Went riding again today...

Well, the temprature hit the 40's again today, but the cloud cover didn't look like it wanted to let loose. The clouds were thick and low and were gradually moving to the east. The weather man was predicting some heavy afternoon winds as well. The temp was also supposed to drop relatively quickly once the clouds cleared so I knew the window to ride would be brief.

Well, almost like clockwork, the clouds cleared out at noon on the button. There was a breeze but the heavier winds hadn't started yet.

Chris and I quickly geared up and headed down to the garage to pull the bikes out to test the roads. Well, there was still some ice on the driveway, but it wasn't as bad as it had been last week when I'd taken an afternoon ride so we decided to give it a try.

After great deliberation, I opted to wear my half helmet, with my Global Vision glasses and my leather bandana. I also decided that it was just cool enough with the breeze that I should pack my full face as well. I'm glas I did as I regretted not wearing it 5 minutes into the ride.

We headed on out and turned towards some of the main roads to avoid the leftover ice and heavy sand on some of the shady side roads. We got about a half a mile from the house and those winds they predicted were just getting going. As we approached a local farm, we were both blown quicte hard to the left. This was certainly going to be a short ride.

Once we reached the center of town, I pulled over so I could take a minute to switch helmets. I'm sure glad I did as it made the brief ride much more enjoyable. My forehead was sure to be a block of ice had I not made the change.

After a brief stop, we decided to continue on down route 10/202 towards Westfield figuring the road would be in nice shape. Though we figured right, the winds kept getting stronger and stronger. Additionally, the one part not covered by my chaps was begining to get cold quickly (I'll leave that to your imagination). We aborted the ride a little early and headed back home.

I spent some time giving the bikes a good cleaning when we arrived back home. I hate to leave the road salt on them as it sure can cause issues with corrosion. It sounds silly but I always break out the leaf blower when I wash the bikes so I can dry them before the water spots get a chance to set in. If you've never tried it, give it a go. Just expect a few funny looks from your neighbors...

After cleaning them, I made a few minor adjustments and repairs that have needed doing for a while and then I put them away for another day. It looks like there's a bit of a warm-up on it's way this week so hopefully it won't be too long.