I took the 1987 GT Karakoram in its ice bike persona--studded Nokian W240s and fenders--on an opportunistic ride up the Minuteman to Lexington Center on Monday, when the temperature was hovering in the mid-20s with a breeze, and only worse was forecast for the following days. Idea was to assess the Minuteman trail surface in the second freeze of the latest freeze-thaw-freeze cycle, assess my gear for riding in the 20s, and remind myself what riding in this season is about.
Somewhat to my surprise, the Minuteman in Arlington was clean, dry asphalt. If you wanted snow and ice, you had to leave the trail (or maybe ride to Bedford).
Even the bridge surfaces, which are often the first to freeze and the last to thaw, were just fine.
And Lexington was much the same, with a few more icy stretches (not shown) to avoid, unless your studs were hungry and wanted to bite something.
The Mile 4.0 Cairn Builders had something austere and arctic to show us.
The ghost bike continued its time travel.
Motion is where you find it. Sometimes, you bring your own, and lend it out.
Uh-huh!
Yeah, that was Monday. It's Tuesday now, and the deep cold is here. My ambitions extend no farther than feeding the cat. Which coincide nicely with the cat's ambitions.
rod