March Madness

It's been above freezing here in MN nearly every day for the last two weeks. Maybe longer, I haven't kept official records. The snow and ice are melting and people are losing their heads. Lots of chatter about removing the studded tires. Brother Yam said it best, "There's the whole month of March ahead, capiche? A little sunlight, a little thawing and you lose your head? Keep your sh*t together! It ain't over yet, not by a damn sight."

Personally, I have a winter bike that has studs on it year round. Once the weather warms, I just stop riding it. But I admit, these warm days have me pondering taking another ride to work. There's three or four trouble spots on my commute that still (in my opinion) require studs, but most of my route is down to bare pavement. So I ponder, is it worth it to stop and walk those few spots, and ride stud-free the remaining portion? It's kind of like boots and a heavy winter jacket. Once you stop wearing them, it's hard to go back even if conditions warrant it again.

I only rode to work one day this past week, but I picked a good day for it. Tuesday on the way home from work I ran into The Clown Prince of Mpls Cycling and the Mrs. coming out of Freewheel on the Greenway. Stopped and chatted for a minute. They were out marking the one year anniversary of Ray's early release from the service of the City of Richfield by pumping some money into the local bike shop economy. It's good knowing he's out there, taking her easy for all us sinners.