This was the view as I prepped for a Sunday ride:

When I got up this morning I’d been surprised by the blanket of white that covered the landscape. The winters here in northern Illinois have been notable for decreased snowfall and fewer cold periods for some time now - a change in weather patterns that caused me to switch from cross country skiing to winter cycling nearly a decade ago - and this winter has been particularly recalcitrant (two days of recreationally useless “bomb cyclone” aside), with little snow and high temperatures hovering above freezing for most of January. If it seems odd to complain about a winter season that is too warm, I will admit that I’ve absolutely taken advantage of the additional riding opportunities the unusual temperatures have allowed. But still, as a year-round cyclist, one looks forward to actual winter riding.

All of which is why, when I looked out the window and saw the coating of white, what ran through my head was: FINALLY!

I did a quick check of the forecast and saw that, while I was looking at snow out my window then, the high temperature for the day promised to be at least 33°F. This meant my window for a real snowy ride was limited. I’d have to get out ahead of the warmer afternoon hours, and ideally ahead of the snow plows (I try not to share the road with them). So I geared up and headed out.

I took a route I call Rocks 8 - an eight mile loop, half of which is gravel. This would ensure that, at least half of the time I would be unlikely to share the road with much of anyone, much less a plow. It also had this benefit:

That’s the first section of gravel road, there in the picture. If you are looking at it and thinking that it’s hard to tell that it’s gravel, well that’s pretty much the entire point. A good snowfall has the delightful effect of smoothing over the rocky surface, making it much more pleasant to ride with my road-oriented Catrike Expedition. I pretty much only ride this route when the roads are covered in snow.

Because I got out early, the snow was still falling, and the temperature was still abo freezing, but not by a lot, which means that it sticks to pretty much everything…