winter arrives

[traveller_62]

Hey traveller62...

You can fedex me a snowball...Haha...I'll send you pea gravel...

Choking on water, can't stop giggling..must go..

c

Sounds like a fair trade to me, cc.

I think there is only one problem...snowballs are often stolen when they are in transit. Almost every time I send a snowball to a friend the package is empty when it arrives at its destination!

Beautiful day here today with the new fallen snow and bright blue sky. I've been at work most of the day but I'm going to try to catch the last hour of daylight and get a quick cross country ski workout in.

Cheers,
-traveller

[massbikebabe]

Surlygirl I'm sorry Karen, I'm laughing. It's just a very funny visual of a broken snow angel. I bet you can make a good one by February and I'm sure there will still be plenty of snow left.

And Roadraven, you are not missing much. After the initial 5 seconds of flapping body parts, getting snow in every piece of clothing and down your neck, the thrill of snow angels wears off. Can you tell I'm not a snow person.

Glad everyone got home safe and sound.

Surly...laugh with me, that's my aim I hope there is no snow and I am riding in Feb!

Robin: I was a mommy volunteer for both treks out to Natures Classroom. We always go in September when the weather is still comfortable. Being the only ER nurse/mom I was always a shoe-in for the job!!

Denise and Jean: Glad to hear you both got home alright!! Denise my hubby was sent home at 2 but decided to stay put until 6 because the weather at 2 was so bad. Surprisingly they did a great job of cleaning the roads up here, but then again...they have had a lot of practice.

karen

[DeniseGoldberg]

Ah, wet & messy roads made me glad I was out walking today instead of trashing one of my bikes!

Anyone care for a cold resting spot? And yes, the snow really is beautiful - even though I'd prefer it would go away!


And Karen - I'm glad to hear that I wasn't the only one who waited to hit the roads yesterday. Actually I learned many years ago that sometimes it is better to wait until the roads (of traffic) a bit... And I have to admit your snow angel tale made me laugh too. I think you're right that it's better to be able to laugh.

--- Denise

[DeniseGoldberg]

It may be snowy, but the roads were clear and mostly dry today... Here's a quick view of a cyclist (yes, it's me taking pictures from my bike again!) along the road.



--- Denise

[Crankin]

Denise, I knew you would be riding today. I just can't get out when there's snow on the ground! Anyway, the snowshoes were great. There was no learning curve, except learning how to put the gaitors on. The snow was deep, but I didn't get wet at all. It was a good workout (just about 2.5 miles in 50 minutes), which felt like a nice hike. This will be a great convenient way to get some exercise in. I don't think I'll be doing any steep climbs in them, but I was sweating just on the rolling trail.
This afternoon we went with our cycling friends to the Omni Theatre to see a film about the Tour and the scientific aspects of learning a skill like cycling. There really wasn't much new info, but the footage of the racing was awesome. It was from the 04 Tour and maybe some from 03. I'd recommend it as a fun diversion for the winter. Then we went to the North End for dinner. I'm debating about throwing the snowshoes or skis in the car for tomorrow after school, but i don't think I'll have enough daylight time, even if I leave at 2:30. I guess I may actually stay and do work and go to spin class....

[DeniseGoldberg]

Anyway, the snowshoes were great. There was no learning curve, except learning how to put the gaitors on. The snow was deep, but I didn't get wet at all. It was a good workout...

...we went with our cycling friends to the Omni Theatre to see a film about the Tour and the scientific aspects of learning a skill like cycling. There really wasn't much new info, but the footage of the racing was awesome...

I'm glad to hear that the snowshoeing was good. I occasionally think about getting a pair and trying it myself, just haven't quite made it to that decision point yet. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the temperature today. I wasn't cold at all while I was riding - which probably also means that I've finally figured out the right layers. Of course I'm sure that it also helped that the sun was out!

I'd heard about the Omni film about the Tour - guess I'll need to get myself to the Science Museum to see that one. I don't get there very often, but this sounds like the right reason!

--- Denise

[Zub_Zub]

OMG ITS SO HOT! Its about 25 degrees and ive been sitting out side for a while and its so hot! I had work to day and luckly i wasnt stuck in the glass houses today or i would be ROASTED. My little puppy( hes ten months old!) is black and hes drinking heaps of water and all that.

Marie

[DeniseGoldberg]

OMG ITS SO HOT! Its about 25 degrees and ive been sitting out side for a while and its so hot! I had work to day and luckly i wasnt stuck in the glass houses today or i would be ROASTED. My little puppy( hes ten months old!) is black and hes drinking heaps of water and all that.

Marie

So how many northern hemisphere riders can you accommodate? Just kidding - although it is tempting...

--- Denise

[massbikebabe]

Zub...

you are really pushing your luck with us here in frigid hell...If you keep posting like that I'll get my girl Spazz to snowball you!!!


karen

[Zub_Zub]

Oh golly a snowball fight sounds good....Might cool me down. But its finally cooled down a bit. Jack (my puppy) is running around again and kitty kitty is still lying out side doing nothing

Marie

[traveller_62]

It may be snowy, but the roads were clear and mostly dry today... Here's a quick view of a cyclist (yes, it's me taking pictures from my bike again!) along the road.



--- Denise

Denise,

What do you do after a ride on wet/salty/sandy roads? Do you clean your bike chain, etc. after every ride?

I thought about getting out on my bike yesterday (went skiing instead) but then I thought about the hour or more it would take for me to clean up the bike...blah.

-traveller

[DeniseGoldberg]

What do you do after a ride on wet/salty/sandy roads? Do you clean your bike chain, etc. after every ride?

-traveller

I take a look at the bike when I get home. If it's just a little sand on the frame I'll let it dry and then wipe it off. Yesterday it wasn't too bad, but it wasn't just a dry & wipe. I cleaned the frame and the chain, then relubed.

I'm with you though - if the roads look really messy then I usually don't ride. Sometimes I guess wrong though - I remember one ride (a couple of years ago) when I could actually hear the salt/sand in the drive train. I cut that ride short and hurried home before I did too much damage, but my bike was a mess. It really wasn't too bad yesterday.

--- Denise

[wavedancer]

I have really been planning on riding as much as possible this winter, but now, I don't know...

Yesterday was the Cape Cod NEMBA chapter's Toys for Tots ride, and as I usually don't get to ride with them and the weather was so great I showed up with my Barbie and mtb and took off on the Trail of Tears. There were about 20 riders, all better than me, and I planned on doing the Beginners' loop. Everyone else was doing the Intermediate loop. There was about 2 inches of snow and some icy places on some of the trails. I walked parts that looked too scary, had a couple of slow-motion uphill falls as I lost traction while climbing, but basically had a pretty good time.
I met up with the rest of the riders after a while and two of them convinced me to continue with them on the intermediate trail. Okay, I'm game... had several more frustration falls, kept getting my cleats packed with icy snow because I had to walk the steep parts and decided I wasn't having too much fun.

At the next trail intersection/bailout I headed back on my own. Doing OK, came to a slightly steep downhill with some rocks and snow and for some reason freaked and grabbed a tree! Bike of course slid out from under me, onto my leg...scrapes and bruises...definitely not my favorite ride. Made it back to the car and limped on home.

So today I decied to stay on the pavement and take a ride down the Cape Cod Canal road. Nice smooth bike path, plowed, the roads have been clear with the 40+ degree sunshine. Beautiful afternoon: sunny, no one out on the canal. There were a few patches of slush, a little ice, in the places that stay shaded. Got past the first bridge and into a little more icy slush, and then BOOM: black ice! I went down in an instant onto my right thigh and whacked my head (helmet) pretty hard. Luckily my housemate was home and came with his truck to carry me home. The hematoma on my thigh is slowly getting bigger, but my head seems to be OK.

So now the mountain bike is hung up in the shed and the road bike's on the trainer. Maybe I'll get out if the roads or trails are truly free of ice and snow. But that probably won't be until spring anyway! So for now it's spinning on the trainer, going to the gym, and hoping we get enough snow to cross country ski and snow shoe. This in-between stuff s***s!

Thanks for letting me rant.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I have really been planning on riding as much as possible this winter, but now, I don't know...

...At the next trail intersection/bailout I headed back on my own. Doing OK, came to a slightly steep downhill with some rocks and snow and for some reason freaked and grabbed a tree! Bike of course slid out from under me, onto my leg...scrapes and bruises...definitely not my favorite ride. Made it back to the car and limped on home.

...So today I decied to stay on the pavement ...Got past the first bridge and into a little more icy slush, and then BOOM: black ice! I went down in an instant onto my right thigh and whacked my head (helmet) pretty hard. Luckily my housemate was home and came with his truck to carry me home. The hematoma on my thigh is slowly getting bigger, but my head seems to be OK.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Ouch, ouch, ouch! It sounds like you had a bad biking weekend... It's really OK to not ride on the road at this time of year. (Or at any time at all if it doesn't feel right to you.) I have to convince myself of that fact as the winter progresses and I still want to be out on the road. I do ride year round, but I wimp out for bad road conditions, bad weather (raining, snowing, or way too cold). From your description it sounds like today should have been an OK ride - you just had some super bad luck with the black ice.

I'm sending healing thoughts your way. (OK, I know that doesn't really work, but I have to keep trying!). And you will be buying a new helmet, right?

Oh - and ranting is OK at any time!

--- Denise

[wavedancer]

I'm sending healing thoughts your way. (OK, I know that doesn't really work, but I have to keep trying!). And you will be buying a new helmet, right?

Oh - and ranting is OK at any time!

--- Denise[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the support! And I do believe those healing thoughts help.
Actually my first thought when I heard the crunch of my helmet was "I guess I can get that new helmet now!"