30 Days of Biking - Day 7

A day without snow
After three all in a row
But it's still too cold

My day began with a ride to a morning yoga class at the senior center in town.

Then I hung out at the library for awhile until it was time to join some of the WOWWs for a "bon voyage" lunch party for Vicky Zalatoris who will soon be moving to Idaho.

After lunch, Joan and I rode together to a bike/pedestrian committee meeting at the Sawyer County courthouse.

 #30daysofbiking

30 Days of Biking - Day 6

Woke to snow again
When will the weather be nice
For a joyful ride?

I was not happy to see snow again upon awakening this morning. I rode my favorite commuting bike, the 7-speed Marin, to town today to do some errands. First stop was the video store to return a movie.

 Next stop was the bank.

From the bank it was just a few hundred feet up Main Street to the post office, my next stop.

And then, as a reward for riding today (because it was snowing again), to Backroads Coffee for a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie before heading home.

30 Days of Biking - Day 5

Today's ride was to the Hospital Trails to go for a hike with the WOWWs. I took the Bianchi folding bike on its maiden ride. After the hike, I intended to ride back home and stop to vote on the way, but I had to be rescued because of a problem with the tire not seating on the rear wheel of the Bianchi. So, I ended up walking to the Hayward Town Hall to vote.

30 Days of Biking - Day 4

Mike and I had breakfast at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley this morning and afterward I rode home to Hayward. It was snowing as I started out and continued to snow on and off during my ride, accumulating a bit in some places but mostly the roads were clear.

I kept my speed to a minimum to try to avoid an icecream headache from the cold. The temperature was in the 20s this morning and "warmed" up to a balmy 30F. I stopped to greet a group of cows along the way. They were all lying down but stood up and backed away as soon as I approached them.

I talked to them softly and then curiosity got the best of them and they slowly came closer and closer until I was able to reach out and touch the biggest black cow on the left. She acted like she wanted to sniff my bike.

Tomorrow is Wisconsin's presidential primary and I was glad to see several signs in support of Bernie Sanders.

I crossed the Namakagon River three times on my ride.

Near the end of the ride I stopped at Ojibwe Java to warm up with a cup of coffee. By then my feet were feeling cold.

30 Days of Biking - Day 3

I heard a small chorus of frogs in this marsh off of Hospital Road

Another short ride today on my Bob Jackson touring bike. Nearly all of yesterday's snowfall had melted but the temperature stayed in the 30s today. Along the way, I met another woman rider named Tina. She didn't know about 30DOB so I told her all about it. She seemed interested in checking it out. The more the merrier.

At the end of Airport Road I often see deer in the field beyond this stand of trees but not this afternoon.

After taking Riverside to Hospital Road, I went to the end of Airport Rd and then back to Hwy 77 to explore a few dead-end roads off of 77 (Red Pine, Hilltop and Bayo) that I've never been on before. They all ended rather quickly but you never know if you might find an interesting road even if it is a dead-end.

30 Days of Biking - Day 2

As the sun was about to set, shortly after 7 p.m., with shadows long, I set out on my short and wimpy ride to the end of my block and back on the fat bike.

I awoke this morning to more snow on the ground than yesterday that had fallen overnight, temperature in the 20s (F), snow still falling and blustery winds gusting to over 30 mph. I had to work at the co-op art gallery where I am a member in Cable today and thought about riding there (over 40 miles round-trip), but with near white-out conditions it didn't take me long to give up on that idea. So, I chose my back-up ride for when I'm feeling wimpy--a one-mile ride to the end of my block and back.

I have to admit, I'm tired of having to face cold and snow in April.

30 Days of Biking - Day One

For the third year in a row I've signed up to do 30 Days of Biking (30DOB) in April. An event begun in 2010 by a group of enthusiasts in Minneapolis, 30 Days of Biking is a pledge to ride your bike every day in April — any distance, any destination — and share your adventures online. People from all over the world have signed up and, as of 10:00 p.m. Central time this evening, 7,891 people have pledged to ride. That's 450 more than at this same time last year. For every two pledges, 30DOB is donating $1 to World Bicycle Relief.

I had quite a lot of inertia to get out on the bike today, part of the reason being that upon awakening this morning a blanket of white coated the trees and the ground. Not the way I wanted April to begin, especially after having a couple of pleasant riding days earlier this week with sunny skies and reasonably warm temperatures. By mid-afternoon, the waves of snow flurries had diminished. Ethel came by and she and I and another friend, Sharon, met to ride five miles on the Hospital Trails with our fat bikes. And so begins 30 Days of Biking. Nearly all the snow had melted by the time we rode, there were just patches here and there on the trails.