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Sort of a snow day. After heading to bed with only some light flurries in the forecast, we were surprised to see the ground actually covered with the white stuff. In Fayetteville, some slick spots on the road but nothing major and it certainly wouldn't impact the bike ride. Though, riding with some snow on the ground would be special and I looked forward to getting out.
The temperature started at 25 and I ran a few morning errands, waiting for it to get into the 30s. Noon, and still only 28. Might as well work on dinner: butternut/sweet potato soup with yellow squash, green beans and mushrooms. A chicken broth base with a touch of light cream. Corn bread would come later. A pot of pinto and great northern beans also cooked away on the stove. 1:30: Still 28 degrees. So be it. A bit cooler than yesterday but also calmer winds.
A quick drive down the hill to Habberton Rd. With the winds calm and the sky blanketed with a heavy gray cloud, the day felt so quiet and still. I suspected that I would want to stop to take a lot of pictures even if it meant exposing my hand to the cold.
Drivers seemed to appreciate that a bicyclist was out on such a cold day as I received a numerous amount of uninitiated waves; nice to be appreciated. Again, dressed appropriately with hands and feet staying warm, I was really enjoying being out. My pace was definitely slower with so many layers on but the time seemed to melt by.
I've been playing a new numbers racket these past few days as I look to reach the 10,000 mile mark by December 21. That would give me a nice stretch of ten days to coast to the end of the year. Also, it allows me extra days to put in the 1% plus or minus margin of error of miles. As of today, that would be 18.18 miles per day to hit 10,000 by the 21st.
If there was any doubt that the temperature was indeed 28, the water in my CamelBak tube offered some undisputed proof as the liquid in there froze up at one time and I had to work at getting the water to flow again. The temperature stayed at 28 for most of the ride, hitting 27 at the very end.
These horses gave me a good smile as I came across them. Some sort of new push-me-pull-me. I didn't see the brown horse while I was taking the picture and only spotted him when I rode further on down the rode.
18.18 miles was coming up and I certainly would have ridden further but it was time to get back home to finish dinner.
But first, one more picture.
Wait. One more. More geese.
There seem to be quite a few large flocks of geese this year. I wish I had gotten the camera out a bit earlier as there was a smaller flock flying off on their own in two perfect V formations, one nested inside the other. They merged with the larger group a few moments later and are part of the picture above. I assume they know where they are going as they were coming from the east when they reached me and they are headed north in the photo above. Ten minutes later I came across another group coming from the east. They momentarily also turned north but after quite a bit of cackling, they headed toward the southwest. I suppose it could be the same flock that flew in a circle before figuring out the right way to go.
Today's Ride: 1hr 45 mins. 18.24 miles. 28° Miles YTD: 9,727.29
Number of miles per day needed to reach 10,000 miles by the end of the year: 10.91
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