Playing In the Snow

Does anyone know what the official snowfall was? Twelve inches? Fifteen inches? Twenty inches? Not that it matters, because whatever the number it was more than enough to shut down Washington DC and shut down Annapolis. The wheelsucker finished his Tour de Balcony ride (the wheelsucker rides the indoor trainer on his balcony because it is cooler than riding indoors) just about the time the snow started to fall on Friday. By Saturday morning everything was covered. The wheelsucker eventually checked on his car and decided digging it out was too much work, and decided to wait for the snow to melt. But sitting at home got old quickly, so eventually the wheelsucker decided to try the MTB in the snow. After taking a guess at what tire pressure would work, the wheelsucker and his hardtail hit the snow. The wheelsucker was a little concerned about being hit by a car, but only saw four between his home and downtown Annapolis. There were a couple of falls when riding too close to the piles of snow on the shoulder, trying to give cars room to pass, but falling in the snow is a lot easier than falling in a road race.

Grinning ear to ear, the wheelsucker rolled into downtown Annapolis at the traffic circle and Market House and realized most of it was closed. His favorite coffee shop, the Hard Bean was dark. But a few bars and City Dock coffee were open, so the wheelsucker enjoyed a large latte as his reward. After savoring it to the last drop (and procrastinating as long as possible), the wheelsucker hit the road for the ride home. For some reason, everyone he passed had the same comment – that’s dedication – but the wheelsucker actually thought there were less complimentary words to describe riding in the snow.

Winter riding thoughts:
Keep the weight back so the front wheel does not dig in.
When riding in a car tire rut, don’t look down, look ahead.
Brakes work remarkably well in the snow
When you are about to wipe out, wipe out towards the shoulder, not into the road.

A Good Idea? Not So Much.

Last night I was really hoping that the snow would melt and the roads would be clear today for the Ellicott City ride. Given that desire, I was predisposed to optimism this morning when I saw the temperature hit 32 degrees and the roads in West Annapolis clear of any snow, ice or moisture. I saw Mike Wagner's Facebook post "Michael Wagner is braving the cold and icy weather" so I knew I wouldn't be alone. And of course Steve Owens is always there if it is not raining. So it was the three of us that set off at 10:15. The roads looked good and the BWI path (at least the parts I saw on the drive in) were clear. So far so good. A little ways down the path, there were a few slippery spots and I'm thinking, hmm, maybe this isn't such a good idea, but we press on. Lawyers hill was wet but not slippery, certainly not anywhere near what High Rock was like last spring. All was good into Ellicott City, although we were taking the descents very carefully. All was good going up Oella, until about half way up we came around one of the left hairpins and like three dominoes down we went, floop, floop, floop. Luckily it was a pretty slow speed fall, so pretty much no harm, no foul. I'm sure there will be a few sore hips tomorrow though. There were a couple more icy spots on the way up and we went REALLY slow down Westchester back to the coffee stop.

We decided to go down River Road and see how that was (quite dry) and thought we'd go up Thistle road for the hill and then come back down it because we knew S. Hilltop would be treacherous. Thistle looked good at the bottom, but just after the first turn and out of the sun, not so good, so we skipped it and continued up Illchester and back to BWI. In retrospect, probably not the smartest thing in the world, but we did get in a nice 2:15 ride (only 4 miles shorter by cutting off Thistle/Hilltop). And at least it was a little more sane than Ali who, according to a text he sent me, was sitting at the Davidsonville Road park and ride yesterday, wondering why no one was there...

Sometimes You Just Have To Get On The Bike

I was really looking forward to a day off today because that meant that I could get in a long mid-week bike ride. A few days ago the forecast went from bad to better when Ida changed tracks a bit. So, I put out the word to ABRT for a fixie friendly longish ride for Wednesday. Either there are not too many Feds in ABRT or everyone else was looking at the weather forecast because I got virtually no response.

Well, sometimes, you just have to get on the bike, weather be damned. Sure it's almost always more fun to have people to ride with, but I just didn't want to miss the opportunity: kids in school, wife traveling... I geared up with my Pactimo "rain cape" and tried a new thing of plastic bags between my shoes and booties in the hope that would keep my feet from getting totally soaked. Uh, right. I was a little worried because I couldn't find my full leg warmers, so just put on the knee warmers and hoped for the best. I rode from home in West Annapolis and made a swing through the park and ride just to take a few pictures.

Hmm, no wonder I couldn't get anyone to join me. The ride out was pretty nice given that it was a tailwind. I looped around Gov. Bridge and St George Barber and after an hour with some headwinds it started to get cold. The last 1/2 hour was pretty chilly since it was a full-on headwind back. But I know it's almost over when I get to my favorite part of riding back to the house: the section on Ridgely Ave from Bestgate Rd. You come down the hill and over the Weems Creek Bridge. Ahh, home sweet home.

So how'd I fare on the cold, rainy ride gear? Defeat long sleeve base layer, check; Pactimo long sleeve jersey, check; Nike full finger dryfit gloves and balaclava, check. Pactimo rain cape, check. Legs/rear, wet and cold. Feet, wet, cold, numb. I think I need some long bibs that have more insulating properties for the 40-60 degree and wet rides. For booties, I am wondering if there is an insulated shoe cover that is 100% waterproof that is essentially a mini "drysuit" with neoprene seals to keep the water from running down your legs and into the shoes. All in all, and hour and a half, 30 miles. Perfect.