Winter Wonder Land

I left out this morning around 8:00am for a gravel ride up to Crystal Lake and back. Was a great morning for a ride, albeit a little on the cool side at 18 degrees. I was not sure how the gravel would be but it was quite good. The roads were in great shape for bicycle travel. Most of the roads were covered with a very light layer of snow. The county road crews have dropped some fresh gravel however which gave my Schwalbe 29 inch slightly under inflated mountain bike tires perfect traction for the most part.

No Shortage of Corn Fields in Southeast Kansas

Old Shelter 

 I rode up Kentucky to Rhode Island and headed east, crossing the highway and then turned north on 1800. Continued north on 1800 to West Virginia (watch for all bark and no bite very large dogs as you approach West Virginia)  and took the black top to 2000 then north to Crystal Lake where I stopped for my PBJ breakfast. After breakfast, I headed south on 2000 to Utah and then rode west until I connected with 1800 again and followed my earlier route back to the house

Hard to See Deer Crossing the Road

 It was beautifully serene. I stopped for pictures in several places including one deer crossing. Pictures did not come out as great as I would have liked but one can only do so much with a smart phone camera. The wind was out of the south so it felt a little bitter on the way back but it was bearable. I was layered with a T-shirt, long sleeve shirt, another T-shirt, another long sleeve shirt, and a fleece outer up top. Long johns and fleece lined sweats kept me warm down low. Thermal socks and old military boots kept the feet toasty. I also wore a Thinsulate hat beneath my standard hunters orange hat which worked great. No face mask needed although I carried one for back up.

 I learned a couple of things along the way. Invest in wool. Sweat will freeze in cotton and create an unusually red belly when riding in cold temps. Also, carry a camel back with water or some type of insulated bottles. Otherwise don’t forget the slushy flavoring because the water in your frame mounted water bottles will turn to slush fairly rapidly at twenty degrees.

Finding Beauty Bycycle ---- Enjoy the Ride