Last night when I checked the weather before going to bed 1-3 inches of snow was predicted.
When I started biking to work there was a touch of snow covering the side streets in town. But then winter went wild and suddenly I was in the middle of an all-out snowstorm. The temperature was close to freezing so the snowflakes were gigantic and heavy. Just beautiful.
Visibility was very low, but at this time in the morning no one is on the roads, so it really isn’t a problem as long as I am careful. I wasn’t all alone out the storm, however, I startled a group of three deer and they scrambled across the road in front of me.
Their hooves slid on the slippery pavement, leaving behind odd slashes in the snow. I guess bikes and cars are not the only ones to need studs on the road in winter.
Throughout my ride, I kept my ears tuned to listen for a snowplow. I figured one would come by and clear the rapidly increasing layer of heavy snow. But a snowplow never came and the closer I got to the restaurant, the deeper the snow became and the slower I trudged along. But I made it to work in the nick of time, albeit rather sweaty.
The storm was long gone by the time I rode home, but it had left behind over a foot of snow. The sun was shining on a landscape that had been entirely reinvented. Everywhere I looked, I could see sparkling, perfect snow. This route, that I have ridden hundreds of times in the past few years, felt like a new road that I had just started exploring.
The only problem with the road is that the snowplows had done their work and it was completely and utterly clear of snow. And the short trails that I can normally take on the way home were completely impassable on my bike because of the deep snow. It is no good to just look at pretty, new snow-snow is meant to be played in!
So I stopped at a trail and pranced around in the snow for a bit, exploring the woods. In the middle of my wanderings, I found a tiny treasure in the snow. Amidst dead, prickly vines and brown fruit I discovered a single red fruit (I don’t have the slightest idea what kind of fruit or berry it is) peeking out in the sunlight. It was just a small blob of color in a sea of snow, but it made me smile.
Jeesh it snows alot up on the tug. We have nothing here, nada, zip. I rode twice to work this week so far, but the real question is what are you doing in July? You should ride this ride. http://fanyride.com/
I’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again. You are friggin awesome.
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Haha, it sure does! That is awesome that you are riding to work as well 🙂
I do have something planned for July already, but it is still in the tentative stages so if it does fall through (although I gonna do my very best to make it happen) I will definitely consider FANY, it looks awesome. Will you be riding it this year and have you ever ridden it before?
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This will be my 7th time this year…. you won’t find a better experience on a ride anywhere!!
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That is a high recommendation indeed! And the price is really quite decent. Even if I don’t make it this year I am putting it on my must-do list 😀
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Some hungry squirrel with get that berry no doubt. When I rode the Erie canal way back in 08, we rode with the FANY gang one day.
From Riding the Erie Canal 2009 Day 2
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Haha, that must have been a bit bizarre having cyclist after cyclist cross your path until you realized what was really going on.
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Looks like a persimmon, unless it is a lot smaller than it appears in the picture.
Great landscape scenery you have there for riding in!
Aaron
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Thanks Aaron, I really love the scenery here in Northern NY 🙂 It does look like a persimmon but I thought they grew on trees, these things were growing from prickly canes…
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I was going to guess the berry was a rose hip from a wild rose.
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I think you got it! I looked up some pictures and found a few that looked very similar. The mystery is solved, thank you 😀
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Awesome pics Bri.
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Thanks Jim! The fresh snow makes everything look pretty 🙂
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I love it when the weather people get it wrong like that. They predict 1-3 and then Boom….12 inches!! Doesn’t get much better. Your words perfectly captured the feeling of a newly created winter wonderland.
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Thank you Doug! I secretly cheer whenever winter goes rogue on weather forecasters…
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I bet you play in the snow like that Panda Bear did.
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That panda perfectly expresses how I feel about snow…so cute, oh my goodness 🙂
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I can just see you Bri prancing around in the snow like the deer.:)
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Unfortunately, I am not as graceful as one. I swear that the only time I am not super clumsy is when I am on my bike…and even then it is a gamble 😉
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