Tomorrow AM - low of -4 F. I am SO riding at 4 AM.



Heheh! Pulling down the balaclava or mask to drink! I laughed when you picked your line to the left of the ice strip on the road to giv a snowmobile more room. You're a good ice rider! That packed snow is slippery as grease. 15 MPH average on that stuff, in below freezing air temps, wearing a ton of closes and still chilling down...that's a good tempo in my book.

The snowplow went down our township road at 3:30 this morning...10.5° now, but at least the wind is calm. Only 2" of snow fell, but the drifting yesterday afternoon was nasty when the wind was running 15+ MPH.

I'm glad you got out, Maydog! Your roads look better than ours. We will also hit the 30's by Thursday or Friday, but more snow is in the forecast and even if it hits 75° this afternoon there would be a week of run off/melt off.
 
I had on a balaclava but over my face I was wearing some cheap neoprene face mask that was becoming problematic - it was making breathing difficult. The mask is pretty hilarious, my wife bought it on Amazon for $2 from china. It has a metal mesh breathing port sewn to the outside, but no opening on the inside, it is completely covered. There are perforations in it to breathe but it still restricts heavy breathing.

There hasn't been any significant snowfall in MN for the last few weeks. As you can see, the well lit, well traveled roads were pretty clear, almost enough so to to ditch the cross bike. The ice was primarily on shaded sections of less busy roads.
 
Yeah, our shady areas are sketchy, even in a car or truck. The snow that came down yesterday morning was greasy. I only saw one 4X4 in a ditch...it's mid-February and most of the clueless are finally figuring out they have to slow down. No worries...they'll forget all of that by late March!

If I get out this week it will be due to some meteorlogical miracle!
 
Stay warm! Preparing like that is pretty important. I know some people who have suffered nasty frostbite and other complications. Pic looks super delicious.
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Originally Posted by maydog
Here is a vid of the ride. It is still uploading but will be available soon:
That is awesome. 2 questions: Do you ever see anyone else cycling on your excursions, and do the neighbors think you are crazy?
 
1. Out on the back roads I generally do not see other riders this time of year. They are out there, but pretty spread out. I usually pass someone jogging or walking. As you get closer to the city the numbers go up. Near the university and in Minneapolis / St. Paul there is a good flow of bike traffic year round. Some riders get creative, there is one guy I see around my workplace riding all winter on a bike with what looks like oversized training wheels to prevent falls.

http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/1-bike-city-minneapolis

2. I am not interested in what my neighbors think, they are mostly couch potatoes so how could they relate to what I do? The neighbor kids think it is pretty cool, especially when I tow them around on sleds. My wife used to worry and think I was crazy, now she is OK and doesn't stress - to me at least.
 
I read that article at the link.

No. Just...no. No way in hell I'm going North from Ohio. At a minimum, Ohio is already about two states further North than where sub-tropic humans were meant to dwell on this rock flying through space.

Go South, young man!
 
-3 tonight, MBB! Maybe you and Maydog can get together for a quick 20-miler tomorrow!

This is good Biathlon weather! Another Alberta Clipper with 1" to 3" of snow is going to hit us Friday or Saturday. I've lost count of how many have hit us this winter. It's been eleven consectutive days without getting above freezing and most of that has been spent well below that mark.
 
Originally Posted by maydog
Here is a vid of the ride. It is still uploading but will be available soon:
OMG.... Maaaaydoooog, that looks so awesooooome. You got them not too slooow winter tiiires tooo... OMG... I'm so jeaaalous...
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I also went for a ride today... 12C and sunlight but no iiice... daaang it...
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Wasn't possible to upload the video so I guess I will have to do it again sometime with another cameraaa... Dang it agaaaaain...
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Here's a picture from another ride I did... No ice agaaain... Daaang it...
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I haven't shelled out the cash for a fat tire bike or even studded tires yet. I am running a regular touring 700x35c cross tire. These tires would be just as happy running on the terrain you have pictured above; in fact, this was the bike I rode through the badlands and in the black hills this summer and it was in the same configuration. The videos are in an older thread.
 
Originally Posted by maydog
I haven't shelled out the cash for a fat tire bike or even studded tires yet.
OMG studded tiiires...
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That sounds like so much fuuun...
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Never used them yet... Daaarn it...
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Was the ride faaast?
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Fat bikes! OMG!!!
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Would looove to ride oneee!!!
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Yes that is a car buried to the roof... we have a minor flurry underway.




Below you can see the park I was planning on rolling around for a couple hours doing some endurance miles tomorrow, oh wait you can't see the park.



Thank the gods for inventing indoor training devices!

 
I thought indoor trainer were invented by Satan or is that another thread?
 
Hmm, my hands are somewhat idle while on the damn thing so you may be onto something there...
 


My Sock Monkey went out last night to write his name in the snow. He is talented enough to be able to actually print his name in the snow.
 
A 12" desk fan? A TWELVE inch desk fan???

Dan...you've got to train harder than that! Unless you get sweating enough to require a 20" box fan...you're never gonna beat Dave The Doper in Battenkill! And your apartment fire escape looks like a prop from West Side Story.


JH...better knock off the Satan stuff. Last I heard lawyers in Tenn. were getting mail bombs! Any news on that case? Another Unabomber wannabee? And yes, you are correct. Satan oversees the purgatory known as indoor training.

Hmmm...I had you pegged as a polymer deck guy.
 
Originally Posted by jhuskey
My Sock Monkey went out last night to write his name in the snow.
I'm thinking about adopting a sock monkey just so's I got a conversation starter if I ever bump into Felice Herrig at an MMA bout.



Bob, in my defense the landlord is stingy enough with the heat that I can just get away with it, plus there's no heating unit in the room you are looking at and two large windows are within a dwarf's tossing distance. When March rolls around I'm probably going to be SOL.

Btw, do you know where Dave gets his warez, ya know so I can make sure to avoid the area ;)
 
Our Sock Monkey gets into all sorts of adventures on an international scale. He is also quite a ladies man.