One of my Starchaser friends called for a 6 AM ride in the neighboring city of Fall River, MA. I agreed, set my alarm for 5 AM and got to the meeting point just before six. By fifteen after, I was thinking I missed them. Unbeknownst to me, the ride got cancelled at 4:30 AM. No big deal. It was only a 5 or 6 mile very casual spin on the Ququechan Bike path in the city.

When I got back home, I decided, because it was so nice out, to get a Bike Bit challenge ride done. There was a massive game on TV today and I had plenty of time to ride before kick off. I’m a fan of Manchester City and the not so much Liverpool. There are few things that please me more than seeing Liverpool get beat. Man City crushing them is one of those pleasurable experiences for me.

The game was in progress while I was editing the video below. Whenever a goal was scored, I scooted to the TV room to get a video of the highlights. I included them in the original YouTube video only to have it not only blocked for a copyright claim, but blocked world wide. It’s been redone without the game highlights. I did include a running score of the game while I was editing the production.

A decent winter snow storm is predicted for tomorrow morning. One of our group asked people to join him on a 6 AM ride in Fall River, MA. The total will be somewhere around 5 miles. 6 AM, in the dark, at 30 F? Yea, that’s the ticket. The storm is due around 9 AM so we may get this done.

Today, Boreas, the god of the North Wind, was rambunctious. His son’s the Argonauts, can get under his skin at times, and we mere mortals have to pay the price with gusty cold winds. I suppose it’s better than being turned into a pillar of salt, or swallowed by a whale.

I did manage to get my bikejournal.com bike bit challenge done. Just around 14 miles on the, take the wind out of the equation, electric assist bike.

To ride or not to ride.

Possibly it was Joe Breezer who first had second thoughts. But hey, the temperature is going to rise to 22F. That’s manageable. Just have to see what the MUP looks like so I can get out of the neighborhood by bike. Putting on sunscreen with only my eyelids exposed seems a stretch.

I needed to make a quick one mile trip to the market via the local MUP. Riding down my street to the path, I realized how nice the day had become and was happy that Apollo, the sun god, had done the good deed of shining his warming rays on the roads so I could bike today. However, Boreas, the god of the north wind and winter, protected some of the bike path from Apollo’s warming rays with the aid of Attis, the god of trees.

As I approached the MUP I was thinking of doing a session of the bikejournal.com “bit” challenge again. Getting 12.5 miles would be a cake walk. Oh how quickly things changed. As I made the turn onto the path, the wind slapped me forcing my head back. Kind of like a Mo Howard, “heel of the hand” forehead slap. I noticed the the path was not very clear.

The snow cover was mushy and very little problem riding through it. I did however notice the rapid drop in temperature. It went from a chilly 35 to 32 by the time I arrived at the market. After shopping I checked again and it was now 30 degrees. The only alternative to the bike path for me to get home was the often busy US RT 6. Sensibility prevailed and I decided to skip the challenge and ride home.

That mushy covering I mentioned was now getting crispy, and in places, solid. A few times I felt my bike loosing grip on the pavement. I crossed paths with two other biker who decided to walk their bikes to the end of the snow covered section. I did eventually have an alternative to the quickly icing path a short distance from home. The clean street was a welcome sight and gave me a nice smooth, skid free homecoming. That became my perfect moment, similar to those my blogging friend Anthony, likes to espouse.

As a blog friend who had trouble writing today would say.

I have been taking a photo of my first commuter bike on the same location during snow days for a few years. Some of them have been lost. A few are still around.

I though my bikejournal.com “bit” challenge would be put on hold for a while with today’s snow. Things are looking up since most of it on the bike path and roads has dissipated. We’ll see what the upcoming severe cold snap does to that game. “Biking be damned says my dogs. We don’t bike, we walk and run.” So we did this morning. The cat said, “see youse when you get back. I’ll guard the house”.

One of my favorite rides and video productions.

2018 30 Days of Biking Day 2 from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

I have always enjoyed riding my bike in the city. The plan was for me to ride seven miles to my amigo, Hiram’s house. Then do some urban riding through the city before breaking off into the suburbs. I would drop out near my house and Hiram would ride the seven miles back to his. The morning was a comfortable sun shining time to ride. Problem is, we didn’t begin till after noon time. No sooner had we begun, the clouds rolled in, blocking the sun’s warming rays. The wind picked up a tad and the temperatures began to fall.

As we neared my house, light hail began to fall. I was home and Hiram decided he was done. He loaded his bike into my car and I drove him the seven miles back to his house. It was a good decision.

I rode today to satisfy my bikejournal.com “bit” challenge. It was cold and I didn’t do much with the camera. A couple of stills is it. Howevah……. #1 son’s Facebook posted a memory of him and his bro at the 2007 baseball championship in Denver.

CLICK HERE for the video