First Ride of the Year

Beautiful afternoon. Sunny, about 33 degrees, light wind from the North. It was time for my first bike ride of the year. It was about 2 1/2 months since I rode one of my bikes. In that time, I have endured 2 surgeries

I decided to do a pavement ride. Rode from the nature trail parking lot at Lake Manawa. Headed West to Mosquito Creek and then on up to Highway 92. Brought by old digital rebel to take photos. (BTW, another rider at Xtreme Wheels said the Iowa side trails were pretty clear from The Marketplace shopping center up to N 25th St.)

Rode my "ice bike" - Trek 4300 outfitted with flat pedals and studded tires. Climbing on the bike, I was a little unstable. Think it was the studded tires and (mostly) the flat pedals and hiking boots. The boots kept my feet nicely warm.

There was no need for me to ride studded tires. The trail was basically clear where I wanted to ride.

Thought about riding down to the mountain bike trail area to check them out. But by the time I was there on the way back, I knew I would be too tired. As it happened, the 7.5 miles at about 9.6 mph was just right.

Tired and a little sore this evening. Good feeling. Should sleep well tonight.