"Warm" Snow

The Ride: Neighborhood Crit/10 laps

Miles: 19.0

Time: 1:204

Ave. Speed: 13.9 mph

Weather: Sunny, Mild, 60, Wind 5-8 mph

Total Outdoor Miles 2018: 150.3

Total 2018 Indoor Season Miles: 241.2

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The Story

This must be what it is like to live and ride in the Denver area in the season we call spring.

Snow comes.

Warm air comes.

Snow melts.

I'm not going to lie to you, it seemed very odd to be riding on a sunny, mild 60-degree day while dodging snow puddles and passing along snow-covered curb areas.

As you can see out my back door, despite several mild melting days in a row there is quite a bit of snow cover yet in NE Wisconsin. That happens when just one week ago we were nailed with a blizzard that left a 22" snowfall as a calling card.

Since this was my first time in the saddle since April 11th it was not surprising that this little 19-mile ride was a real struggle for me. I felt like I would perhaps have to stop after eight laps because everything just felt bad. Everything.

But I took my time and gutted out the usual 10 laps.

And on each one of those laps I had to ride through a puddle from snow melt that was much deeper than I had anticipated my first time through it at speed. While turning right I gave myself quite a cold-water bath the first time I went through the beast.

Needless to say for the next nine times through that turn I took it nice and slow with my feet level on the cranks.

Oh well, it's a start on the road back to getting in some form of riding shape. Let's hope that's it now for this ridiculous snow. Deal?