Saturday, January 26, 2013

Colder Than It Looks

You know you're just riding along, on a cold January day, feelin' pretty good. The idea pops into your head to pull the face mask down, get a little more air, enjoy the sunshine... Damn! It's cold out there! Whip that face mask back in place and make a note to self...15 degrees IS cold.
Three of us today.
Amy and I are creatures of habit. New? Different Route? does not sit well with either of us. We've established a nice consistent 50 mile route, for the winter, that is working out quite well. It's along fairly well travelled roads, that have wide shoulders. The well travelled roads have less ice, snow and debris, allowing us to, like today, ride road bikes without studded tires. I like bare asphalt.
During the winter, here in Minnesota, our black asphalt roads turn white; not with snow and not because of the cold, but because of all the road salt that is laid down to keep the roads clear of ice and snow. I'm not willing to take my fast good looking bike or even my "b" road bike out on these roads. I've got a "c" road bike, my Frankenbike, that I use for the salty clear roads. Don't want that salt eating away at my carbon Orca, or my aluminum C...dale. And besides, they deserve the winter off.
95% of today's route was on roads. Just a few miles along the greenway. 50/15.5

Finishing Up A 50 Miler With Amy and Ryan

1 comment:

tainterturtles said...

Here in Wisconsin, it seems that the salt has been poured on our roads pretty heavy. It's not usual to see completely white roads.

Good setup to have the Frankenbike!