Gravel Roads + Falling Snow + Jo = My first ride with D Street

Today, I braved beautiful freshly falling snow on an early Sunday morning to try my hand at gravel miles with the D Street crew.

Once we hit the gravel rollers, technical know-how and pure fearlessness regarding icy ruts were extremely beneficial. I slowed down anytime I remembered what I was doing, but felt exhilarated whenever I relaxed and sped down a hill.

With taking Hwy 77 back rather than braving the ever-meltier gravel on the way back, I clocked in 51.2 miles, not bad for a snowy day in February.




Cornbread has better pictures than I took (and Matt has a nice one on Good Problem), seeing as though I didn't want to take the G11 out in the snow and muck and my cell phone died right after we got out of town. Here, however, is one Ryan snapped of my hands at the Cortland Cenex. It took a lot of calories just to stay warm, and apparently this didn't extend to my fingertips. My hands were purple to the knuckle and white to the tips.

Tommy Two-Tone!

We could use some of these around town...

via Gizmodo, a touch of that ol' New England accent in a hacked road sign.

Calving Time

A little early start this year, but as Mami said today, "At least now, it's February!"

Last Sunday, a first-time mother gave birth to a little bull calf. It was very cold, and beginning to snow, so my mom & Chris carried the calf into the barn, where we'd put down some straw. Generally, the cow will come right along, but this mother was preoccupied with trying to eat, and didn't follow her still-wet and becoming icy little one. My brother toweled off the calf as it tried to nurse on his knee. We tried for quite some time (about 2 & 1/2 hours) to get the cattle all to come into the barn, hoping to be able to separate the mother out and pen her in with her calf, to no avail. Finally, well after dark, well into the snowstorm, and after all we kids had given up, my parents gave up, too.

Monday morning, the first day of the Year of the Ox, Mami went down to feed and found cow with calf. There was another bull calf born this week, too, though thankfully, there was some warmer weather this weekend.

Alpinista

snow commute

4℉ this morning, snowing, but no wind, and i'll stop dissing my mtb. i had a fun ride.


this was what it looked like out my window all morning. good weather for editing.


this afternoon, different story. it wasn't snowing anymore, but the cars had packed things down pretty well, and the ruts were pretty killer on a relative icebike novice like me. i'm totally thrilled with my winter bike pants, though.

face, masked. head, handknit-hatted & helmeted. eyes, in need of ski goggles. that might make me look less mean.

proud (if a bit frozen) face

I biked to work today on a sheet of ice covered in a bit of snow and topped off with a crusty, icy topping that had been formed by the 16mph north wind, making the 1 degree temperature feel like -18 degrees. I bike straight north, and boy I felt awesome after that.