November came in with a cold blast and that was the end of the warmer than usual weather for Fall. Coats came out, long sleeves, and tights, and where are all my gloves at?! Typical Fall/early Winter issues here at G-Ted Headquarters!
I got in some rambles on the single track in the Green Belt. I found Marky-Mark trail in good repair, and I even got in a few gravel rides. Temperatures bounced back up into the 60's again for a bit, but by mid-month things were cooling back down and we had some breezy days.
My focus was set on getting in one more long ride in for 2023. The Turkey Burn was it. I had a day set aside, the bike would be the Fargo Gen I which I hadn't really ridden all year, and the route would be a version of my Four County Tour. Everything was set, but then it all went sideways.
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| A view from my Turkey Burn Ride. |
The day after Thanksgiving the weather started going downhill with a big wind and the weekend was positively frigid. I got out on Thanksgiving Day only because our family all had Wednesday off and we celebrated then. Bummer! And I never did ride the Fargo either.
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| The weekend right after Thanksgiving we got our first snow. A few days later it melted! |
In a cruel twist of irony the weekend after Thanksgiving was Sunny and decently warm for December. The snow we had gotten was all melted, and so I could have ridden a longer ride, except that I was busy anyway. Oh well!
The blog always goes nuts for most of the month of December with my "Rear View" posts and posts about the bikes from the year. So, as a result, I don't get in much of what is going on, and quite frankly, after deer shotgun season starts for those first two weekends in December, I really don't want to be out in the country at all. By the time that is over with I have a big birthday stretch where my wife and daughter have birthdays two days apart from each other. Then a week later it's Christmas, and January 2nd will be my 25th wedding anniversary. So, riding times get taken up by lots of other things. Then you have weather.
I got my Pirate Cycling League Winter Jacket though, so I better be getting out there to make use of the thing. It is a nice jacket too. I am happy to have it to use.
The urban cruising and commuting was the main form of cycling throughout the month. I used a combination of my old Ti Muk 2, the Dorado, and I rode the Fargo Gen I around a bit to test those TRP Hy/Rd brake calipers.
Weather-wise things were mild for December after that initial snow and cold outburst. Then after mid-month it went cold and windy for a day or two, and then back into a milder pattern until Christmas. Is this going to be the Winter where it will all happen starting in February? Big snows, cold, wind, and bad roads until mid-March?
Yeah, that would not surprise me one bit. It has kind of been that way anyway the last few Winters where nothing happens until around New Year's Day. But maybe January will be clear of bad cold and snow too. I hate to root for that on one hand because we need rain and snow.
Of course, we had 50's for Christmas and myself and the whole family had come down with the flu/head cold thing that has been going around. No riding then, and I felt well and truly awful, as did the others here. It was a Christmas without much cheer, and we went through a LOT of tissues instead of treats. Oh well! At least THAT is over with now!
That wraps up the Rear View for this year. Look for a forward look into 2024 coming up tomorrow!
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