four season cycling

Yeah, it still looks like winter. Our snow did melt early last week. A winter storm on Wednesday dropped  as much as a foot of snow in some places and replaced quite a bit of the melted snow. At my house, which is closer to Lake Superior than in the above picture, we only received about an inch of snow.  With today’s sunshine it was all melted by early afternoon today at my house. I took a ride up over the hill away from Lake Superior and it looked like winter never left. My route: //ridewithgps.com/trips/8205692/embed

So I’m still a bit bummed I haven’t figured out a way to to lock up my bike at my new workplace. There isn’t much I miss about my previous job, except for some of the people. But I do miss my daily bicycle commute. The only solution I’m coming up with is to go back to using a beater bike I wouldn’t worry about if it did get stolen. Up until now I’ve been using mass transit or getting a ride from my wife when our schedules match. I also love walking. I’ve walked the three miles home several times. As the weather has warmed and the sidewalks are no longer icy that option has opened up.  A three mile walk on a warm Spring day is as relaxing as a bike ride home.

So here’s the positive part. Without my daily commute I find I have loads of energy to expend on a leisurely weekend ride. Heading out on a windy 37degreeF day on a hilly route and never getting tired is fantastic. In the past, a 40 hour work week and 10 commutes would make a cold, windy, and hilly weekend ride feel like a slog. It wasn’t today. It was very enjoyable.