Trails

That right there shows why I couldn’t bike any trails in Rochester today. The Clinton River trail there was covered in around 3″ of slush and snow, making pedaling nearly impossible. So, I ended up riding from the parking lot just off of Letica Drive up to Parkdale, back down, around the eastern side of downtown Rochester for a while, up Letica Drive to Parkdale, down Parkdale to a little ways before Dequinder, then back.

It was foggy / misty from the warm air and cold, damp snow, but this was a bit pleasant. I do think that I may need fenders for my bike, though… There’s a good bit of wetness on the back of my jacket, and I had to periodically stop and clean off my glasses.

While it wasn’t very far, the hills in that area, the bits of snow that were still on the pavement, and the giant (1′ high, 3′ wide) banks of snow at each crosswalk made going a bit slow. I went a total of 5.76 miles, averaged 8.5 MPH, with a recorded maximum of 25.4 MPH (down a hill along Parkdale).

I imagine that once there isn’t snow on the ground and I have smoother tires, those numbers will change considerably. Also, I’ll be able to easily ride on dirt trails and whatnot too, once they aren’t coated with ice.

After returning home Danielle and I went for a ride around the neighborhood then down to a yet-to-be-completed (after ~3 years) neighborhood just down 22 Mile, closer to Hayes. Being on flat ground this was considerably more leisurely, covering 2.6 miles and averaging 7.3 MPH. Basically, we were riding around and just talking and stuff.

Also, here is a photo of cotton balls spilled in the parking lot of Meijer.