30 Days of Biking - Day 7

After another wonderful x-c ski early in the day, a delicious lunch, and a scrabble game with friends, I set out on my go-to ride in the late afternoon.

A 6-mile route that I rode on my fat bike once again because of patches of snow & ice still on the road. 

30 Days of Biking - Day 6

After a wonderful x-c ski this morning in almost perfect conditions, Mike and I rode our fat bikes on the Hatchery Creek Trail this afternoon.

The trail was last groomed on Wednesday. It snowed a few inches early this morning but people on snowshoes had packed down the trail fairly well.

After overcast skies and blowing snow this morning, the skies cleared to a beautiful sunny day by afternoon.

30 Days of Biking - Day 5

One of the things I like about 30DOB is that it motivates me to ride when I might otherwise just jump in the car because it's convenient and easier. Today's ride was once again to the local library for a book club meeting and discussion. The book we discussed was "The Home That Was Our Country, A Memoir of Syria" by Alia Malek. It's a deeply personal account of what is happening in Syria by a Syrian American who still has extended family in the country and whose parents were born in Syria and later emigrated to the U.S. before Syria began to fall apart. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to understand more about Syria.

30 Days of Biking - Day 4

I attempted to ride the Hospital Gateway trail today on my fat bike but, with the recent 2-3" of fresh snow and the cold, dry conditions the trail was too soft to ride. So I rode an alternate route. The photos are from a ride on the new Hospital Gateway trail earlier this year.

30 Days of Biking - Day 3, Yoga & Voting

The endorphins are beginning to kick in and my motivation was a bit higher for riding to yoga at the senior center this morning.

After yoga, I headed to the town hall to vote in our statewide election that has three items on the ballot: a referendum on whether or not to eliminate the office of state treasurer, a vote to determine our county supervisor, and a vote to determine a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Remember to vote today!

30 Days of Biking - Day Two, More Snow

I had to muster all the motivation I could find to ride this evening to the local library for a meeting. It was lightly snowing when I left for the meeting and it was dark and lightly snowing on my ride home. But I did it and feel better for it!

30 Days of Biking - Day One

And so begins my my fifth year of doing 30 Days of Biking, on Sunday, April 1, April Fools Day and also Easter Sunday. The goal being to ride every day in April, no matter the weather, no matter the distance. Yesterday morning we woke up to 8 inches of snow that had fallen overnight, with some nearby areas getting closer to a foot. Oh the challenges Mother Nature provides...  Temperatures in the coming week are forecast to barely rise above freezing during the day, dropping into the single digits at night. And more snow is forecast for tomorrow.

I decided I had better ride my fat bike, not knowing if my chosen route might have patches of snow and ice. It did here and there but I could have easily ridden a road bike. But pedaling the fat bike kept my speed down, making the wind chill less as well.

I rode to the end of Airport Road, only a 6-mile round trip from my home. Multiple deer tracks could easily be seen as well as tracks of other critters in the fresh snow. It was nice to see that the Namekagon River is ice free.

If you'd like to join me and almost 5,300 other riders worldwide (as of 10:15 p.m. Central time), just go to this link. From the website: "30 Days of Biking is a pledge to ride your bike every day in April and share your adventures online with the hashtag #30daysofbiking.

Making the pledge is low-key accountability. When you sign your name, you're devoting yourself to biking every day in April and joining a worldwide community of joyful riders. Plus, by sharing your reason to ride — your bike story — you might inspire someone else to make the 30 Days of Biking pledge. How cool is that?!"