Frozen Retreat

This winter, it’s seemed that days without precipitation have been merely interludes between snowstorms.  The funny thing is that none of those storms has left a particularly large accumulation of the white stuff.

The worst part, though, is that the temperature has rarely risen above freezing on those days when it hasn’t snowed.  So, if the snow wasn’t plowed, shoveled or salted, it sits on top of the stuff that already covered the ground.  The deepest parts have turned to ice.

Much of the glacier-in-the-making I’ve described has formed on the streets I normally ride to work.  Even the main streets and roads, which are plowed more regularly, are dotted with ice patches and lined by what look like stretched-out icebergs.

In other words, conditions are treacherous for cyclists.  I haven’t been riding to work, let alone for sport, because I simply don’t see the point of risking myself in that way.  Perhaps if I had studded tires, I’d take the chance.  I’ve never bought a pair because winters like this one are rather unusual for this part of the world:  In most years, there might be only a few years in which such treads would be useful.

Although I miss riding, I don’t feel guilty about not being in the saddle.  About the only riders I’ve seen during the past couple of weeks are men—yes, men—delivering lunches, dinners and snacks from restaurants and pizzerias. 

This weekend, I participated in a retreat about 100 km up the Hudson River, near Ossining.  I was without my, or any other, computer and my cell phone was turned off.   I remained offline yesterday, the day after I returned.

 Of course, I thought about how I could have ridden to the retreat had the weather been different.  There was even more snow and ice up there and the bike lane along US 9 was not plowed.  

Still, I enjoyed the retreat.  How could I not, given its setting?

It’s been years since I’ve seen so much of the Hudson River frozen.  Of course, one day—perhaps weeks, perhaps a couple of months from now—it will thaw and the bare trees will bud.  Perhaps I’ll ride up there for another retreat

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I Wasn't Pulling Their Legs After All: I Can Push A Ski

Sometimes, when people ask me whether I ride year-round, I tell them about my "ski bike".  Sometimes they believe me.

Now I realize they may not have been as gullible as I thought:

From Waterloo Bikes

 

Where Are The Bikes In Sochi?

This year's Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin tomorrow in Sochi.

While I love both speed and figure skating and some of the other sports, I have never understood why there isn't a cycling event in the Winter Games.

After all, countless cyclists ride in snow and over ice, down mountains and across ponds.  Some even do those things on purpose.

I admit that, at various times in my life, I was one of them--especially when I had a mountain bike.  I suppose I could put some knobby tires on an old bike and make myself a faux cyclo-cross machine, which could work well in wintry conditions.

If I were to do something like that now, it would take me a long time to be as accomplished a rider on snow and ice as these folks in Poland seem to be:

Both photos are from Icebike.