Last weeks’ snowfall gave us about a foot of dense, wet snow. This was followed by a week of near 0F temps. The result is a maze of glare ice roads and intersections, at least on the residential side streets. Our Saturn has a newly cracked bumper that attests to the treachery of traveling on these roads. This has kept me off the bike for a bit over a week.

Riding in last week’s fresh snow looked a bit like this <– Lots of fun. Quite the contrast from today’s ride. While it was fun, I looked more like an iced-over neon-colored polyester snowman. And instead of getting out the saddle and bombing the snow drifts, I was carefully choosing lines through packed snow and glare ice.

I made it about 4 miles today, about 30 minutes. (Please don’t calculate my avg speed with that info.) I had the energy and  the warmth to go further, but not much. I’m in awe of those who rode 20 miles or more today.

Anyways, I’m hoping this is a good start to the year. While I won’t promise to ride every day, I’m hoping today’s ride will help remind me that sub-zero temps or icy roads aren’t excuse enough to stay inside.