parkbrav

Quiet Morning with low traffic, so I decided to take advantage with a 18 mile fun ride for exercise.

I decided to visit the world famous Wilmington Apple Monument, dedicated to the first butter apple tree planted in the area, credited to a forefather of the area who fought in the Revolutionary War. Quite a site. The monument itself was constructed in 1895.

rumrunn6

yeah been thinking about those barmitts, especially w/ more 50sF in the forecast

canalligators

I’m looking forward to no street salt. So all the other bikes can come out to play.

rumrunn6

it's pretty darn nice, before the summer heat

bikemig 

I just installed a set of Continental winter contact tires on my 1992 Trek 950 for a ride I'll do later today. They're obviously not as good as studded tires for serious winter riding but they'll be fine for the ride today given that most (but not all) the snow and ice has melted in central IA. I really should install fenders as well.

noglider 

@bikemig, what do you think of those tires?

Pugs2xLove

Riding is an all-season thing, not just during the warmer months. All jokings aside, it was a brutal ride Thursday afternoon from work after that snowstorm. The roads covered in snow and ice, Waterworks Park wasn't plowed and neither were many sidewalks. Trekking through 5 inches of snow was a pain.

bikemig 

I think the Continental Winter Contact tires are very good. Studded tires are better when there is a lot of snow and ice but they're a pain when the ground is mainly clear and you are dealing with snowy and icy patches. The Conti winter tires are great in that environment. You could run them all winter I reckon for road riding.

I rode last weekend with my buddy on the trails north of Des Moines. It's a beautiful area with lots of rollers, mixed trees and tallgrass prairie, water views, and very few people. My friend is a good bike rider and he is in excellent shape as he has been training for a cross country ride he will start on in March. He was also riding an old school rigid mountain like I was. He could not keep up going up or down the hills that had ice and snow cover as his bike tires just lacked the traction. The Continental winter contact tires are not a night and difference but they work and they do make a difference. I like the tread pattern. This pic is from after the ride when we stopped to brew up some coffee and swap a few lies about how far and fast we'd gone before heading home.

MNBikeCommuter

I was able to get the old touring bike out yesterday for the first time since Nov. It's been the winter hybrid with studs since then. It felt like an early spring ride--sunny and mid-30s, and joggers weren't waving and smiling at me--a true sign of spring.

It was a one and done for now. We've got light snow right now, and up to 20" for Tues-Thurs' storm. The winter hybrid's job isn't finished for the season.

gecho

I should get around to installing the studded tires on my mountain bike for late winter / early spring riding. There has been enough snow this winter I've used my fat bike exclusively so far.

I should also look at getting a new set of summer tires for my mountain bike, as a wore the last set to slicks. I wore the back one down, swapped it with the front and then wore than one down last year. Last summer I was in a city riding mood most of the year and ended up doing twice as much distance on my mountain bike than on my touring bike which is the opposite of a typical year. The last two years I've also been mostly into morning and evening summer rides, my goal being to not have to put on sunscreen before a ride. Really cuts down on the pre-ride hassle, though you end up riding with low sun glare more.

rumrunn6

glad I left the studs on one bike. we're getting a new base of snow pack

gecho

I took my mountain bike out for the first time since November 5th. So much bare pavement around there's not much call for the fat bike at the moment. Now I can go faster and further again which is helpful for my annual tradition of riding every road in the city.

gecho

There is so much ice around at the moment. Most of the side streets and alleys are 100% ice. Though condition of the ice varies considerably, some of it being even and grippy, others with deep ruts, and some smooth and slick. Temperatures dropped on Sunday so there won't be much melting going on this week. The ice actually makes riding kind of interesting, constantly having to pick a line and avoid trouble spots. I get lots of odd looks from pedestrians, they don't realize it is much easier to ride on ice than walk on it.

The nice thing about being on the mountain bike instead of the fat bike is that I'm not drenched in sweat at the end of a ride.

gecho

Winter just doesn't want to let go here. Well below freezing and strong winds the past few days. Yesterday most of the front of my balaclava went stiff from icing up. I got out early today before the wind picked up to 70 km/h. The only good thing is that the roads have been dry (if you consider snow and ice dry). I should be able to switch back to the mountain bike tomorrow. My annual ride every road in the city pass time is just about at the point where I need 50 km+ rides to make meaningful progress, so I'm hoping for a warm up soon.

Daniel4

Today (March 23) Toronto is expecting +10c but just for one day before it drops down to +3c.

All the roads are clear but the trails are full of soft and slushy snow, the kind that gives way if you happen to climb up a bump or a small bank.

And...we always get snow in April.

So ride carefully.

FREEBIRD1

We have more snow forecast for the weekend, been on the fat bike for 5 months.

gecho

One nice thing about the cold time of year is being able to go for a 3 hour ride without sweating or needing to drink water. Nearly every ride lately I'll not even touch my water. I usually leave the bottle in my trunk bag so it isn't ice cold (or frozen) if I want it later. Today's ride was 4 hours and I took the bottle out at the 3 hour mark.

The road melt is starting to accelerate. Not so much because its been warm, but we've just had several days of cloudless skies. Starting to get random deep puddles due to plugged drains. The forecast has been revised lower, highs between -6 and -11C until the middle of next week, no above freezing days in the 2 week forecast, so studded tires for several more weeks. Though that's airport temp, in the city we can get 4-5C warmer so anything warmer than a -4C forecast can result in above freezing temperatures where I'm riding.

All in all pretty decent weather, I've ridden all but 2 days in March and am currently on day 17 of a riding streak. One more day to tie my record and two to break it.

rumrunn6

been preoccupied w/ car shopping & Mom's house in NY. it's time to take the studs off the last bike that has them & store the bar mitts. man I need a bike ride

the new-to-me used car has no hitch, so I have to drag out the hatchback, bike rack ... ugh

gecho

A rolling bike gathers much ice. Sub-freezing temperatures and wet roads from solar heating causes the spray to freeze when it hits the bike. RD cage encased in ice and several big icicles. FD cable and back of seatpost covered. It was actually worse yesterday, my granny gear was completely iced over and an inch of ice on the bottom bracket.

rumrunn6

omg, that's awesome!
on the east coast, the fishermen get "freezing spray" & the weight of it can sink a boat!

FREEBIRD1

We got a inch of rain/snow yesterday, not bad this AM dodging puddles and mini-streams crossing the trail

parkbrav

Word, I took a trek around the lakes here on Route 38. I had puffy cotton ball clouds and blue sky trying to poke through. It looks like the Magnolias are getting ready to bloom and I think the other trees won't be far behind. I think the trees may start blooming here within the next 10 days or so

rumrunn6

nice
I started my elephant ear palm plant tubers (bulbs) at the beginning of March. they should be ready for the ground at the end of May

gecho

Colder today than Saturday but the roads were even wetter (go figure). Huge ice buildup on the bike. Icicle on the tail light was down to the tire, seat tube ice reached the tire, icicle from fork crown was down the tire, bottom of pedal I always stay clipped into was iced over, big ring / granny iced over. https://imgur.com/a/7uD1Va3

rumrunn6

haha omg, that's great! love the blinking strobe thru the frozen muddy ice!
that rear derailer ice on the back of the rollers! wow!