#6 January 9, 2020
Having had temps in the 43+ range for the past couple of weeks, it was surprising to see 32 this morning with frost everywhere! Early morning bike ride plan was thwarted. ;’-(. I had in mind to start my ride early so to ride a little longer before needing to get home and ready for the 1:30 Seahawks game. So, at 10:00 with temp climbing to 35 degrees, I switched gears and got ready to ride closer to home for my short neighborhood route.
Thwarted again when my feet were slipping around on the slippery slick surface on the road in front of our house. It takes so much time and effort to get geared up with layers of clothes and head gear, and heating elements for fingers and toes for cold weather riding, and now I would have to do it all over again when temps increase a bit more.
Will 11:00 be the magic hour with 39 degrees in the sun? That will be the time for ime to try again.
So —- I will just go back and remember this...
11:00 did present with better riding conditions. Kinda. By the time I was on the saddle the clouds came by to cover the sun and I figured I would turn around for home if anything unsafe appeared. I would do as Cindy says and choose to live another day to enjoy another ride. I was sure to avoid the side roads that were very shaded, and carefully maneuvered around any wet/shiny places. Like this one...
That is ice in there.
This all caused me to ride shorter than usual, but safely. I went into the elementary school to check on the abandoned garden. Abandoned at least during the pandemic.
The sun was now out and high in the sky as I rolled into our garage shortly after noon. Shorter but a nice hour and a half on my bike.
#7 January 12, 2020
After two full days off the bike I was, shall we say ‘ready’ for a ride! The first day off was due to high lack of motivation, and it was dry with even a few sun spots later in the day. Myself was simply saying I did not want to ride that day. I try to listen to myself, so passed up a ride. The second day off was “legit” with tons of rain for the entire day.
This morning brought some rain as well, but when our water gauge (a puddle on the the street in front of our house) showed no rain at about 11:00, I quickly got it together for my solo ride. The temp was 52 degrees, so I wore some lighter gear for today’s ride. I had some swift wind in a few places, but nothing too bad. The route took me on some quiet neighborhood roads and then to the back way to our county airport where many airplanes are in “storage” at this time. Today’s photo was taken near the Mukilteo City Hall that I pass on this route.
#8 January 13, 2020
Mechanical issues stopped my ride short 😖. I was just about half way and starting my route to home when my derailleur stopped working. Could not shift gears. That was not quite the disastrous happening for me on my pedal assist as the gear was now stuck in the easiest sprocket. BUT, what was I to do for my future riding!
A not too long story a little shorter, Susan drove, I rode, to the bike shop where she took my bike into the the shop (I am, with Susan’s staunch agreement/insistence) staying out of all stores and shops. Fortuitously, I was planning to schedule a full maintenance for my bike as soon as I could get to it. This was sooner ;’-). My back up is —- using Susan’s bike while mine is at the doctor.
My photo for the day ...
Another thing for today is that we had quite the storm last night that Susan and I slept through undisturbed. Trees were down, homes had lost power, there was debris strewn about on most roadways. This tree was closing the road.
Of course, when I saw the sign and knew why the road was closed due to the tree, I recalled all the downed trees we have scrooched around with our bikes and did the same here. On the other side a workman sitting in his truck told me that was “risky” because there are loose wires in there!! Although very nice, neither he nor the other workman sitting in the truck next to him had moved out of his truck to stop or warn me. I apologized to him and thanked him for the warning and kept beating myself up for being so stupid, but soon let that go when I thought about them not acting very concerned for me! Lesson learned — look UP for any downed wires when scrooching around downed trees.
One more photo today that caught my interest. A lone caboose on the tracks.
I have to include a part of an email Cindy sent to me after I had written to her about my ‘adventures’ for today:
"Once again our intrepid cyclist Nancy finds herself in mortal danger on her bike ride... what could it be this time?? Downed trees, raging river... no, not even live power lines across the road
#9 January 14, 2020
My ‘Cindy ride’ today — or rather my ride with Cindy today ;’-). Some clouds early, but they promised at least some sun for the day. And they were basically right. High fluffy white clouds that were not threatening of anything filtered the sun for much of our ride, but we got full sun and blue sky for at least a bit of the day. We scamandered around the Mill Creek area with a brief visit to Tambark Park before heading on for a “snack” at Bequest Cafe in the Town Center.
That’s Cindy — waaaay up there in the red. This is a park I/we have come to quite often with two differences today: we entered from the opposite end, thus coming in from the rear ;’-); there were NO people anywhere in the park. That was really a new phenomenon, because if not really busy there have been at least a few people milling about. Not on this day
My scone treat at Bequest. Yummy.
Great riding weather for January, great route, wonderful scone, and fantastic company. Life is good.
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