Slowly Getting Going Again

The weather in the later phases of this winter has been rough. Winter started off mild enough - the first few weeks of December were mild, and I was still riding as late as the end of the second week of December.

But shortly after Christmas, the weather turned extremely cold. The Potomac froze over completely, which is a very rare event here in Virginia. The temperature stayed below freezing entirely and there were bursts of snow and ice.

January - March was not much better, though we were lucky enough to have a very warm day (50s-60s) occasionally. We've had a lingering winter here, with temperatures around freezing every morning until the first week of April. This is also unseasonably cold. Temperatures during the day have generally been only around 50, though we've been lucky enough to have a couple of warmer days in April.

But slowly, things are beginning to warm. Today was into the mid-50s, so I got a chance to take my 1974 Raleigh Sports for a ride. All it needed was a little air in the tires, and it ran just as well as it did when I put it away in the fall. These old Raleigh 3-speeds are very reliable and often can run well on just basic maintenance and storage.

The weather is saying temperatures into the 60s and 70s as this week progresses, so I hope to get back out several times for more rides.