Spring, Winter, Spring

March and April are notorious difficult months for riding here in western New England. March tends to be cold and windy, while April can bring just about any combination of warm, cold, rainy, and snowy.

That was the case this week. The weather last week was excellent for riding: warm, dry, and calm. This week has been different. It started off cool, but not too bad. Yet over the past 24 hours we've seen a mix of heavy rain and wet snow. The snow did not add up to anything measurable, but it's a reminder that just about any type of weather is possible here. And it means I have to check the roads to see if they put down a layer of road brine/salt. I don't believe the state did that, but it's worth checking because that stuff will rust your steel parts out in short order.

In any event, I took a nice shot of a Great Blue Heron on a dam looking for frogs and fish when I was riding earlier this week. The Blue Heron is one of my favorite local birds because it's a large, rather unique bird in this area. You can immediately identify them in the air or slowly walking along the edges of the water looking for something to catch.

Spring Evening

 Another nice evening for a ride here. The temperatures are slowly increasing, and now we're getting more into the 60s each day. I've been commuting to work on my bikes this week, and I've been riding after work on the local roads. This 1958 Raleigh Sports has a wonderful 4-speed FW hub, which is one of my favorite models.

The 2021 Season Begins...

 After a moderately snowy winter and several wind storms, we're finally on-track for the start of the 2021 riding season here in western New England. The weather is warming and the days are becoming longer. This week has had some pretty good weather, so I have been commuting to work and riding in the evening on my 3-speed bikes. Below is a picture from last evening's outing with a 1974 Raleigh Sports. 

Starting to Thaw...

 It's hard to be believe that we are already into March of 2021, but here we are. January and February were quite cold, and relatively snowy for western New England. But now in the first week of March, we are at last having a real thaw. Temperatures are getting up into the 40s and even the low 50s each day. Yesterday was very cold and very windy, but today is much warmer and we're back to thawing.

It might be tempting to go for a ride once things begin to warm. However, be warned that a good deal of corrosive road salt may remain on the road surfaces, and may mix with water from melting snow to form a corrosive bath for the bike and its parts. As much as I love riding, I recommend waiting until a good, strong rain storm has washed away salt and salt/snow/water mix on the roads before riding a valuable, vintage steel bicycle. Consider visiting an away-from-the-road bike trail where there is no road salt or salt brine instead.

With that said, I am looking forward to warmer weather, longer days, and a return to the road.

The Coldest Days of the Year

 Not much bike riding action this time of year in western New England. It's cold, there's snow around, and then there's the corrosive road salts that just stay on the road for weeks on end. 

So my activities are: fixing up bike parts indoors to prepare for the season, skiing, skating, and jogging. Even when you can't ride, you have to stay active. I even have a 10-speed Raleigh Grand Prix on a trainer in my basement for when I want to practice riding, even if it's stationary.