, including 2 I know. Nothing eventful, except there always seems to be more traffic than I expect for a Saturday. Like all cold weather rides, I complain while I am riding, calm down nearer to the end, and I am glad I went when I finish. My attitude toward riding has sucked lately. I *want* to ride, but when I start, I often feel like crap; this is normal for me, I always need a long time to warm up. However, some of it is I have been riding straight through since March 2015. Usually, I take at least 1-2.5 months off from riding outside. Right now, I feel like as long as there is no snow on the road, I need to be out there, at least once a week. I seem to be motivated for the gym and hiking, but I really want it to snow!

[north woods gal]

In town to do stuff, all day, so didn't get to ride and feeling my usual guilty about it. Supposed to get 2" of snow, tomorrow, and that means my trails will be snow covered, again, so that just adds to the guilt. Silly, I know. Should actually be grateful for as much no snow trail riding I have been able to do this late in the year. The gloom is really getting me down, too. Haven't had a sunny day since well before Thanksgiving. Someone send some sunshine, up here, please!

[rebeccaC]

sending sunshine and an ocean NWG
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1572/24905318265_76c75b72ca_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DWNgr4)


For our first Dec ride Alex wanted to ride in the San Gabriel mountains so we left the warmth of the beach to ride a loop from Azusa to Mt. Baldy going up from the west on Glendora Mountain Road and back down on Mt Baldy road. An 18 mile 6-8% climb once in the mountains on GMR ending with a 5 mile 14-17% switchbacked final ascent. We stopped at the Mt Baldy Lodge on the way down to stretch, relax and fuel up with some homemade energy bars and hot chocolate from the lodge…..and we split a piece of really good cheesecake…..well Alex takes bigger bites so maybe 40-60.

The descent on MBR is on a well-paved and at times serpentine road with nicely banked corners so we had fun descending back to the valley floor. When we got back to the car it was a 49 mile ride so we decided to ride back up into the mountains on Hwy 39 into San Gabriel canyon. This was one of Alex’s favorite rides when she lived in the area and we’ve ridden it together a few times. It’s a gradually steeper climb with a hard 2 mile section at the end making the turnaround for the descent a welcome moment.

We stopped for a steam room, shower and massage before leaving Azusa, which was a perfect ending to a day of hard riding. 81 miles with sunny skies and temps in the 40’s to 50’s when in the mountains. We had a good tailwind going up San Gabriel canyon, which also made for a cooler descent. Very little traffic since people haven’t started using the Mt Baldy ski area yet. Feeling blessed to have so many beautiful scenic mountain roads for riding in this area and being able to do it with a wonderful wife.

[north woods gal]

Hey, I asked for sunshine and you sent it, if only in a pic. Thanks. Does help.

[emily_in_nc]

Another gorgeous photo, Rebecca. Your photos always make me smile and gasp at their beauty, and that looks like an idyllic spot.

We did our usual bike path ride today, made a bit more interesting by the very breezy conditions. I don't know what the speed was, but even DH felt that it was the windiest ride we've had since returning to Florida. Temp was perfect, in the 70s, sun was shining, and lots and lots of folks were out on the bike path. I guess last Sunday, which was relatively light, was an anomaly since many were certainly traveling from Thanksgiving.

Good ride, though I was reminded why the shorts I wore today should only be worn for short (an hour or less) rides. Owie! :eek:

32 miles.

[north woods gal]

New snowfall of 2", so trails now snow-covered, again. This snow was pretty decent, though. Definitely drier and less ice, so riding was actually pleasant. Was able to even do some of the milder climbs, but the aggressive steep stuff that requires one of those give it all you got sudden bursts of speed? Well, no. Even this light a snow is enough to cut my speed enough to cause a stall out. Those trail sections are now one way - downhill, only.

Serious cold, as in more typical December cold, headed our way, soon. That's a good thing, by the way. When we get enough ice on the lake, will be riding there, too.

Nice ride
http://i67.tinypic.com/6y2y3l.jpg

Surly Pugsley, today.
http://i63.tinypic.com/izs4yx.jpg

[emily_in_nc]

That's gorgeous, NWG! Glad you enjoy it...I would be huddled up inside by the fire, drinking hot chocolate and looking at the snow out my window, I fear! :rolleyes:

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily. Riding in this weather makes getting back inside with a hot latte' all the more enjoyable. :) Truth is, I begin to feel like an animal trapped in a cage when I sit inside for too long. Just me.

[Crankin]

Me, too.

[ny biker]

I rode 28 miles yesterday. It was supposed to be 30 miles, a ride I was leading for the bike club. But no one else showed up. This didn't surprise me, given the weather and the fact that there are only a handful other people in the club who ride at my pace. And I always assume no one will show up when I lead a ride, and have a backup plan just in case. So yesterday my backup plan was to shorten the ride slightly and bring extra food and water so I would not have to go into a store and leave my bike outside unattended at the rest stop.

It was gray and cloudy with temps in the high 40s-low 50s. On the one hand there was no wind to make it feel colder, but on the other hand the lack of sun made a real difference. I actually could see the sun, blurred behind the clouds, and for a while near the end I could see my shadow faintly. But it didn't help to warm things up. I wore my heavy Gore jacket, with the fleece linking and windstopper soft shell, which is only good when you have no reason to think you will warm up enough to want to remove layers during a ride. I thought it would be warm enough so I only had thin wool base layer underneath. However I brought a wind vest in case I felt cold, and did end up putting it on at the break. Otherwise I was dressed just right -- fleece-line Gore Windstopper gloves and booties, PI Amfib tights, wool socks, chemical toe warmer between my feet and the cold metal cleats, wool cap under my helmet. So all in all the gray chill kept it from being a great ride but still it was pretty good.

Also yesterday I tested out the new saddle, as noted in another thread.

When we lead rides for the club we write up a report and post it on the website. When I got home yesterday I ended writing a pretty long report, despite the fact that no one joined me for the ride. I thought about going back in and editing it, but it kinda made me laugh. Having no one show up is something that happens from time to time to everyone who leads rides often, and some people seem to get pretty upset about it even though it's not anything personal. I decided not to shorten my report so I could show that you can still have a nice ride even when you have no company.

Looking ahead, we're expecting that cold blast of air at the end of the week, so next weekend's high temps will be below my 40 degree threshold for riding outdoors. I might get the indoor trainer out of storage. Then again I might try bundling up and doing a short ride around my neighborhood. But that will depend on whether there's any sunshine and also on the wind. We'll see.

[north woods gal]

Yeah, it's headed your way. We will have a high of 30, tomorrow, but temperatures falling rapidly, come afternoon. Could be awhile before we get above freezing, again. Stay warm.

[rebeccaC]

As always, thanks Emily…and NY, not editing was a very nice way of showing your positivity and helping other ride leaders feel it too.

Very peaceful image nwg!!!!

My very cold/wet/muddy ride in Michigan on Thanksgiving re-enforced the enjoyment/adventure that any kind of weather can give a ride….then again a fireplace, a hot chocolate and a view of falling snow hmmmmmm :)

[azfiddle]

I braved the cold (Tucson cold) weather Friday to commute: 37 degrees is what the NWS said for my start time. My hands were cold, but everything else wasn't too bad. It was much better after the sun came up (7 miles in). Coming home was cloudy, and kind of blustery so I had all the cold weather gear on even though it was in the low 50's. Saturday I mainly did errands on the Surly- grocery shopping etc. Sunday I rode back in to work to ready for my annual formal evaluation- got the lesson plans done and ready to go. No ride today.

[emily_in_nc]

Yesterday we did our usual ride towards Apopka but tried a different way to get over to the West Orange Trail, involving more road riding on some low-traffic roads. Cut down on the number of road crossings and other (often even slower than me) cyclists we had to deal with. Also took a couple of trail spurs, so I got in my usual mileage (33) without having to ride into downtown Apopka, which is stop sign after stop sign and way too many road crossings. There's a nice rest room at Apopka Station, but not having to go all that way makes for a more pleasant ride. Super windy again though.

Today was a planned day off, and a good thing indeed, as we got a lot of much-needed rain. Got out for a nice walk afterwards.

[north woods gal]

Another inch and a half of snow on top of the several we already had, but fairly dry stuff, so stable and not too tricky. Used the big Salsa Blackboro with its 4.8" tires to break trail then finished up with the Pugsley and it's 4" tires for a little variety. Dropping temps all day, but no big snow in the weekly forecast, ahead, so this girl is still riding, cold and all, with a big smile on her face. The woods in winter are so cool. My idea of heaven.

[Crankin]

Yesterday we had about 2 inches of snow, which turned to a nice wintry mix on the road by the time I got home. It was 42 today and beautiful, but of course, tomorrow, there's another icy mix forecasted for the AM. So, another crappy day and no group ride. I signed up for spin. The temperatures are supposed to plummet after that. If the roads are somewhat cleaner by Saturday, I might brave a short road ride, but it looks like my outdoor rides may be numbered.

[emily_in_nc]

Today we put the panniers on the Bike Fridays and rode west to the Clermont Walmart to pick up my DH's new glasses plus some groceries and household items we needed. The ride took us through some of the hilliest parts of Lake County, and I could really feel the heavier load on the back end of my bike. Glad for the low gears! I just never dreamed I'd be riding hills in Florida. There are actually some beautiful views of Lake Apopka from the high points, though I didn't take any photos this time.

Fortunately, we can ride to Apopka tomorrow, which is a much less hilly, recovery ride. Today was tough but a good accomplishment. 28.5 miles total at a slow (12 mph) pace, about 2/3 on bike paths, and 1/3 on road, mostly with bike lanes.

[north woods gal]

I think we talked about those hills, Emily, back when I was that area in September. Definitely some worthy stuff if you enjoy hills. Also shopped at Wal-Mart, too. Small world.

Maybe just enough snow to mix in some XC skiing with the biking, now, so we'll see. Headed below zero for next week, so, yeah, winter is really here. When the lake freezes over, will be doing some skiing and biking on it. Fat bikes are a pretty cool way to play out on the ice, in case you haven't tried it.

[ny biker]

I rode last night, likely my last post-work hill ride for this year. It was just above 40 degrees when I started, high 30s when I finished an hour and a half later, and somewhat damp. I thought I'd be able to dress right for the conditions but I was wrong. I was never really comfortable, and the whole time I felt so constricted by all the clothes. I'm curious if others who ride in cold temps or do other outdoor activities in winter have suggestions for staying warm without feeling like kid brother Randy from A Christmas Story when his mother dresses him for the walk to school ("I can't put my arms down!!").

I have a warm Gore jacket, a softshell Windstopper fabric with fleece inside. I wore that last night over a light wool baselayer and a regular long-sleeved jersey. The jacket is a bit snug in the sleeves which was part of the constricted feeling. On top of the jacket I wore a wind vest, which was actually cutting into the front of my shoulders a bit, not enough to be really uncomfortable but adding to the constriction. This combination of layers was okay for much of the ride, though a bit cool when going downhill. On my head I wore my SmartWool balaclava, which is not something I really like wearing but kept my head and cheeks warm enough. The bigger problem was my legs and feet. I had on my Amfib tights over regular bike shorts, knee-high wool socks, DeFeet wool leg warmers on top of the tights from the knees to the ankles, Gore Windstopper booties with fleece lining, and chemical toe warmers between my feet and the metal cleats in the shoes. The problem was that my thighs and butt were cold. Also after a while my toes felt very cold, which might have been because of the cold legs or might have just meant that I need a second pair of chemical warmers in side my shoes (or maybe between the shoes and the booties). Then for the last couple of miles the jacket/vest combination was no longer enough, so I took off the vest and put on my unlined Gore wind/waterproof jacket on top of the lined softshell jacket. This was warm enough but the lightweight jacket was not big enough to fit comfortably over the warmer jacket, especially in the sleeves.

In spite of being not generally comfortable, I would have been okay to do my usual route except for the cold toes. So I took some shortcuts and ended up with 15.5 miles in all.

Part of me knows I need to get the indoor trainer out of storage so I can start using it, because it's kind of ridiculous to have to bundle up so much that you can barely bend your elbows. But part of me wants to try to get in a ride this weekend when it's in the 30s during the day. I mean, it's only December, and I just don't want to be stuck inside yet.

If I try to ride outside this weekend, I think I will wear knickers instead of regular shorts under the Amfibs tights. I have a pair of knickers that are Gore Windstopper fabric. Combined with the wool Kneekers and the Amfibs, they might be enough for my legs. And I might try adding toe warmers between the shoes and booties, either the chemical kind or my toe covers. Above the waist, I have a wind/waterproof Showers Pass jacket that is always too warm for riding in spring and fall rains, but with a couple of layers of wool underneath it's been pretty good for some colder rides that I've done in past years. And it's loose-fitting enough to be comfortable with the extra layers underneath.

So we'll see. Maybe I'll get all bundled up and head outside, or maybe not.

[north woods gal]

Don't know if it helps, but one of several reasons why so many of us up here in the north country use flat pedals is the cold feet thing. You can buy very expensive insulated Lake boots for going clipless, but flat pedals let you use just about any kind of boot or shoe you want. You sometimes have to adjust seat height to accommodate the different footwear you use, but no big deal. This time of year, I use my thinsulate hiking boots, but in sub-zero stuff, have even used pac boots.

Another issue with clipless in cold winter is that they lock your feet into one position for the whole ride. That's asking for them to get cold. With flats, I move my feet around and that helps circulation. And, of course, if you do have to walk the bike home, hiking boots sure beat typical bike shoes with those neoprene bootie covers. I used the covers one winter and gave up on them. They lasted about a month of hard riding and were way short of having enough insulation for really cold weather riding. If you are going to ride, do it right and get insulated winter clipless biking shoes/boots or go flat pedal.

As for the rest of my outfit, I use bicycle specific winter clothing for all my outer layers. Crazy expensive, but it does reduce that dreaded bulk and, for me, doubles nicely as XC ski wear. My insulated leggings are windproof in front, but breathable in back. My outer coat is also windproof and insulated, but the fit is fairly trim. A layer or two of poly, underneath, is all I need to handle zero kind of cold. Bulk is minimal.

In serious cold as in single digits and sub-zero, overdressing and too much bulk is very dangerous on a long ride. if you start to sweat, that moisture can later freeze on you. It's a balancing act. I know I have it right if I'm a bit chilly for the first couple miles and then okay warm after that.

When you get back, indoors, take your bike outer layers off, immediately, and hang them to dry. You'll be amazed at how much moisture they have picked up.

One more thing and I'll shut up. That wet cold, of the type your described, NY, is the most dangerous. It's the closest I've come to getting a very dangerous case of hypothermia. Would rather take my chances in dry sub-zero air. Be careful.

[north woods gal]

Me, I'm a keep things simple and adapt as your go kind of gal. I'd say just wear your hiking boots. Most rental bikes are equipped with flat pedals, anyway, so you're good to go. If they're flat pedals with pins, even better. Should be plenty of grip with typical lugged sole hiking boots. If pins, softer sole walking shoes even work.

As for the winter coat, light is better than big and bulky and heavily insulated. You'll do an instant sweat in a big heavy wool dress coat. Teens and twenties for temps are very doable with a windproof outer if you already have one and layers of polar fleece, underneath. Peel as needed. As above, important not to sweat too much.

With fatties and MTBs, I wouldn't mess with dragging your own seat, along. If you'll be riding real dirt, sand, snow MTB trails, you spend a lot of time standing in the pedals or with light pressure on the seat. I'm much fussier about the seat on my road bikes. To be honest, though, if you plan to ride a paved trail, as mentioned, the Beargrease is way overkill unless you have snow over the pavement. To really appreciate fatties, you need to get into the dirt. Check with the rental place when you get there. If the trails are snow free, you could just rent a road bike or hybrid.

Same for me on the helmet. Those usually come with the bike when you rent the bike. Can't see dragging along a helmet unless you have a hard time getting a fit.

Have fun.

[north woods gal]

Best of luck.

Another couple inches of snow, today, and now just enough for some skiing on my home built trails. Did a combo with 4 miles on the fat bike and a bit over 2 with the skis. Lot more huffing and puffing on the fat bike, but definitely a lot faster and trickier. Love the skiing, though. Very civilized by comparison.

[north woods gal]

I strongly urge you to give XC skiing a try. Very intuitive and basic. Not hard at all. Nowhere near as technical as MTB trial riding. If you can walk, you can XC ski. Just be sure to start out on a nice level stretch. Once you get your legs under you, gradually work your way into gentle climbs and descents. Have taught my husband and several friends and had them out on the trail with me, first time. Best way to start is to rent from a shop that knows how to fit you with the right gear. Don't need wilderness to enjoy XC either. When I lived in the Chicago suburbs, would ski right out of may garden level apartment, across lawns, over to several city parks. Basically had them to myself. Fun, fun, fun.

[ny biker]

Don't know if it helps, but one of several reasons why so many of us up here in the north country use flat pedals is the cold feet thing. You can buy very expensive insulated Lake boots for going clipless, but flat pedals let you use just about any kind of boot or shoe you want. You sometimes have to adjust seat height to accommodate the different footwear you use, but no big deal. This time of year, I use my thinsulate hiking boots, but in sub-zero stuff, have even used pac boots.

Another issue with clipless in cold winter is that they lock your feet into one position for the whole ride. That's asking for them to get cold. With flats, I move my feet around and that helps circulation. And, of course, if you do have to walk the bike home, hiking boots sure beat typical bike shoes with those neoprene bootie covers. I used the covers one winter and gave up on them. They lasted about a month of hard riding and were way short of having enough insulation for really cold weather riding. If you are going to ride, do it right and get insulated winter clipless biking shoes/boots or go flat pedal.

As for the rest of my outfit, I use bicycle specific winter clothing for all my outer layers. Crazy expensive, but it does reduce that dreaded bulk and, for me, doubles nicely as XC ski wear. My insulated leggings are windproof in front, but breathable in back. My outer coat is also windproof and insulated, but the fit is fairly trim. A layer or two of poly, underneath, is all I need to handle zero kind of cold. Bulk is minimal.

In serious cold as in single digits and sub-zero, overdressing and too much bulk is very dangerous on a long ride. if you start to sweat, that moisture can later freeze on you. It's a balancing act. I know I have it right if I'm a bit chilly for the first couple miles and then okay warm after that.

When you get back, indoors, take your bike outer layers off, immediately, and hang them to dry. You'll be amazed at how much moisture they have picked up.

One more thing and I'll shut up. That wet cold, of the type your described, NY, is the most dangerous. It's the closest I've come to getting a very dangerous case of hypothermia. Would rather take my chances in dry sub-zero air. Be careful.

Thanks for this. I suspect that you need fewer layers to be comfortable in the cold than I do. I don't own thinsulate-lined hiking boots but if I did, they'd only keep my feet warm with temps in the 50s. I have ice cubes attached to my ankles where other people have feet.

But, I might try to get out for a short ride this weekend if it's not windy. Temps should be in the mid-high 30s, maybe reaching 40 if I get lucky. Will try the windstopper knickers under the Amfib tights and wool leg warmers. Probably will go with a couple of layers of wool under the Showers Pass jacket. I know what you mean about overdressing and sweating in the cold, and wool is generally better to avoid that.

[rebeccaC]

First, does it sound like I can dress warmly enough not to be miserable? I do have decent winter gear, and I can maybe figure out a regular winter coat to borrow from someone up there and wear it over my cycling coat. I do have good winter coats, but they are wool dress coats.
Enjoy being with your Dad!!!!
On our thanksgiving trip to Michigan it was in the low to mid 30’s for a morning ride but no snow. A good base layer, thermal tights, a merino long sleeve jersey and a good jacket were adequate for me and would have worked for even lower temps too.
We had rain forecasted and it was a reality so I brought my Sugoi RSE jacket and my rain pants. I’m a big fangirl of Q36.5 base layers and especially their Intimo bra.
I put my helmet in my carry on bag...filled with rolled up socks/underwear/t's.


Another ride into the San Gabriel’s. Today we went further east of last weeks ride to Mt. Baldy and rode Lone Pine canyon road to Wrightwood, the Angels Crest Highway to Wilson Peak and then back through Wrightwood and Highway 2 to where we parked. Even though it was more elevation gain than our Mt. Baldy ride it was a little easier ride with less really steep sections. A beautiful view made the stop for our stretching, nutrition and water break a calm meditating time. Angels Crest Hwy is an incredibly visually stimulating ride, plus with very few cars (more other bicyclists than cars on our ride}. It can take you west to just north of Pasadena if you want to ride all of it from Wrightwood. When the snow comes the road is closed till early spring and this time of year is a good one to ride on it. Overcast with heavier clouds towards the top of our ride, temps were in the H50's to L60's…..79 miles.

https://c4.staticflickr.com/1/128/31565376155_4789a823c2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q6jNBn)


https://c8.staticflickr.com/1/504/30755883263_65a942c1f1_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/NRMWzn)


https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/723/31418672732_ec9763ca33_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PSmUN1)

[Crankin]

Murienn, I second trying the x country skiing. It is nothing like downhill, except you are on snow! It's probably the hardest aerobic exercise you can do, but you can go slowly at first. And yes, I second Northwood's advice. Start on level ground and get the basic kick and glide down, learn to stop and to fall. Try some small hills to learn to climb and descend. Once you get the the technique down, you will find that cycling fitness helps a lot here.

[Sky King]

Had to cancel our annual ride Saturday. We call it "lunch with Santa" due to snow, rain and fog. It's a gravel road ride with a cafe in the middle, thus lunch. The first year we did it a man who sure resembled Santa was at the cafe - thus the name of the ride was born. Part of the route is double track that turns into double mud hell when wet so perhaps we can get back out in January when everything is frozen. Just as well, I made 18 dozen cookies to take to family in Montana next week. Looks like the ice is off the roads today so can pedal over to the dollar store for cookie tins.

[azfiddle]

Yesterday my husband and I did a "birding by bike" adventure in the Santa Cruz flats, a desert and agricultural area north of Tucson and south of Phoenix. We "chased" two Rufous-back Robins and saw them, plus a Burrowing Owl, an entire field full of Caracaras and Ravens, many Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks and one Prairie Falcon. About 3/4 of the road was dirt so it's a good thing we took our touring bikes - the road bikes would not have been that happy on the dirt roads, even though they were well graded. 39 miles and about 40 species of birds.

https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/767/31202349410_a288c5cb87_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Pxfcpy)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/Pxfcpy) by Sharon Goldwasser (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133571926@N02/), on Flickr

[azfiddle]

The farmhouse where the Rufous-backed Robins, American Robins, Abert's Towhees, House Finches, Gila Woodpeckers and other species were coming in to feast on pomegranates and drink at a leaking faucet. Also, some of the other birders intent on seeing the robins. https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/444/31536592266_b8cf88e7de_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q3Mhaq)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/Q3Mhaq) by Sharon Goldwasser (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133571926@N02/), on Flickr

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5677/31574375945_e4e029f95a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q77VWa)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/Q77VWa) by Sharon Goldwasser (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133571926@N02/), on Flickr

[azfiddle]

A distant view of a Burrowing Owl... unfortunately, no Mountain Plovers were in the field behind it.https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/455/31427837102_2916fafe1b_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/PTaT3o)Untitled (https://flic.kr/p/PTaT3o) by Sharon Goldwasser (https://www.flickr.com/photos/133571926@N02/), on Flickr

[north woods gal]

Hey, everyone, thanks for the breathtaking pics. I'm just stunned. Really am. Might as well be a different planet than what I have up here in snow country.

And snow it is. Another three inches, so total snow depth is now edging over 6". That's not great news for the fat biking. Now deep enough for steering loss of control to become an issue on anything but wide and flat sections, not to mention plowing through snow up over the rims is just plain exhausting. Will be switching over to riding roads or groomed trails. Oh, well.

That same 6" of snow is great news for the skiing, though, at least with my wide backcountry skis. Three miles of trail work and may head back out for more.

AZ, did put up our feeders, today, so hope to report on some northern birds you might not see down there. If there's a species of interest, let me know. Did flush a Ruffed Grouse on the fat bike, yesterday. Our bird feeder season is basically Dec 1 to maybe the third week of March. Otherwise, you end up feeding the black bears and then you have a serious problem on your hands. Been there, done that. This guy was especially grouchy. Didn't want to leave the yard, at all.
http://i63.tinypic.com/33muzjo.jpg

[rebeccaC]

nwg that's not my kind of neighbor.:eek:....had a ranger in the santa monica mountains tell me that by the time i see a cougar once they could have seen me multiple times.

thinking with all these snow posts i shouldn't add temps to my ride posts for a couple of months :)

[north woods gal]

Gosh, no, don't stop posting those warm temps. They warm me up in spirit, at least. :)

[Dogmama]

Please keep posting the cold temps too. I'm a weather weanie - don't like to ride below 50 degrees - but love morning rides. Luckily, in Tucson we don't have months of cold weather.

[north woods gal]

Another 2" of snow, overnight, for a total, now, of over 8" on the ground. That means the fat bikes are going to need some help, either by using them on groomed trails or on paved, snow packed roads and, this time of year, all our roads are snow-packed. :) As for my trials around the house, they are now XC ski only, but I knew that was coming and I built the trails with both bikes and skis in mind. Truly lovely trails on the skis, with enough ups and down to make them interesting. By the time i have skied every loop and branch, I have two miles under my skis. Once the lake is just a bit more iced, will get even more miles with some lake and bike work on the ice. Headed below zero for the next few nights, so won't be long, now, and I can stretch my legs out on the ice.
http://i66.tinypic.com/f0aty1.jpg

[ny biker]

People with warm weather, please do continue to share the details. It helps me get through the winter to remember warmer days.

I rode on Saturday, 37 miles. Personally I would have been content with a shorter ride but was with two friends, one of whom rarely rides less than 35 even on the coldest days. And she likes to start no later than 10 am even on the coldest mornings. But making plans to ride with others is the best way to get my butt out the door in the winter, and it helps to have company along the way.

I think the temperate range was 36-41, with a NW breeze. But the sun was out with very few clouds in the sky, and it helped. I went with three layers of wool under my Shower's Pass jacket -- a midweight Smartwool base layer, a short sleeved wool jersey with wool arm warmers, and an old lambswool sweater that I wouldn't wear otherwise because it's a bit snug and has a small hole in it. For the last part of the ride I probably would have been okay without the middle layer, but I wasn't really uncomfortable, especially since we were near the Chesapeake Bay where it tends to be cooler in winter. For my legs, I wore Gore Windstopper knickers with a chamois instead of shorts under my Amfib tights, plus the wool knee warmers below my knees. And I stuck some chemical toe warmers on the outside of my shoes (inside the booties) to cover my toes. For the most part I was comfortable. So I do seem to need more layers than most people in order to stay warm. Oh well, the good thing was that I'm now able to lower my minimum temperature for outdoor riding by a few degrees. Though in the future I will try to keep the distance closer to 30 miles, max.

[north woods gal]

Glad you found the combo that worked or you, NY. You're right about folks being different in how they react to the cold. No wind and sunshine sure makes a big difference for me, too. The sunshine factor is probably mostly psychological for me, but it sure helps. Today was a good example. Temp only in the teens, but calm and sunny. Had a great day on the skis, followed up by a little fat bike work on neighboring roads. Have found that it's actually much safer for me riding the fat bikes on icy, snow-packed roads than walking.

Put my bird feeders up on Sunday afternoon and they're being mobbed by Chickadees as I write this. Way cool.

[emily_in_nc]

AZFiddle, loved your pics and hearing about your birding. I have never seen a Burrowing Owl. So cool!

We rode the past two days, and tomorrow will be our day off for recovery, laundry, grocery shopping, projects, cooking, ETC!

Yesterday's ride was east on the West Orange Trail (the easy way!) with a couple of trail spurs, for a total of 33 miles. Today's was west to hilly Lake County (the hard way!) for a total of 36.5 miles. I've beat my yearly goal of 3K miles and am loving going sleeveless in December! Yesterday was a little cooler and overcast, so I wore a thin long-sleeved top (with shorts), but today was full-on sleeveless. :D

I will say, though, for those of you who want to hear about warm temps, I am sweating big time right now! Took a shower after our ride and am going to need a second one. I don't mind the heat but could definitely do without the humidity (drip!)

[north woods gal]

Emily, congrats on breaking your goal. I know that was important for you. You did it, girl! Very impressive.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, congrats on breaking your goal. I know that was important for you. You did it, girl! Very impressive.

Thank you! I rode 7500 miles in 2014 (my best year ever), so this year is not even close, but we did a lot more hiking, so I am happy with it. Now I am trying to break into the top 25 on bikerides.com, where I track my miles. In '14 I finished #7 and DH finished #2, but this year he is not doing it and I have been in the 30s for most of the year. Spending Dec. in Florida, though, I am moving up as many other participants are not able or willing to ride in the cold and snow in so many places in the US.

Yes, I have a bit of a competitive streak! :D

[north woods gal]

Guess I'm one of those that keeps riding, rain or snow or cold. Single digit temps with 20 below wind chills, today and yesterday, but still managed a little on the fat bike, mixed in mostly with the skiing. The biking out on the road was iffy, what with a sever wind, but the skiing not bad, at all, back in the shelter of the woods. Could really hear the wind roaring through the trees, though.

I'm not competitive in the sense of competing with others. Just not in me. On the other hand, I am fiercely competitive when it comes to competing with myself. I am forever trying to answer that nagging question, "Can I?". It's taken my places I never would have expected and it's also had its share of danger along the way.

Since it is December, I think it is a good time to review what we have all done, this year. I'd say the 3000 miles you've done is a great year, Emily, all the more so for all the variety of places you got to ride. Not just miles, in other words, but some great quality miles, to boot. Loved reading about all your adventures.

Me, all local miles on familiar grounds. I made it to just over 2500 miles in my counting when concentrating on the road bike work, but I did stop counting late in the summer when I transitioned more and more to mountain biking. Come fall, nearly all of my biking was MTB trail work. Try as I might, I just couldn't cook up a formula that would convert MTB miles to equivalent road bike miles that made ay sense. Just concluded that the two types of biking are too dissimilar in their physical demands for any real world comparisons. That, and like most MTB nuts, I rate progress on the MTBs in terms of trail difficulty, not miles. Still plan to do plenty of both in '17, but the way I love being out in my beloved north woods, I suspect I'll mostly be an MTB girl, next year.

[ny biker]

Congrats Emily, and also to you NWG for still getting out there in the cold weather.

I thought about riding after work last night but figured it might have been too cold and damp, and also I had a bunch of shopping I needed to do and then had to make cranberry sauce for work, as I mentioned in another thread. When I finally got home I decided that it would have been fine weather for a bike ride, but by then it was too late (and I still hadn't made the cranberry sauce...).

Tonight is a bit colder, only by 6-8 degrees but just enough. So this morning I reprogrammed my thermostat to not warm the house up this evening before I get home from work. Arriving home to a chill will be an incentive to set up the bike in the living room and get in a workout. For another incentive, I have eaten way too much food today thanks to the holiday potluck lunch at work. It's funny, so much of what was there did not appeal to me, but it only takes a few really good things to make me indulge. This year we had the usual key lime pie and orange cranberry bread that I love, plus some good cookies and another kind of bread. There was also homemade flan that was really good. And it was authentic; I asked for the recipe and the person who made it said she would have to translate it from Spanish to English. Excellent. And someone made crepes, which I haven't had in ages. They were very good, too, with some berry jam. Plus a few steamed dumplings and some salmon with rice. Lots of food, very good food. So yes I have incentive to get in some high-intensity intervals when I get home.

[Crankin]

Sigh, I don't know if I am going to ride outside again this year. Today was lovely, but too much ice on the sides of the road for me to ride. I skipped the club's hike/Xmas party because the weight on the scale this morning was way too high. And, I didn't want to drive 20 miles to get to the start. However, the Chanukah party is in 2 weeks and close to me, so I am hoping I might get an outdoor ride in there, although who knows. There is also an alternate hike, which I've done twice.
Polar vortex arrives here tomorrow afternoon, followed by now, rain, and 50 by Sunday.

[azfiddle]

I too love the pictures and admire those of you who get out in the colder temperatures.

I have a few questions about cold weather clothes but I'm going to start a separate thread for it- I hope you cold weather riders will chime in.

[ny biker]

Ditto for me on not getting out to ride again this year -- the chances are dwindling. As it turned out, I probably could have ridden outside last night, since the actual temp at 10 pm was above 40 (vs the hourly forecast in the mid-30s by then). But I didn't even ride in the living room, despite all my intentions. I needed to go to a shopping mall to return something, and that particular mall is utter traffic hell on weekends in December, so I figured I'd stop there quickly last night on the way home. But once I was there I ended up going in several stores, because I still have some Christmas shopping to do, and by the time I got home it was after 9 and I was pretty sleepy.

And now the polar vortex is here, to be followed by warmth and rain, then another bout of cold. They're expecting it to warm up just as I leave to spend Christmas in NY. I'm hoping we'll get enough of a break from the rain this weekend to get in a quick spin around the neighborhood, but not very optimistic.

[Crankin]

We thought about fat bikes, but decided we wouldn't use them enough to justify the cost. And I couldn't do a 29-er..
Right now, I just want to x country ski, but it might be another week. I just saw it may be ok for riding on Xmas, so while everyone else is celebrating, we go ride.
The wind is sure whipping it up out there.

[north woods gal]

I do hope you get to XC ski. Has a lot in common with winter biking, but still very different, too. I find it almost spiritual at times with its beautiful flowing rhythm. Truly more graceful a thing than plowing a fat bike though heavy snow. :) Love them both, but with a big storm headed our way, my fat biking will now be limited to plowed roads or groomed trails.

[Crankin]

I love skiing. For some reason, although I really want the season to start, I am not feeling as crazy about it as usual. I think i am just burned out on exercise, and today my back was hurting in tabata class, so I feel like I just want to chill. Tomorrow's a rest day, but not sure what will happen this weekend. It will be snowing Sat. morning, when we usually go to the gym in this in between season, so maybe a snowy short hike or snow shoe. And then we will be visiting with my son all weekend, too.
My favorite nordic ski area is open (the one about an hour away), but not up to full speed. The good thing is, when we get to Franconia for New Years, it should be really nice and snowy.

[north woods gal]

I was a little reluctant to start XC this month, too. Really wasn't mentally ready to give up on my fat biking, I guess. Kept the biking going right up to where the fat bikes get bogged down and wouldn't go in the ever deepening snow. Of course, once I put on the skis and started the old rhythm, I wondered what took me so long. :) Anyway, enjoy it when the time is right for you.

[north woods gal]

Yup, crazy old lady me is still riding her fatties out on the snow packed roads, a bit. That probably says more about how much I dislike riding, indoors, on the trainer than anything, though. :) Another 5" plus of snow, last night, so the snow is way more than the fatties can handle on the trails. It's all skiing, now, on the trails. Sigh! I really miss my trail riding, even to the point where I fantasize about stealing hubby's snow blower to clear trails. Of course, if I broke it, I'd be in the doghouse, big time.

[rebeccaC]

For the last weekend we are going to be home until January we spent Friday and yesterday night in Los Olivos to ride the quiet country roads in the Santa Ynez valley yesterday. Had a small storm/cold system come through southern ca. the end of the week but we had a beautiful sunny low 60’s day of relaxing and riding in this wonderful valley of lightly traveled side roads with no hard climbing…..even though it took some mental strength for me not to want to ride Mt. Figueroa.

It felt good after the last few weekends of climbing feasts to just be in the quiet moments of feeling blessed to be with Alex on the roads I’ve come to know and enjoy so well over the last few years……and taking time to relax together before our holiday trip….and of course having a wonderful hotel with the best spa and masseuses outside of L.A., excellent healthy food and friendly, engaging people. We rode from a little after 8am to 4pm, some highlights were visiting the Mission Santa Ines, visiting some wineries, watching baby goats doing their crazy dances in a field and having the best squash soup and a nutritious salad for lunch. Didn’t keep track of mileage as this wasn’t about any of that this weekend.

Hoping all here have a holiday season of feeling togetherness and caring…………….

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/661/31585091072_37e24c861f_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Q84RaJ)

[north woods gal]

That's my kind of list, Rebecca. Wonderful.

Our best to everyone, too, from up here in the frozen north country.

[azfiddle]

I got on the bike to ride to work today. It was close to 50 degrees but I still wore my new jacket (too warm, really, for this tempereature) and happily cruised passed a pair of Great Horned Owls just as the sky was getting light, with plenty of time to get to work and change clothes before the 7:30 am meeting. I turned the corner on the path, not even 4 miles in, and BANG! My tire blew out. I am not blaming my husband for pumping up my tires (even though this is the second time this has happened in a month), especially since he generously got in to the car and picked me up and took me to work. (And brought me an extra tire and tube just to be sure). I'm hoping the ride home will be less eventful.

[north woods gal]

Flats are always a bummer.

Did a little road work with one of the fat bikes around the neighborhood, just to be out riding. All snow packed roads, but, even so, not much of a challenge for the fat bike. Hit the freezing point, today and maybe some fresh snow, tomorrow, so the skiing is good, at least.

AZ, had a Northern Shrike eyeball our feeders, yesterday. Cool bird.

[azfiddle]

North woods gal- that would be a life bird for me. They don't really make it down to southern Arizona.

[north woods gal]

If I see it, again, I'll tell it to give Arizona a try. :) We don't have anywhere near the species diversity, up here, deep in the north woods, but I have picked up some life birds, too, by moving up here. Kind of like my biking. Everywhere I have lived, biking has been my favorite way to get to know the country and in the process, have added new birds to my life list.

[ny biker]

A "shrike" sounds like a bird you'd read about in The Hunger Games.

We have a fair number of bald eagles around here. I don't know what other parts of they country they can be found in. We were talking about them on the last ride I did, how the population has rebounded from near extinction.

And in fact that ride will be my last one for the year. I thought about doing a club ride yesterday but it was only 32F when it started, and feel free to call me a wuss but that's colder than I like for cycling. And besides, I developed a couple of saddle sores when I was trying out a new saddle a few weeks ago and one of them is healing very slowly, so it really makes sense to stay off the bike for a while until it's gone. And soon I will hit the road for my holiday vacation, where exercise will consist of walking up and down the various roads on the one hill in my hometown. The incline on some of those roads is quite steep, so it's a decent workout.

Now I just need to upload all my rides since early May from the Garmin to ridewithgps.com so I can see my totals for the year.

[north woods gal]

Shrikes are in a family of their own. They're essentially a songbird that evolved into a predator. They may look cute to us, but not to the insects, small mammals, reptiles and birds which they eat. :) In fact, they're known for impaling their victims on thorns or barb wire. Anything but your usual songbird.

Yeah, it is time for us to all to tally up our riding for the year, isn't it? Maybe we should do a separate thread on it.

[azfiddle]

Shrikes have the nickname of butcher birds. They don't really have the tools of the trade for a predator (sharp beak and claws) so one reason they impale their prey to soften them up .... (or store for later).

[salsabike]

Shrikes are oddly beautiful little birds. I took this picture in a local park in October. I think Northern shrikes winter here but aren't seen much in summer. 18262

Nybiker, we have tons of bald eagles in the Pacific Northwest.

I had a bike crash in early October, smushed part of one vertebra and did some other back damage that isn't clearly diagnosed yet (either SI joint or disk), so I've been doing LOTS of bird-watching walks. And birds are kind of my major source of sanity these days post-election, as well. Planning to go on my first ride back tomorrow, all of ten miles as recommended by my bike PT.

[shootingstar]

Hope you get better, salsabike.

I've been doing baby rides simply because we just got out of a snowy, very cold few weeks. The temperature cold fell down to -26 degrees C for several days. Then with meltdown we get chinook high winds at 50-70 km/hr. which is typical of our area. (Only 3 places on Earth experience these winds that blow off from the mountains).

[Blueberry]

]I had a bike crash in early October, smushed part of one vertebra and did some other back damage that isn't clearly diagnosed yet (either SI joint or disk), so I've been doing LOTS of bird-watching walks. And birds are kind of my major source of sanity these days post-election, as well. Planning to go on my first ride back tomorrow, all of ten miles as recommended by my bike PT.

Oh man! I hope you continue to recover well! Ride safely!

[azfiddle]

Salsa bike- i hope things are improving. Glad you are getting the okay for a short ride.

I've been doing a lot of "birding by bike" and it's kind of a compromise for both, but still a fun game to see how many species I can find that way.

[north woods gal]

Ditto on the birding. Heaven knows, we all need something to maintain our sanity, these days.

Bald Eagles are a fairly common resident bird in our area. In fact, we have a pair that nests on the next lake, over. See them almost, daily. Winter is our bird feeding season (a no no other times of the year because of bears) and activity at the feeders has been very good. Not a lot of variety, yet, but it is early in the season.

Still riding the fat bikes, daily, for at least a few miles, but it's now out on the snow packed pavement. Had a fresh 2" of snow, yesterday, and it was a delight to ride on with the fat bike. Snow is too deep back in the woods on the trails for the fatties, though, unless I figure out a way to do some grooming. Not that ambitious, though. Besides, the skiing on my trails has been terrific. Have some fun downhill sections and may add some more.

[salsabike]

Thanks, all.

North woods gal, I'm a bit fascinated with where you ride and all the different conditions under which you ride.

I did go out today for about 12 miles. It hurt my back some, but no more than not going. :) And I saw otters along the river trail. Some bald eagles, a Cooper's hawk, common goldeneyes, buffleheads, pied billed grebes, mallards. It made my day.

[azfiddle]

Yay Salsa Bike- sounds like a nice little ride.

I'm planning to go out later today after I meet with a friend to plan who is going to help us retile a room. Today is going to be nice but tomorrow a cold storm is headed our way with a good chance of rain, winds gusting into the 30's and colder temperatures. Sunday we'll be driving to Phoenix for my husband's family get together....

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Salsa. (Love the name, by the way. Have three Salsas). This country weeds folks out that don't like winter, pretty quick. What's left are people like us that enjoy winter. :) Winter sports are a big part of our economy, so cold and snow are considered a blessing. When we don't get cold and snow the way we should, people get grumpy the way people in other places get grumpy when they do get snow and cold.

Muir, so glad you got to do the fat bike thing. Way to go, girl! Looks like the perfect snow for fat bike fun.

Another inch snow coming, so that should make the ski trails nice and fast. Also good for the fatties out on the snowpack. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

[azfiddle]

I rode on the multi-use path along the Rillito River (it's generally dry- about 360 days of the year - and today was no exception). By the time I got rolling, well after noon, it in the low 60's and I was ready to ditch the windbreaker pretty quickly.

I stopped in a cemetery and a park along the way to do some birding- not much going on and I saw only about 25 species altogether on the whole ride. I made it across town. The mall with REI is adjacent to the path so I went in got a gift card for my sister-in-law's significant other. I wasn't too keen on riding in the mall parking lot today but it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it might be.

Tomorrow will be chilly in the morning and then windy/rainy in the afternoon, so probably no ride tomorrow.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, anytime you're in the area, we can find plenty of those off road miles for you. Just let me know. :)

Had an icy rain/snow mix right at the freezing point, all day, and my skis didn't have the right wax for it. They iced up, immediately. :( Too lazy to re-wax, so just did some indoor miles on the trainer. Figured it was safer than taking the fat bike out on the roads. Cars were slipping all over the place. Not good.

[Crankin]

We have the choice of riding or x country skiing on Christmas Day. It will be 37 here and about 29 at our favorite ski place, about an hour north.
We chose the skiing.

[emily_in_nc]

Seems I'm the only one getting regular road rides in this time of year. Hurrah for Florida!

Taking today and tomorrow off for Christmas and to rest my back/hip, which has been bothering me of late on rides. Yesterday we did 35 miles on the West Orange Trail, and the day before 28.5 miles on the West Orange/South Lake Co. Trail and hilly roads to shop at Walmart. There are bike lanes on the roads near Walmart, but it's a ride I really hate because of the traffic and hills. But, I had to have pillow forms for the RV, and that is the most convenient place to get those here. Definitely should have waited until after the holiday madness, though!

[north woods gal]

I chose skiing, today, too. Had to re-wax for the slushy snow, but well worth the trouble. Almost too much glide, though. Lost control on some of the steep downhills and had to bail, so it took a few tries to get down them clean and stay on the trail. Have an odd ice/sleet/rain storm headed our way, so no telling what I'll do for the next couple of days. May have to play it safe and ride indoors on the trainer.

[azfiddle]

Emily, I'm still getting the road rides. More home renovation work is going to cut in to my vacation ride times though... tiling a room and probably taking out the popcorn ceiling too. Fortunately we have a friend who knows how to do all this stuff and we'll just be assisting.

So I'm pretty sure I'll get in some rides- but not as many as usual. The next couple of days are going to be in the low 30's early in the day but warm up in the afternoons to the 60's and low 70's.

[Crankin]

I neither rode nor skied. There was too much of a chance of black ice for a ride, with shady roads and black ice in the morning and really not enough time to go ski and be back for our friends' arrival. So, we opted for a 3 mile hike, where it was totally devoid of others, although there were 2 other cars at the trailhead. We will be hiking again today, with our friends, but probably longer and harder.

[emily_in_nc]

Glad you're still getting to ride, az! I understand about the home renos, as we are doing quite a lot of projects in our motorhome (painting, etc.) right now, when we aren't riding. Those overnight lows in Tucson are too chilly for me, though!

Had a very nice 35+ mile ride today with temps in the 70s. LOTS of folks out on the trail as so many have work/school off this week. I am looking forward to next week when things are back to normal and it's just us old farts out during the week, for the most part. :D

[north woods gal]

We had an ice storm, overnight, and all the snow is covered with ice. Tried skiing, but WAY too icy, so gave up, quick and headed back to the house. Next thing I know, hubby is backing the car down the driveway (a slight incline) and the car slides down the ice and backs up against a tree, breaking a tail light. That convinced me that maybe taking the fat bike out on the road might not be such a good idea. :)

[emily_in_nc]

Eeek, sorry, NWG! Ice is the worst. I remember sliding backwards down our little rural unpaved road when we lived in NC and thinking "Hmm, I don't think I am going to be going to work today!" Do be careful.

Today I had a rare solo ride as DH wanted to lift instead. I found that being solo relieved me of any pressure to maintain a certain pace; and without pressure, I was actually faster than usual, go figure!

I did take a long break at a park to do some bird watching, and another at a fence to look at some cattle with HUGE pointed horns. I will post photos a little later once I get them uploaded from my camera.

A warm and humid day, but light winds, and it was just great to be out there. A bit over 32 miles total.

[north woods gal]

Sounds like a great ride, Emily. Been awhile, now, since I've been able to any distance road work. Sigh!

I did get a little daring, though, and decided to ride the fat bike on our ice covered, snow-packed roads, anyway, mostly to give the dogs a bit of a run. Got to love those fat bikes. Amazingly, the dogs were even slipping on the ice, at times. but not me on the fat bike. Even went off road down our lake access trail, riding on top of an ice covered snowmobile track left by one of the neighbors, prior to the ice storm. Only did three miles, but that's three miles that would have been tricky even to walk. Go fat bikes!

[north woods gal]

To be sure, Iowa is a lovely state. Not all corn fields by any means. Have some family that lives, there.

[emily_in_nc]

Here are a couple of photos from my solo ride yesterday. Added the beautiful Purple Gallinule to my birding life list. And the cattle were just incredible, and kinda bizarre. From googling, I think they are Ankole-Watusi, a breed native to Africa. Wowza!

18265 18266
18267 18268

Got in another 33 today on the trail. Another beautiful day! NWG, getting in even three miles in the conditions you're dealing with is impressive. Glad you didn't take any tumbles!

[rebeccaC]

But there sure are a lot of dang cornfields. ;)

“Waist high by the 4th of July”
Thinking they are also needed on a hot ragbrai days ride when you need to drink lots of water……well, at least for me and the group of women I rode with. :).....One of my favorite states to have ridden in and across.

Taking all day tomorrow to ride to Mt Ventoux with Alex, an uncle and a friend from here. My mother and a couple of others will ride with us for a shorter ride on the beautiful roads to Sault too. The San Gabriel rides before we left home were good preparation. Feeling blessed to be here with family and friends…

[Crankin]

I rode the roads around Sault on my last bike trip to Europe. It was my favorite part of the trip. While some climbed Ventoux, we did a climb that went up to the cherry orchards. Most of the people who did not do Vetoux elected to stay at the café, drinking coffee, or turned around after a shorter distance. When we got to the top, DH ate a couple of cherries off of a tree. The farmer came running out, screaming at him, in French. Thankfully, one of the leaders was with us and spoke to the man and calmed him down. It was a gorgeous climb and descent and I was not sorry I didn't attempt Ventoux.

[north woods gal]

Emily, great pics. Always neat to add a bird to your life list. Saw our Northern Shrike, again and also had a visit from a Brown Creeper. Have had Goldfinches, now and then, but, so far, no Pine Siskins. Usually get those every winter. Some winter we get invaded by Common Redpolls, other winters, never see a one. Nothing, so far, this winter. Other wise, tons of Chickadees and Nuthatches (both White-breasted and Red-breasted) and lots of Woodpeckers, including our favorite, the big Pileated.
http://i68.tinypic.com/2qxtd1s.jpg


Our snow is so iced over and crusted that skiing is impossible, so donned the backcountry snowshoes and worked on widening and packing my trails in the hopes that I might be able to run the fat bikes on them, tomorrow. Wow! Been awhile since I've done any snowshoe work. Gonna feel it in the morning. :)

[emily_in_nc]

I adore Pileated Woodpeckers. We used to have them nesting in our woodland property in central NC.

[north woods gal]

They are a real treat, for sure. Now and then, one will come in to our suet feeder. They really dwarf the feeder, they're so big.

Thought maybe I could do the fat bike on my ski trails, since I've been packing them down so much with the snowshoes, but no go. The fatty just breaks through the crust and down into the soft stuff, unpredictably, with total loss of control. Went down a couple of times and gave up on the trail riding. Made up for it with 5 miles on our icy roads, though. Hey, I'm still biking late in December and loving it. Even had some snow falling as I rode. :)

[north woods gal]

Great news! The ice highway is open.

That's what we call our lakes when the ice is strong enough to actually support travel and, in fact, some locals actually do drive their cars across the ice to take shortcuts. Not me, but I will ride my fat bike. Did four laps round our 77 acre lake for about three miles of ice riding on the big Salsa and added another half mile of access trail riding to get to the ice.

Most of the ice out in the middle of the lake stays free of snow cover or has just a thin crust, thanks to the wind. Believe it or not, the fat bike can handle this super slick ice that is actually too slick for safe walking. Just have to be careful to make very wide turns and find some snow covered ice when you stop or start for the sake of traction. Compared to skiing or walking, though, you can really cover the miles on the fat bike. December 30th and my fat bike riding is just getting warmed up. Go fat bike!

[emily_in_nc]

December 30th and my fat bike riding is just getting warmed up. Go fat bike!

:D :D :D Have fun! Happy for you!

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily

Last entry for the year. Did a little skiing in the morning, compliments of an inch and a half of snow, overnight. Could use more, for sure, but actually fine for the fat bike, so finished the day with a few laps around the lake on the bike.

For the month, never missed a day of either fat biking, skiing or snowshoeing. Great way to end the year.

Happy New Year, everyone.

[azfiddle]

Friday (Dec 30) we drove east about 80 miles to Willcox, AZ and did a birding ride. First stop had lots of Sandhill Cranes, a Prairie Falcon and a Eurasion Wigeon, along with a lot of other ducks and a few lingering Avocets. Then about 13 miles out through the desert and agricultural fields to find a Ferruginous Hawk. Added 4 species to my "birding by bike" list and spent some quality time with my husband. It was overcast and cool, but calm, so a nice day to ride. Maybe 32 miles?

[emily_in_nc]

Sounds like a nice ride, az!

Another 35 miles, same route as NY's Day. The trail is still absolutely packed with people. I can't wait until people go back to school and work. Yes, I am selfish. I leave it to them on Saturdays, but during the week, I like my quiet trail! I know it will be as that's how it was last year. We didn't start riding until around mid-Jan. after buying our motorhome, and the trail was pretty dead during the week. Just a few old farts like us! :D

Temp in the 70s to low 80s, way above normal even for here. Supposed to get much cooler this weekend.