I've been caught in some tough weather conditions before, four inches of snow that had the texture of sand, lightning and thunder so loud it hurt my ears and made me duck, downpours so intense the rain hurt when it hit me, and tornado sirens sounding.
Today Amy and I started our ride in a little drizzle and temps in the upper 30's. About an hour or so into the ride we noticed a wind shift. Our bikes and clothes were wet, glasses covered with water drops, when in less than 10 minutes the water turned to ice. It seemed instantly that my bike had a layer of ice form on it about an 1/8 of an inch thick. My rear derailleur would not move because it became encased in ice. Amy's brakes froze and wouldn't close on her rims.
We were on paths and had mostly stayed off the roads. The paths took a little longer to freeze and we were able to navigate with little problem, but that didn't last. With about 5 miles to home it was a skating rink. Amy had turned off to go home and I was on the Greenway. I kept low to the bike slow, steady, straight with an even pace. Ice was building up on the inside of my fenders and made a crunching swishing sound. I got home upright and safe. I noticed when I got off my bike my footing became very precarious, and I wished I was back on my studded tires. Got in and to my garage without going down. This turned into a memorable (epic) ride for me.
The evil one was worth it's weight in gold today, and it weighs a lot. 36/13.1/0
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