January Ride

I asked Lance to take a picture of me commuting the other morning. I was all bundled up and felt good about riding that morning. It was 29 degrees out. Instead of taking a picture he took a video. It's windy, as he is riding too.

I was wearing lots of wool. And layers along with my boots. It worked well. I was sporting  helmet ear muffs, a noro scarf, mittens, & socks all knit by myself. Being a knitter has it's perks!

Today I scored a lovely 90% wool, 10% cashmere coat from the thrift shop. It is in impeccable condition. I'm looking forward to wearing it, although, I am a bit glad that I had today off. It's 17 degrees out there. Brrr.

I rode twice this week.

January stats for commuting: 3 days so far.

You know my thoughts on winter commuting. It's cold, it's dark, it's not much fun.

 Then, the blog posts started popping up. Lovely Bicycle with her low-down on winter cycling, and looking lovely while doing it. Let's Go Ride A Bike's great post and video on her winter gear and the hilarious Bikeyface's take on winter cycling. These ladies really got me inspired. I have wool, most of the wool I've made! Maybe I should give winter commuting another shot. So yesterday, since it was going to be 30 degrees during commute time I decided to layer up. The sun was shining and Lance & I had a lovely morning ride. This morning I decided to do it again. Two days in a row. Granted, riding to the office is never my problem. It's riding home. I've decided to wait for Lance each day (his work day is usually 1 hr longer than mine) and we can ride home together.

It's dusk when we ride home but not pitch black. I did not like riding in the dark even with lights. So maybe, just maybe winter riding will stick this time.

Snow on the ground

Happy New Year! We have had quite the cold snap. I official put Pearl in the basement the beginning of December. I could ride I suppose but when it's 11 degrees outside I just can't find the desire to commute to work.

November held something new for me though. I went mountain biking with the boys more. I finally found some comfort and really started to enjoy riding the trails. Rocks no longer had me hitting the brakes and I'm looking forward to some trail riding when it warms up with my honey. Hopefully, I won't have forgotten what I had learned.

In November we road at Arcadia Lake in Edmond, OK, the Lawrence Rivertrail in Lawrence, KS, and Landahl Park in Blue Springs, MO. It became our thing to do on Sundays.

Now that we are entering winter, and tax season, my mind will shift to planning mode. Where to ride next? How many bike touring trips can we maneuver? Someday, someday we will be long term tourers. Until then dreaming is nice.

Winter setting in

There isn't much news on the cycling front. We had a cold snap & then it was dark in the morning so I've started to drive to work more than ride. At first I felt like a poser. It was like I was selling out by driving a car to work. I'm not sure how I've put those thoughts in my head but I'm trying to ignore them. Lance is still commuting to work. I picked him up once last week because it was pouring rain and I didn't give him an option.

It's not officially winter yet so I still have hopes of riding more before putting Pearl (my bike) down in the basement. I have been creating a little bit with my new found time in the evenings. Bike themed of course!

Fall Commuting

Last week I had second thoughts about commuting to work on my bike. The weather was changing and in the morning it was chilly. Riding to the office wasn't that bad, I had Lance to keep me company. It was the riding home! Lots of wind, and sometimes rain and by myself.

This week has been glorious! Our temps are in the high 70s and riding is great. It won't be like this for much longer. A cold front is coming through and I have decided to try to commute through October and then reassess.

 I've commuted on my bike 8 months out of this year. More than the prior year.  Thing is...it feels weird to drive a car to work! Like I'm violating some kind of oath. Crazy!

Bike Date- Wyandotte Co Lake

 Hidden in these trees are some great mountain bike/ hiking trails. Yesterday, Lance & I took the day off together. We went into the city to check out a used bike store & some thrift shops. We scored all the way around on our second hand shopping. Then we headed to Wyandotte County Lake to ride the mountain bike trails.

Now I am a beginner. This was only my third time riding a mountain bike trail and the first time for this particular one. Man it took it all out of me. I'm cautious, which makes me slow, which makes me unsteady going over rocks and the like. It was so beautiful back in the trails but they were really wearing me out. I did a few miles of track and told Lance I was done. I sent him off on his own & grabbed a blanket to enjoy the view.

The Irish Bike, passed onto me from Liam.

I felt a bike like a Debbie Downer since I wasn't enjoying it like I normally do. For some reason I was not patient with myself, which now means that I'll have to go back several times until I master these trails. They are close to home and really well done. Next time I won't push myself. I'll just do a few loops until my skills improve.

All in all it was a great day.

The Katy Trail

Beginning of our journey in Hermann, MO

 Over Labor Day weekend Lance & I hopped a train with our bikes. Destination, the Katy Trail. This was our third ride on the Katy. We road the middle section, the only section we hadn't gotten to. It was a fast 126 miles and helped us determine that 50-60 miles in one day is a good goal. You move along but don't have time to check out sites along the way.

 We really enjoy ourselves when we are out "touring". There is a great sense of freedom. We carry our tent and some food and the rest is up to fate. We've been lucky enough to take a few short trips this year.

Tunnel at Rocheport, MO

Tree down! We encountered 3 trees down on the trail. We worked together to carry the bikes over the trees.

I can't wait until we have a chance to do this more than just for a long weekend!