Late Winter/Early Spring Bike Rides

Wow - the sun has been shining so brightly this week. Sometimes I think it is because it has been so long since we last saw it around Buffalo. My ongoing statement about Buffalo is that the sun goes down November 1st and you don't see it again until April 1st. It returned early this year and it has been super awesome!

The bad thing is that your mind thinks back to when it was warm and sunny and you "think" it is a lot warmer than it really is. Especially when you add wind chill and bike speed to the equation. Wednesday afternoon I had an appointment with my bike tour buddy for a photo shoot so we could get some pictures of us riding our bikes up on the website. I got home early and left for a long warm up ride.

I knew it was cool so I put a wicking shirt on, then my Mountain Hardware shell, and 2 bike jerseys (this comes from TransIowa where they load up on the shirts and you control temperature with all the zippers!). It never bothers me leaving a little on the cold side because I figure I will warm up along the way. Well that never happened!

View off Buffalo from Chestnut Ridge Park. Large white building in middle of picture is the Bill's Practice Dome. That is a pretty cool facility. This gives you a hint as to the hill that I live on. I work downtown and love my commute to work - but the ride home gets tiring!
Toboggan Chutes at Chestnut Ride Park. They just re-opened this year after at least 15-20 years. What a blast!
My commuter bike set up. Right now it has cross tires on it but those will go flat once the weather breaks for good!
An action shot of me in our church parking lot.
My buddy (and tour partner and pastor) Todd and I riding together. There will be a lot of this coming up after TransIowa. I am ready for the tour but not TransIowa. How can someone be ready for a 1700 mile 30 day journey and not a 320 mile 32 hour journey? Because TransIowa is going to hurt!

Have a great weekend and I plan on getting some bike time in again!