Spring preview...

Blue skies, nothing but...on Rt. 100 to Moretown.

And look, I topped out at almost 143 MPH!
This happened while I bought Gatorade and the bike was still.
Weird. Any ideas why?

...blue skies on Rt.2 in Middlesex and beautiful old gnarled trees on the bank of the Winooski.

Completely amazing day. I took a few hours off today from 10 ish to 1 ish since
the weather was supposed to be so nice. Was it ever!
Rode from Montpelier to Waterbury on Rt. 2. Then up the climb and descent to Moretown and then on to Waitsfield and back on 100B to Moretown and Midlesex and back to Montpelier.
It was so warm that I had to remove my hat and neck warmer and go down to 1 layer on the climb from Waterbury to Moretown on Rt. 100.

Back roads VT video...

back roads

railroad bed, a bit shaky due to fresh snow and riding
one handed in the loose fresh snow to do video

Here are a few short videos of my standard back roads/railbed ride. Some of my favorite things about riding in winter are: the quiet crunch of the tires, the warmth of the inside of my balaclava, stopping to see what tracks the dog has sniffed out and the hush of stopping.

It was 15 degrees today which is cold enough for me. At this temperature I began to get a little frozen eye feeling which does not seem to happen in the 20-25 degree range. Otherwise still plenty warm though.

I apologize for the dog pooping action, I don't have video editing capability.

Too cold for me to roll...

Negative 5 degrees

Went out for a ski with the family. Less wind chill.

Windy little bop...

View across the icy Lake Champlain across to the Adirondacks.

On the bridge with a skier and poodle with Mike. The Pugs and Yeti are hanging out and taking a rest. Went to Burlington for some family hang out time, sledding and etc. When the men got grumpy in the afternoon they kicked us out into the snow. We reflected on how it is good to get out even for a short one in the winter to keep the legs used to spinning and stay acclimated to the cold so that those 38 degree spring rides feel warm!

No braze on, no problem...

Minoura light mount.

With light. When I added the handlebar bag it was clear that a new lighting solution was required. This seems to work very well. Just a simple metal band clamp that snugs up with an allen bolt. A nice plastic cap covers the bolt. I snugged it up thoroughly. We'll see how it holds up to road vibrations.

A nice central Vermont 70 miler...

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=197122

It starts with a long and VERY gradual ascent up the Brook Road which is a nice rolling dirt road that follows, you guessed it, a brook. Then onto pavement along the reservoir. Then a turn onto Rt. 302 which is essentially and endless and fairly steep climb. Then a bomer down to Rt. 232. This is the first store on the ride. Then a left onto Rt. 232 for moderate rollers and some climbs then bomb down onto Rt. 2. Follow Rt. 2 until the right onto Creamery St. (second store Marshfield country store) for a beautiful scenic ride up to Cabot. Cabot also has a store. Next store I believe is in West Danville, the Joe's pond country store. The ride around Joe's pond is also lovely. The rest of the ride is typical Vermont up and down along the 2 lane with variable shoulder action until you get back to Plainfield.

Handlebar bags

The new Arkel small bar bag.

Again.

A hand made bar basket for my kid's bike, rando in training:) His granny made it. She is a basket maker.

Nice reinforced spaces for nylon webbing buckle system.

It even works well on adult bike with brifters.

Another view.

The basket was made by granny for my son's biking adventures.
I mounted up the basket on my road bike so that if anyone wants to special order a basket from Granny Ann you can see how it looks. She can also make any size and shape of basket you want! A link to her soon to be website coming soon.

The Arkel bag was purchased for my rides after much internal deliberation. I am very happy with it. It seems to be the perfect size. The mounting system is flawless. Looking forward to having the cue sheets up high and easily viewable.