Still Winter

February has been a horrible month to try to ride. February is usually a hard time to get out but this year the weather has been colder, windier and snowier. It has been almost impossible to get out. I got out the first Saturday this month but the cold and snow has kept me off the bike until yesterday. The weather was still not great 35 degrees with snow showers coming after 12pm but I was tired of not riding. 

I sent a message to the posse about a ride I wanted to do near me and was somewhat surprised that some of them wanted to join me. We road the Henry Hudson trail from Freehold to Keyport and back. It's a paved trail so we didn't have to worry about riding over mud and it is somewhat protected from the wind. I decided to use my road bike instead of my mountain bike as I didn't think I would need the shocks or the wider tires. The last time I did this ride the trail was a little bumpy in spots as some tree roots had popped up along the trail. However it looks like they have done a lot of repairs since it was smoother than I remember it. being. 

We moved along at a decent pace. This trail in not continuous as there are a couple of spots where you have to ride on the road to connect it's different pieces. At about 6 miles we exited Big Brook Park and road a couple of mile on Rt 79 before getting back on the trail. My original plan had to be to go to Matawan where there is another gap in the trail and turn around. I was a little worried by the snow storm so wanted to get back before it started. 

We checked the radar when we got to Matawan and it didn't look like the snow was threatening yet so I added a few extra miles to Keyport. This involves another few miles on the roads but I had done this little detour a couple times so was able to connect back to the trail. 

Keyport is a town on the Raritan Bay so you have to jump off the trail and head towards the water. I had done this detour on my own thought the view from Keyport was interesting so was glad to show the people that joined me something scenic. 

It's cloudy when we got to the Raritan Bay in Keyport but you could still see Sandy Hook, the Verrranzano Bridge and the New York skyline. It was worth the stop since there was not much other scenery along the way.  

We then worked our way back to the start. I felt my lack of miles as we got toward the end of the ride and slowed down a little. My original 24 mile ride ended up being close to 30 but I'm glad we were able to get the extra miles in as the weather for the rest of February doesn't look great so I'm not sure when I will be getting out again.

Road or Mountain Bike

During this time of year when the temperature is around the freezing mark you have to make a decision about what type of riding to do. Usually if it is near 40 degrees I will go out on the road and once it gets below 35 I will stick to the trails. Of course then you have to take in account of the wind and snow. Last Sunday I decided to do a road ride because there was still too much snow on the ground for the trails to be clear enough the ride. It was just below 40 degrees and the roads were mostly clear of the snow but I used my mountain bike on the road just in case I ran into any slushy spot and kept the ride short. The road ended up being mostly clear with a few spots where people had thrown snow out onto the road as they shovel their walkways and driveways but there were no slick spots. 

This past Wednesday I took my road bike for a slightly longer ride. It was in the mid 40s but there the wind was suppose to get stronger as the day went on so I went out early and got ahead of it and made it back before the 30mph gusts started. 

Today I had a chance to do a group ride out of Pennington but decided to pass as the Baja is in the shop getting a new water pump(It lasted 144,000 miles so I can't complain). I originally thought that it might be a good day for a trail ride since most of the snow has melted now but with the rain we had yesterday there would probably be some muddy spots. However it is another extremely windy day with temperatures starting in the high 30s and going down during the day. I thought about going to Pennington to ride on the road with the group but it was going to be warmer by my house and I was also able to get out a little earlier to try and beat the wind. 

Of course there are some days where the snow, wind or the cold makes it impossible to get a ride in and on those days I will do a hike. Manasquan reservoir and Allarie state park are close to where I live. There are also a couple of lakes with walking paths around them. A couple of weeks ago during on of the cold snaps I checked out the lake where there is always a lot of ducks, geese and seagulls.

The lake was frozen but for some reason the seagulls were sleeping on the ice anyway. I also took the chance while the Manasquan reservoir is low to walk among the trees that are usually partially covered with water. 

 

The ride I did ride I did today with the wind and cold was not fun. But I would rather suffer a cold ride than be pissed I didn't get out. Hopefully Punxsutawney Phil will not see his shadow tomorrow and we can have some better riding weather in the near future.