November Rides

[Catrin]

NWG, lovely shot on the snow-covered woods! It made me itch for my hiking boots

Crankin, that is just plain scary. I was always afraid of meeting someone like that when I was still riding the roads. Rural roads made that a little less likely, but it also meant there would have been few witnesses if something happened. So glad you're ok!

Winter has finally touched central Indiana. I'm all layered for church (massive space, built over 100 years ago, there IS heat but it's really hard to tell it's on, love the congregation though so I stay) - indeed my layers are appropriate for hiking so am taking extra socks + hiking shoes, may find some dirt trails afterwards.

[Crankin]

Catrin, it's only happened to me once before, and just a couple of months ago. I suspect, and I hope this doesn't sound horrible, that it's because my new home is very close to and on the route to a town where cyclists are not so common (but not unknown) and it's just a different vibe. The potential for a lot of anger... It's too bad this happens as this town has a cool downtown, lots of restaurants we patronize, and a sort of growing creative class. But, maybe I know too much from my clients! The old timers don't want change and perpetuate this attitude in their kids, which explains a younger person doing something like this. Well, there is a bike path being built through the downtown, and new sharrows on the roads, so we shall see.

[north woods gal]

Yes, isn't it amazing how the vibe can differ so much as to how a town accepts bicycling and bicyclists. Once lived in a truly great bicycle city in Portland, Oregon, where every neighborhood had its own bike shop and where a high percentage of drivers were also bicyclists. Super bike culture city. Then moved to a northern suburb of Chicago where motorists sometimes went out of their way to hassle you, no bike lanes and where bicycling on the streets was very much an exercise in survival. Believe it or not, some of the local cops even encouraged me, off the record, to ride on some seldom used sidewalks along some nasty traffic roads for my own safety. Night and day difference.

[north woods gal]

Another inch of snow, overnight, so now have enough - barely - to say I am riding in the snow. The fat bikes, though, tell me to get real. They don't consider it snow, yet. Still, almost forgot how uplifting, even spiritual, it can be to ride in the snow on a quiet, lovely day. It's very much the same "I'm in heaven" feeling I get on the cross country skis when everything comes together for that perfect glide. I am so blessed to live, here.

[rebeccaC]

Still, almost forgot how uplifting, even spiritual, it can be to ride in the snow on a quiet, lovely day. It's very much the same "I'm in heaven" feeling I get on the cross country skis when everything comes together for that perfect glide. I am so blessed to live, here.

....and feeling blessed ftw!....and and luv the snow covered trail image!!

Taking the weekend off, just a ride to the farmers market, to a morning pilates class and a ride to a meeting on some community issues I’m involved in. We went to the L A Opera’s performance of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten last night (a wonderful creative evening) and just enjoying being home together today .

[north woods gal]

Hey, another Philip Glass fan, here, all the way back to his Koyaanisqatsi days. Way cool.

[emily_in_nc]

What a beautiful shot of the snow-covered trail, NWG! It almost makes me want to ride in the snow.

ALMOST.

It has gotten seriously cold most places in the past few days. We hit 24F this morning in western NC. Super chilly for this warm-weather lover!

Crankin, so sorry about that incident. We've only had a few like that over years and thousands of cycling miles, but every single one shakes you up big time. A couple of times I thought a nutjob just might kill my DH as he gets very angry and will shout and gesture back, where I tend to just inwardly seethe to avoid the possibility of someone pulling out a gun on me! It's such a stressful thing, and I hope you never encounter those particular drivers again.

I can barely remember the last time I got to ride my bike. Actually, it was earlier this month but still far too long ago. Since then, we've been dealing with family time (mine) and lots and lots of projects. Over several days, I wallpapered my mother's powder room, which turned out great but took way too long with all the prep and papering to avoid screwing up, and in the meantime, DH did RV projects. We now have a brand new sofa and settees! Still finish carpentry and painting to go, but we got rid of all the 10-year old, sagging, heavy, and plug-ugly stuff, so we are verrrrry happy. Of course, all this work, coupled with the incredibly poor air quality due to smoke from nearby wildfires in western NC meant no cycling at all, despite some nice temps in the past week, until yesterday when the cold front blew through with a vengeance.

But, things are looking up as we are on our way south now at last and will be at our campsite in Florida on Tuesday afternoon. Looking forward to a bunch of rides to finish out the month and then in December and beyond. Bring it on!

[north woods gal]

Me, too, Emily, on the confrontation thing. I am very much the non-confrontational type. My DH, on the other hand, is pure alpha male, so have had step in to calm him, down, more than once.

Have a nice, safe trip down to sunny Florida. Wouldn't hurt to send some of that nice sunshine up our way, now and then. The cold and snow I can take, but our winters are WAY short on sunshine. Can be very depressing, at times.

Will ride more, today, in our light snow cover, now about an inch, to compare how my standard MTBs do in comparison to the fat bikes. Kind of neat to have my own MTB test track, right out my door.

[Crankin]

There was about an inch of snow on my car this morning, but none on the grass or roads. It's going to be in the low 30s for the ride start Wednesday.

[ny biker]

Low 30s is below my threshold. I'm trying to decide if I will ride tomorrow after work. It will depend on how quickly the temps drop after sunset but also on how much I have to do before hitting the road the next day for the holiday weekend.

[emily_in_nc]

Low 30s is below my threshold.

Ditto! I have a very wimpy threshold, though. I will not go out unless it's in the 50s. I used to in NC, but now that we've spent so many winters in tropical climes (Belize, Mexico, Florida), I don't even look forward to anything below 60, but I'll do it in a pinch. It's to be 80 on Thanksgiving where we'll be in Florida, so I am pretty pumped. Lows in the 50s so it's not 80 until late afternoon, but still...sunshine and shorts are in my future!

NWG, only wish I could share some of the sunshine with you. We spent one winter in Wisconsin, so I know of what you speak. The clouds and super early evenings are rough.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily. Maybe it's because I spent nearly every day, nearly all day, this summer, either biking or working on my trails, but this transition into getting dark so early this year has really thrown me for a loop. Maybe it's sunshine deficit disorder or something. Could be I need more Vitamin D.

[Sky King]

A belated post. One of my decisions after the elections was to look for ways I can have an impact. Saturday we were able to participate in Cranksgiving. Boise GreenBike was the sponsor and St Vincent's was the beneficiary. The requirements were teams of 4 with everyone renting a GreenBike. We were given a manifest that, in addition to buying food for a family Thanksgiving dinner, included treks across town to take photos at specific landmarks. The day ended at one of our local brew pubs. Winners were announced (well we were all winners ) and beer was consumed. Our Wandering Wheels Group fronted 3 teams plus we knew many of the other riders present. We contributed enough food for 15 families and had great fun to boot. Now riding a Bike Share bike all day was an experience and my knee was really telling me about it on Sunday. Felt good to take action. Happy Thanksgiving to All

[ny biker]

Thank you for sharing this, Sky King. And happy thanksgiving to you too!

[Crankin]

What a good idea.
Maybe next year?