Today I rode in the Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade. It was cold, in the low 40's with a wind chill factor that drove it into the high 30's. I rode my Giant Stiletto chopper, which is the perfect parade bike. Kids love it and it does wonderful low speed donuts in the street so I can continue circling in the street for the whole length of the parade.
This year the parade got rescheduled, it was supposed to be last weekend, but we had about an inch of sleet, followed by days of freezing weather, so the ice didn't melt. Even a week later, when riding to the parade route there were places where I had to tread very carefully because the ice was still thick and could not be avoided. The ride there and back is about 10 miles each way. Coming home, after being outside for hours, my fingers were frozen so it was hard to keep a grip on the handlebars, as I lean backwards on that bike, and I actually looked forward to the section where there is a 300 foot climb, because the Stiletto doesn't do climbing and I had to push all 50 lbs of it up the hill. That gave my fingers a little respite. A hot shower and a nap was the best way to cap off the day.
