The Glaciers are Starting to Receed

After having an unusually cold few weeks the temperatures have returned close to normal which has meant that a lot the snow we got a few weeks ago has melted. It's not entirely gone as there are still big piles of snow around. But the roads are clear and I can see my grass again. 

It has really been hard to get a ride in over the past few weeks. Initially I resorted to just riding around my community until there was enough melting to make the local side roads safe. The main problem was after the last major snow storm they only plowed the roads wide enough to clear the main part of the roads. This meant the shoulders were still covered in a foot or more of snow which made it a little dangerous to ride on the roads. 

Usually it warms up enough after a major storm to melt the snow on the side of the roads but i was in the teens and twenties so there wasn't a lot of melting for the first couple of weeks after the storm. 

The past couple of weeks have been better and I have been able to do short rides on local roads. It's still not that much fun riding in cold and windy weather but it is better than riding inside. 

This past Saturday was my first official PFW ride of the year and my first weekend ride of February. The plan was to start from Etra park and do a 30ish mile loop to Millstone. On my way to the park I got a text and a phone call telling me the gate to the park was still locked. There was no sign on the gate so I have to assume that the person who was suppose to open it was sick or something. 

We decided to park at the athletic lot of Peddie school and though phone calls to me and people passing the word on we all managed to end up together in the Peddie school lot at the appointed ride time. I had a full ride of 10 people plus someone else who said he registered but I didn't see him on the PFW ride list. I knew him so let him join us. 

We spread out a little and had a few minor mechanical problems at the beginning of the ride but no major problems. The roads were a little wet but clear of snow and gravel. We did our usual stop at Wawa before heading back. The group got spread out a little more so I hung at the back to make sure everyone got back to the right place. 

I was happy to see all our cars still there as I wasn't 100% sure we were allowed to park at Peddie but it is good to know that it is there as a backup if needed. 

This has been a cold and snowy winter so it was good to get out with the posse again. Of course it looks like we are going to have another big snow storm but at least we are only a few weeks from spring so hopefully this winter weather will be over soon.