I remember riding through a tunnel on the GAP in Pennsylvania forgot what is was called. I was heading I believe SE towards Maryland. Anyways it was awesome.

after a relatively mild December - the winter of 2025 is the gift that keeps on giving :(

2 “ of snow early yesterday - followed by heavy rain through the evening and this morning - and then 2 “ of snow this afternoon :(

big change from last winter when we barely had a winter

this week temps below freezing with single digit lows mid-week

no biking :(


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a530d8a83.jpeg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1d10d52d7.jpeg

pic of an area trail

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b6b588b7a.jpeg

Our weather is up and down. The middle of the coming week it isn’t getting above freezing for a few days.
The following Monday and Tuesday will be in the mid ‘70s.
I’m getting dizzy!😄

I generally have low expectations for February, and we seem to be living up to those expectations right now!
It's been rather windy lately, with temperatures in the teens (deg F). It was blowing 20 to 30 mph, so I just went for a walk.

Today the wind dropped to around 14mph, and it was up to 13F. The forecast for tomorrow is much worse, so I went out for 12 miles. Not terrible, at least with my clothes, but the wind does still take it out of you.

I think it's supposed to warm up a bit by next week. Fingers crossed!

Steve in Peoria (central Illinois)

that’s a big swing !

typically also have low expectations for February - but last year (Feb 2024) got my hopes up for this February

last year - five rides in February … rode in temps low to upper 40’s … so far this year it’s been zero.point.zerozero :(

early 2023 actually started fairly well - but did not continue … did a late January ride in mid 40’s - but then did not ride again until April :(

It helps to have a sense of humor! 😄

Nasty cold front last night - high winds, rain, temp dropped from 50 to 40 or so in less than 30 minutes and kept dropping. (Just finished a late ride before this fortunately).

Temps kept dropping and then light flurries.

And 26 degrees and windy this morning Ughhh. :(

Our cold front moved out. We will have sunshine and temps in the 70s and 80s fir at least the next werk and a half with no chance of rain.
Spring! 😎

April... the month of flowers, light rain, sunshine, and some wind. We aren't doing too bad. The magnolia trees have been blooming, which is nice.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ce0954_c_d.jpg

There has been work on the McClugage bridge that goes across the Illinois river. After years of work, the new span is mostly complete.... still waiting for the on-ramps for the bike lane to open, but otherwise is looking good. Now they are working on bringing down the old east-bound span. I've been interested in seeing them drop the old bridge into the river for some time, and they finally announced the general schedule of that work.

Wednesday was supposed to be the day that the main span of the old bridge was going to be dropped into the river. Roads were blocked off, announcements were made on the radio, etc. I had put together my kit of cameras and tripod to load into my panniers and ride down to a little marina with a good view of the river.

The only issue was that it was 40F, the winds were out of the south at 20 to 30 mph, and there was rain in the forecast. Not a great forecast for trying to take some pictures, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I wore suitable clothes... wool jersey , undershirt, arm warmers, tights, helmet cover, rain jacket, and rain pants. The camera and gear were in a plastic bag in the panniers.

The demolition was supposed to occur between 9:30am and 10am. I got down there by 9:15am (after riding a little over an hour into the wind). I set up the tripod and cameras and waited...

This is what I saw....


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6a45b33426.jpg


Sitting there, with the wind and light rain at 40 degrees F, it did get chilly. I figured they would do the demolition work quickly and I'd be back on the bike.
Well... they didn't close the adjacent bridge spans to traffic until around 9:50am, if memory serves. Eventually a siren sounded, indicating that the blast would occur soon. I started recording video with the little point & shoot camera on the tripod, and had the DSLR in my hands, targeted at the bridge's main span.

After another 5 minutes or so, I heard the booms of a few explosions. I snapped off a number of photos... and then realized the the main span hadn't gone anywhere. Maybe there would be more explosions in a minute? I waited longer with my camera to my face.... the "low battery" indicator was on, probably because the battery was so cold. After a while, I gave up and packed up.
I was very cold and glad to back on the bike and producing some heat.

When I got home, I checked the web again and realized that today was when the western approach spans were supposed to be dropped, and the main span would be dropped next week some time. Crap. :(

The next day, I rode back to that area and could see that the approach spans were indeed off of their piers....


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f438034cc7.jpg

Lessons learned??
1. read the schedule more carefully (but in my feeble defense, the media was talking about the main spans being the part that was being dropped).
2. keep the camera batteries in my pockets until the last minute in an attempt to make them last longer. The point and shoot camera had only gotten 2 minutes of video!
3. Dress extra warm when sitting in cold rain. I wasn't in bad shape, but could have done better. I really wasn't expecting to be sitting there for nearly an hour.

Fingers crossed for next week!

Steve in Peoria

Spring has arrived in Texas.
I took pics of this little patch of Bluebonnets just off the trail that goes around a local lake- 6 miles for one loop.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...415b6c0c2.jpeg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...224de46c2.jpeg

The bridge demolition schedule called for dropping the main spans today, so I packed up the camera gear, some warmer clothes, and even a thermos of tea onto the bike!
Fortunately, the weather was brisk but sunny. Can't complain about that.
Got it all set up and took a quick photo to document the situation...


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cc1fdb1104.jpg

Once I noticed that the traffic on the bridge had ceased, I took the camera batteries out of my warm jersey pockets and installed them. Set the cameras up on a tripod and monopod.
Once I heard the siren that precedes the blast, I started recording video with the little point & shoot camera and got the DSLR aimed at the bridge and finger on the shutter.
When I heard the blast, I started taking pictures with the DSLR.... and then wondered why the main bridge spans hadn't dropped.
Looking to the right, I saw this....


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1e053d50cf.jpg

It turns out that they dropped some small spans at the east end. Crap. :(

When I had checked the schedule on Sunday, it called for dropping the main spans. When I got home and checked, it had been updated to say that those eastern spans would be dropped.
The updated schedule says the main spans will be dropped during the week of April 28th. I think I'll be checking the schedule for last-minute-updates now.

On the plus side, I felt I was well prepared today, so at least I have practice.
And I stopped at the bakery on the way home for a long john. It was a good day. :)

Steve in Peoria

Has anyone hit the 100 degree mark this year? Predicting our first 100* this coming Thursday and high 90's through the week.
Summer rolling in...

Registration has been open for quite a while. Time to start training.
Hotter N Hell 100.

Hotter'N Hell
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2eea2df749.jpg

We were forecast to hit 103°-106° several days ago but we only got to 96°.
No 100° yet but we all know it’s coming.
I would rather hit 100° with low humidity than 95° and high humidity. Sweat just doesn’t evaporate when it’s really humid.

Low 90°s but it ain't summer yet.

r.e. bold -- I go out after midnight and HATE coming home so wet in sweat that I have to jump in the pool just to dry off. :lol:

That and when we have a tailwind so no breeze in our face.

We got caught in 112 deg temps on the Davis Double 20 something years ago.

Not sure if official. But the Wundermap is showed 98-102 on my ride from work yesterday. In reality the weather is great. Mornings in the high 60s to low 70s, going up to near 100.

My memory says May is usually hotter.. Then again, What did I have for lunch yesterday?

Ours seems to be delayed. Forecast highs about 68F all week. Normally late May here is humid, rainy, and much warmer.

Otto

We (Tucson) hit 102 today.
I wanted to take the mtn bike out this morning, but I started thinking about the last time I topped off the sealant, and decided that needed to be done on both the mtn and roadie before their next rides.

Looks like we hit 102 also

Is it normal to get over 100° this early?

That was our 1st 100+ day this year, and it was two or three weeks late. Normally it’ll in be early May.