Daylight savings time begins

Early season rides are almost always loops somewhere near home.  The real season doesn't really begin until I actually go somewhere.  This one happened now almost a week and a half ago, on the day when DST began under the old rules.  I went somewhere.

It was a nice day for a ride.  The only problem was that the destination for the ride wasn't quite ready for me.

Even so, that one definitely counts, the first ride of the season out to Vadnais.  The road being closed wasn't really a problem for a bicyclist.  Visible frame right is what the municipal authorities refer to as a multiple use trail, what bicyclists refer to as a sidewalk.

The gate on the sidewalk was open and I easily found a gap to dodge the pedestrians to get past the road closed sign.

I thought that yellow bark bush was pretty attractive.

In other bicycle related news the GRider had some shifting issues towards the end of last season.  I think I narrowed it down to something with the rear derailer but I was not able to resolve the issue on my own.  The barrel adjuster for the rear derailer moved in only one direction and it wasn't the direction I needed to resolve the problem

I figured out the bike rack and hauled her Bianchi over to the bike shop.

They did something, we shall see.

Here is the bicycle returning home.  I went ahead and angle parked in front of my house to get a photo of the Bianchi on the rack including a backdrop of the Big New Tree.

The Big New Tree looks great, we think.

This one wasn't taken today either.  It is from last Thursday I think.  Conditions were not very bikey, conditions are seldom very bikey when water forms into one of its solid forms in a puddle on the street in front of our house.

Upon further consideration that is clearly last Friday.  Trash and recycling are on Friday.

So today I did get in a pretty excellent ride.  It was 46 and overcast but the wind was less than it has been for any ride I have taken so far this year.  There was a 10 percent chance of precipitation but I went ahead and gambled on 90 percent.

46 is just fine in the fall, 46 in the spring is usually a little bit too cold.  Today was a little bit too cold.  As everyone knows, however, I have the gear.

I rode the last two miles in the 10 percent zone.  Over near Snelling and B the precipitation was rain, enough rain to wet the pavement.  46 and raining is pretty unpleasant.  Fortunately it was very light rain and fortunately it didn't really last long enough for anything to actually get very wet.  Nearer to home the pavement was mostly dry as I rode in what was unmistakably snow flurries.

It had been a long time since the last time I rode in flurries.