So....Is That It?

First tracks in the neighborhood cemetery last week.

Well......It is March 1st. Is Winter over? It sure would seem that way now. With temperatures set to be into the 50's here today, and mid-40's for the foreseeable future, for the most part, I suspect that any intrusions of a Wintry type might have very low chances of occurring from this point onward. 

Typically the onset of March marks the point where we reverse the icy grips of Winter here and move onward to that messy, 'shoulder-season' time where it is too much of a hassle to ride out in the country due to softening roads, mud, and slop. But we're at least two weeks ahead of schedule, by my reckoning here, and I'd wager that Spring starts very quickly now.

A bit of a review on our Winter here then. basically, it sucked for cycling. It was fine until mid-December when we got that first bit of snow and the temperatures dropped through the cellar. Winds, cold, and icy snow make for not much fun. Although our local gravel-madman, "tomcat" who reads this blog, was out all the time throughout Winter on the gravel roads. 

Finally, in mid-January, we got a significant snow. About eight inches, and fat biking was on which was fun, but we had zero supporting snowfalls afterward. Oh sure.....we got a couple of dustings, but nothing to add to the excellent base we got back in January. That meant that cold evaporation, wind, and the ever present Sun whittled away at that base until by last week it was all but gone. Then we got that supportive snow! Of course!

Too little too late. I ran my fat bike one last time around the neighborhood in snow. It was no big deal. Maybe three inches of fluff, and by the end of the weekend it was largely gone already due to warming temps and the rising altitude of the Sun relative to our horizon here. More direct Sun equals hard to maintain snow.
 

Not much of a challenge, but I had to take one last cruise!

So, is that it then? Is Winter gone? I think it is. We may see a dusting, but I am betting if we get precipitation from here on out it will be in the form of rain. And boy! Do we need rain! It is way too dry out in the country.

So, a pause for Winter which didn't amount to much this season. Now it's on to the warmer seasons and gravel travel! I am excited for this to get going now. I have a lot of things to be getting to now that warmer temperatures and longer rides will be possible again.

The Winter commuter will give way to other bikes now.

First of all, I have this new schedule which I have to get stuck into my brain now. Working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays is very different than what I had been doing for years. My 'long days' will have to fit into that, so I'll be doing bigger rides on odd days compared to many of you who read this blog.

I'll have some Sunday rides, Tuesdays and Thursday rides. Friday rides, but no Saturday rides- at least no big, long ones, and no Saturday gravel events, but for maybe a couple. Maybe....

Because I have to integrate that oddball schedule in with family life I am thinking any big trips I would normally take over a weekend will not be happening. Nor will any big day-trips anywhere. At least not until school is out and my car-less kids can get public transportation figured out for themselves again. We will see about that....

I'll also be swapping over to different commuter bikes for my job and errands now that the weather is straightening out. I'm looking forward to getting rides in on some of my other bikes soon. In the meantime, I hope that the weather is turning back to be nicer wherever you are and that your riding plans all go well and are successful this season!

Good-bye, Winter. Until next time......