Sunday, February 12, 2012

Winter Cycling... Part 1?




As I've alluded to, I recently started biking a lot. I picked it up again late in the summer and haven't stopped since. I biked quite a bit in college until my bike was stolen - and I had better stuff to do than get a new one. Finding myself with more "free time" these days, I figured now was a good time to pick it up again (and - hey - there are worse vices to have, right?) One day with nothing to do, I borrowed my Dad's bike, and went off for a ride and fell in love again. So fifteen years later I start riding again, the bike hasn't been stolen yet, and so here we are.

It's been an extremely mild winter in Philadelphia which has proven pretty awesome for the bike riding habit. However, I have not really had the opportunity to bike in the snow. Until today...

I'm in Pittsburgh this weekend and brought my bike, knowing that some snow was expected. Dude - biking in the snow is freakin' tough. I mean, the roads are okay but I went biking on the Yough Trail (part of the Great Allegheny Passage.) Who knew that cutting through unpacked snow is significantly tougher than riding on a paved street? So I abandoned the trail pretty quickly and hit the roads. Guess what - the hills in Pittsburgh are no joke either. I had a couple of tough climbs (none on the linked map, though) and then got to ride the downhill, completely terrified of crashing on the slushy and icy country roads. Pure perfection. All said, I didn't really go too far today - but I tried it. I need some new gear to cover my frosted feet, but other than that I think it's something I can tackle.

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Location:West Newton, PA

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