Well there is no doubt that this year the weather is going to be much more normal than last years was. There won’t be an early Spring this year.
March 1st….clear skies and temperatures in the upper 20’s. O.K., it’s time to start riding again. The old Trek is in surprisingly good shape after spending the last six weeks on the back porch, often times covered with snow. The chain is still supple, the brakes work fine and the tires were only down about 15 psi!
As I almost always do, I headed off to the South East into the older section of the Town of Greece. It’s cold so I’m riding at a very slow and leisurely pace of about 10 mph, keeping the wind chill to a comfortable level. The roads are clear of snow and there are only a few areas of refrozen snow-melt across the roads.
I enjoyed the quiet peace of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery but I wasn’t alone. I spied a group of four white tailed deer gracefully bounding over bushes and headstones. I tried but could not capture a picture of these elusive beauties. The best I can do is show you where I last saw them. They ran behind this pond and that’s the last I saw of them. Notice that little patch of green? That is the first grass I’ve seen in well over seven weeks. You’ll also notice that the water is still a little stiff…
Normally I take the Genesee River trail from this point Northward to Lake Ontario. Due to the thick layer of frozen foot tracks I opted to stay on the roads along this stretch. Traffic was extremely light, thanks Libya!! Here’s the Merry-Go-Round at Charlotte Beach, all but forgotten until the Summer season arrives. Notice all the green on the ground? Spring is getting closer!!
The beach is quite abandoned this time of the year too. It looks like it’ll be quite a spell before anyone’s sunbathing or swimming here about….
From here my little journey heads west towards Braddock Bay. Unlike the beach and park, the Bay is bustling with activity. No need for a boat to fish around here from December through March!!
It was a great little 25 mile re-introduction to “The Beast” and quite a teaser in anticipation for the next day of peaceful weather.