Stuck in Colder Weather

At a tranquil park, just outside of Lincoln

The night is black as the coffee he was drinkin'

And in the cryophile’s goggles he sees the morning light is shinin'

He thinks of warmer fingers and the gloves he left behind

He said, I want to feel you again

But I'm stuck in colder weather

Maybe tomorrow will be warmer, can I feel you then?

That portly prognosticating marmot said we'd have six more weeks of winter and to show us all that he wasn't kidding he got Mother Nature to drop a little snow on us in the last few days. More snow in the last 10 days than we've seen all winter if you ask me. While perfect for Fat Biking, I'm not a big fan of late season snow, by the time it gets to this point in winter I'm just ready for the warm up but since you can't change the weather you just have to make the most of it. 

With a little over an inch of fresh powder overnight Friday and probably close to 3-4" already on the ground the plan, of course, was to head out to Wilderness Park. 

Roads were in decent shape and even the trails seemed like they had all been plowed so at least the slipping and sliding on the way to the park would be minimal. 

Our luck ran out at 17th street when we passed the person removing the snow from the N Street Cycle Track, fortunately the big tires on the Fat Bikes plowed through the snow with only slightly more effort. Thankfully the latest round of the white stuff didn't contain too much moisture and was more fluffy powder. 

The rest of the journey to Wilderness was fairly uneventful and traction was probably a bit worse in the park than it was on the way to the park. Lots of impromptu snow angels were made on Saturday once we dropped into the single track. 

Wilderness was in pretty good shape, slick in a few spots but over all better than I thought it would be. Temps were a bit chilly though, 8 was the high but with the wind it felt much colder and the camera gave up after the ride out to the turn around spot so nothing for pictures after the halfway point other than those taken with the phone. Even the phone pictures were kept to a minimum, if I don't keep the phone in a Ziploc in the jersey pocket under the jacket it tends to die on really cold days after a while also. Cold and electronics just don't go together all that well. 

We opted for the Jamaica North on the way back to save some time as it took a little longer than anticipated to get through the park and some folks were on a time table. On the way back the usual fragmentation occurred at it does near the end of the ride as folks broke off and headed home. A few of us opted to head to Sips and Suds again this week for a lunch stop. 

There might have also been a brief stop at Moran's for an adult beverage or two, possibly. 

Here is a video from Dave taken on his GoPro for you viewing pleasure. Temps look to warm up over the next week, or at least that is what they are saying now, if that holds true then we will be back on gravel next Saturday.