Winter is Coming

It's Thanksgiving and it is getting colder. I have already had to break out the cold weather gear for riding. We were lucky so far this fall with warmer than usual weather. A couple of Saturdays ago I actually was able to ride in short sleeves to the beach but last weekend I had to put most of my winter gear on to lead a ride out of Allentown where it barely touched 40 degrees by the end of the ride. Soon I'm sure there will be a few weekends ahead when I will have to take my mountain bike and ride on the paths instead of the road. Still as long as I can get some kind of ride in each weekend I will be happy.

 In the winter I do shorter rides but still try to keep them interesting. This Saturday I did my Trolley Line ride which is a stupid sort of ride as it uses a few trails and short cuts along the way that breaks up the ride and makes it a little different. One of the trails we use on the ride is the Trolley Line Trail. This trail is on bed of an electric trolley that use to connect Trenton with New Brunswick. Its a nice paved trail that is easy to ride and this time I actually didn't get lost in West Windsor Community Park. 

We struggled into the wind to the canal and looped around to Thomas Sweets for our break before making our way back. It was a good ride but we have entered the winter riding season where the weather will dictate when and how long a ride we can do. As always I will ride as much as I can during the winter as I would rather be a little cold outside than sit inside and be mad that I didn't get out for a ride.

I will use the cold weather of this winter to explore some new places. I have yet to try out all the roads and trails by where I live now. Last year I road the trail out of Allaire state park to Manasquan since it is a close ride along a path that I can get a good 20 miles in on my mountain bike. There are a few more like the Barnegat Branch Trail and Double Trouble that are close to me now and worth checking out. So even if the winter curtails my riding a bit I will still find ways to get out and have some fun.