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. 

Winter Scenes

It has been usually cold over the past couple of weeks. I did get out for a short mountain bike ride with some of the braver members of the posse on the first weekend of the year. It was just below freezing with 20mph+ winds. We decided to ride from Princeton to Griggstown along the Raritain trail. It has been a while since I did this part of the trail. Not much has changed and it was really too cold and windy to stop for any pictures. I turned around at Griggstown and headed back while the rest of the group when on to get a few more miles. On the way back by the top of Carnegie lake the wind actually blew a tree across the path. It was too big to move by myself so I broke a few branches off it and pushed my way over it. It was a cold ride for the first ride of the year but at least I started to get some miles in. 

It was too cold on the Wednesday after to do a ride either mountain or road so I took a hike through Allarie state park which is close to where I live. There was still some snow on the ground for a storm earlier in the week that dropped about an inch of snow on the ground. I did a 4 mile hike around the Allarie village and along the river and ponds and stopped for a few scenic shots along the way.

There are actually more paths in Allarie than I thought there were so when it is too cold to ride I will probably come back here. I have started to do a little more hiking to supplement my biking as I do enjoy getting out in the woods.

Walking among the snow covered landscape is a good distraction from normal life and I hope to someday get that perfect snowy landscape picture but I need to find the right location and conditions. I also tried to get a picture of a snowflake when we got some snow. It's not easy to get a picture of an individual snowflake but I had a couple of ideas of how to get one.  My setup didn't work that great but I did get one okay shot. I still need some improvements to my setup and I don't know if I have the ability to get a good snowflake shot with the equipment I have but it is fun to try.

This past weekend it was warm enough to get out on the road for some more miles. I might be able to get out again this weekend but then it looks like an arctic blast is going to come down and make it unbearable to go outside for a while. It's always tough to ride in the winter but will get out for a ride with I can and when I can't just enjoy the scenery until it gets warmer.

Welcome to 2025

2024 is now in the history books. For me this past year ended better than it started and was a good year overall. I don't really have a measure of what makes one year better than another but this year I was able to make my mileage goal for the year which is always a good sign. When I look at my year end stats I notice that I did more group rides than solo rides. This is probably because I am doing more rides with my retired friends on my Wednesday's off which I hope to continue. Although I enjoy my solo rides it is always more entertaining to ride in a group. 

This past year I also got away for a bike vacation to the grand canyon of Pennsylvania as well as a couple of person vacations to see the total solar eclipse and up to Maine to see some puffins and whales. 

The last two days of the year were pretty good for riding with the temps in the mid 50s. This past Monday we did a 30+ mile loop from Allentown. Despite having to ride through 50 feet of some wet shit (actual horse shit), problems finding a bathroom and some really strong winds at the end it was a good ride. It just felt good to be out on the road after a couple weeks of cold rides mostly on trails. 

I also road on Tuesday as it was another warm day. I don't normally ride two days in a row but with cold weather in the future I wanted to take advantage of the warm weather. Laura had proposed a ride from MCP but I convince the group to go to the beach. We started from Manasquan reservoir and did this route. This would take us to Manasquan and up the beach to Belmar and back. 

On this ride there were plenty of bathrooms along the way and we had a very gentle east wind that help us get home. I had planned a break at Belmar but the usual Duncan Donuts was closed. We did hang out at the beach for a little while which is where I wrote Happy New Year in the sand. There were a few other photos taken before Pete fell trying to avoid a dog (the only thing hurt was his pride) on his way off the boardwalk. 

On the way back we did a circle around the Manasquan reservoir to see how low the water still is. It probably won't look normal until the spring assuming we get a good amount of rain and snow. 

I don't know what is in store for 2025 but I already have some ideas for some bike trips and rides for the new year and hope to continue the fun of the last few days.