20 degrees below normal

It was very unseasonably cold today but the sun is high in the sky when it does break through the clouds and it retains great potential, particularly around midday, to quickly raise the temperature. The sun came out late this morning and the temperature got all the way up into the 40s by shortly past noon. I checked the radar weather and the next snow storm was still far enough to the west that I reckoned on a couple of hour window of opportunity.

I haven't worn some of the stuff that I wore today for a couple of weeks but I didn't have any trouble finding any of it. It was a full winter gear ride with the exception of cotton socks and road shoes as I was still determined to ride the LOOK.

The weather did indeed hold off for a couple of hours and I got in the desired minimum mileage. I rode to the 6 mile turn around point, threw in a loop to Lake Como, the Lauderdale loop, and the Erik the Bikeman loop plus a couple of neighborhood loops and got home without having ever having been very far from the garage and without getting frozen.

Here's Lake Como, pictured here to prove that the ice is out of the lakes. With the weather as it is, proof seems as though it may be necessary.Very shortly after taking this photograph I came across TOPWLH as she hiked along the back side of the lake. Although she finds it too cold for bicycling I suspect that she will be reprising her role as Bianchi Babe starting soon. This spring cannot, just cannot, last forever.

On the Lauderdale loop I rode past a dad and a couple of kids on bikes with training wheels out in their driveway. One of the kids exclaimed to his dad, "Whoa, that's the fastest bike I have ever . . ." I was going so fast that I didn't hear the last word. My only thought was that he hasn't seen many bikes yet.