November 9, 2008 Brisk Ride

It was all of 23 degrees when Kay and I headed out for our ride today. The good news was there was not any wind, except for that produced by riding 20 miles and hour. We left from the new Elmen Trail Head on 12th street and opted to head north up past the airport thinking we would have more sunshine than if we went south through the trees. At first it was abit hard to adjust to. I was really pretty ward except for the wind on my face. The bike was stiff and you could feel it in the pedals and the shifting. Each mile we went got a bit better. The burning on my face stopped, not sure why, and the bike responded better with each stroke. By the time we hit the north end of the bike trail Kay's fingers were getting cold so we stopped so she could warm them up. The one advantage to riding on a day like this is that you have no competition for the road, none. We continued on around the airport and when we got to the Penitentiary we decided to get of the trail and ride through the city streets to get back. By now we were feeling pretty good. We had developed enough body heat that our Under Armour and fleece riding jackets were working very well, again the only problem being our fingers. We do need to research some better gloves. We road out past the arena and down Kiwanis where we picked up the bike trail again at Madison Avenue. From here it was a short ride back to the Jeep. It was getting dark by this time and it was nice to back in the Jeep and one the way home. Oh we did have to stop and get a Cappachino on the way home. All in all it was not bad for our first cold weather ride. I am sure we will do many more. Oh and just a note the picture is not of anyone we know, I just liked it.