23rd ride of 2016 - 2/26/2016

I did a good, full workout at LA Fitness today midday, so I wouldn't have had to ride outside. But, as I hadn't since Monday, due to weather, I wanted to, with our relatively mild weather in advance of this weekend's warmup (forties tomorrow, and possible fifties on Sunday). So I set off at 2:30 in 30° conditions (with a wind-chill of 22°), intending to ride my 'Figure 8' route, one which used to be my most frequent running route. This would have been 4.5 miles—pretty paltry compared to my 10-mile round trips to Marsh Park, but still acceptable to me in light of today's already completed session at LA Fitness.

However, today's ride was not adventure-free (though it was, thankfully, danger-free). In retrospect, I should have ridden the trail to Marsh Park instead. I got off to a good start, but when I reached Joe's Crab Shack, I came upon a lengthy stretch of uncleared sidewalk. After halting and pondering my options for a minute, I turned around in Joe's parking lot and headed back, figuring I could modify my route and still ride the majority of what I had intended. However, the sidewalk was less cleared than I had expected. At one point, near a Buddhist Tibetan Learning Center that Michelle and I pass while walking (called JewelHeart) I ran into a heavy patch of snow that stranded me, so that I had to unclip from the pedals, stand up, turn the trike around, and head it back to the clear portion. I was able to get out to the road for a short stretch, intending to get back onto the walk at Oak Valley and Ellsworth. But plowed up snow where the walk met the road made it impossible for me to get through, so I had to stay on the road for another short stretch, until I was able to get back up onto the sidewalk again. Fortunately, this all went smoothly, and I finished a challenging ride of 3.5 miles in 29 minutes.