Bike ride or man-date?

my Moots and Ben's Surly

Its 8 am Friday morning, the temp is about 5 below and there is about an inch of snow on the ground. I'm sitting in my little house drinking a latte and watching my fireplace spew warmth all around the fake pile of wood; waiting to see if anyone will show for my weekly bike ride, The Bad Espresso Ride. Five minutes pass until Rupert's excited barking alerts me... BenE is here! My co-worker, fellow riding enthusiast and beard buddy. Him showing up always means we are in for a great ride.

Ben on the swing

We found a swing! This one is by the Sibley house in Mendota. When you are this jacked up on espresso a swing is always a great idea.

Me on the swing

The wonderful thing about our bike trails are that we get to avoid most auto accidents... This Friday there were over 130 in the metro area, this is one of them on the Mendota bridge. We got to pass all sorts of cars on the bike path.

BenE confused by the autos

Down past the Cedar bridge BenE shows his regal pose. I felt it was appropriate given the snow storm, river and prairie grass.

BenE looking yonder

The amazing thing about the river bottoms is how much the sand firms up when its this cold and snowy. Last summer this stretch of trail was tough on a fat bike through the sand, now its a quick zip through and just a tad bit of sliding through the corners... perfection!

Our path awaits

We ended up with several hours of riding, some of the thickest ice beards we have experienced and where able to keep most of our fingers and toes.