Great day for a bike ride!

I just got back from a short fatbike ride in the coldest temps I've ever ridden in. Wunderground tells me it's about -10°F but feels like -22.

Normally I wouldn't head out for a bike ride today but my bicycling friend, Christopher Tassava and a whole bunch of other athletes are biking, running and/or skiing the Arrowhead 135 right now. The race is 135 miles and goes from International Falls to Lake Vermillion, Minnesota. The competitors have 60 hours in which to complete the race. They started at 7:00 this morning and at my latest check of the results, Christopher and another Northfielder, Jerry Bilek (owner of my favorite book store, Monkey See, Monkey Read), are still in the race. At this point, about a third of the bikers have dropped out.

I figured if Christopher and all the others can get out there and brave the elements and race through the wilderness I could certainly suit up for a leisurely 20 minute ride around my neighborhood. So I did.

It was nice and sunny outside and I wasn't too cold. There were many times when I had to get off my bike and push it through snowdrifts so the going was slow. But you know what? My ride was kinda fun in no small part because riding a fatbike always makes me smile :-) Plus the snow is really, really pretty when you take the time to look at it. I'm amazed at what the wind does to the snow - it creates beautiful patterns in the snow. Absolutely gorgeous!

I wanted to take a picture of the pretty snow and also wanted to take a cool picture of my biking shadow so I could show you but when I pulled out my camera phone it felt the cold air and promptly shut off. I did take a post ride selfie, though.

Stay warm!




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