Just west of Wales, WI, there’s a new subdivision, as pictured above. All last summer there was work going on–clearing a field, moving soil, random activity. I wondered what they were doing.

There has been a lot of road reconstruction nearby so I thought the work might be related to that. The last time I went past here in the fall, it was still unidentifiable piles of dirt.

Now, it’s spring, and there are houses. And not just one or two, but a half dozen or so. They grew like weeds, if weeds can grow during the winter.

I guess I have to get out more often. But it is difficult to get to this point on the Glacial Drumlin Trail during the winter. There is usually too much snow to make it to Wales, let along further west.

20.29 miles today. 173.32 miles YTD.

The second attempt is good. Perhaps it’s better that I missed this shot yesterday.

Here is the Fox River Trail Boardwalk looking north from the parking lot on Sunset Dr. This time it’s a sunny cloudless day. Not quite warm, but I’m not complaining even though I had to add more clothing than yesterday.

The snow is gone, though some is forecast for this weekend. I think rain would be better. Instead of adding more salt to the roads to melt the snow, it would be nice to start rinsing the salt off.

Though I try to minimize the miles on roads, aiming instead for local trails, my bike is still getting coated with salt and other debris with each ride.

18.15 miles today. 153.03 miles YTD.

Today the season changes. Spring at last!

I thought this would be a good day to go for the March photo of the Fox River Trail Boardwalk. Besides adding one photo each month, I thought it would be interesting to have one photo for each of the 4 season changes.

The problem is that I rode right by without stopping. What was I thinking? I’m sure my mind was wandering somewhere, but not strategically planning for the photograph.

By the time I realized the miss, I didn’t want to return. After all, I can ride again tomorrow, the first full day of spring.

The photo above was taken at Glacier Cone Park, looking up the hill. Not a hill I would attempt to ride with my road bike. But it is a nice hike, and if you are into geocaching, there’s a little adventure here.

17.03 miles today. 134.88 miles YTD.

In great contrast to the earlier rides this month, today was warm. The temperatures went above normal last week, but I was out of town and unable to ride.

So when I saw that the temperature was going to get near 70 degrees today, I knew I would have to carve out some time to ride. After all, it would be back down in the 40s tomorrow.

I had other obligations during the warmest part of the day, but it was above 60 when I got out. It was nice to wear a single layer of clothing, a long sleeve jersey and shorts.

The photo above is taken looking south along the Cushing Park Trail in Delafield, Wisconsin. This trail connects the Glacial Drumlin Trail to the south with the Lake Country Trail to the north. There were a good number of walkers on the trail today and a few other bicycles too.

I rode for nearly two hours, making this my longest ride of the year so far. By the end of the year, this ride should be considered about average length.

24.92 miles today. 117.85 miles YTD.

The primary factor necessary for a winter bike ride is dry roads. I rode February 28 because the roads were dry, and there was a chance for snow the next day.

It did not snow on March 1, so the roads were still dry. I took the opportunity to ride again. And, since my schedule allowed, I was able to ride again today. Yep, you guessed it, the roads are still dry.

Apparently that will all change tomorrow. Snow and ice are on the way.

It’s rare for me to ride three days in a row in the winter. My last trifecta was October 25-27. Those 3 days I logged more than 92 miles, whereas this 3-day streak totaled just over 37.

Twice before, I actually rode 3+ consecutive days during the season of winter. These were March 16-18, 2012 and  March 15-19, 2011. The latter was a 5-day winter-riding streak!

This time of year, I can feel the 37 miles in my knees. Three short rides and yet the muscles around my knees are telling me its enough. So sad to start over every year. But that’s what we do.

14.37 miles today. 92.93 miles YTD.

Today was 10 degrees warmer than yesterday, 26F instead of 16F. In the upper-20s I don’t have to have foot warmers to ride. Good thing, since I used my last pair yesterday.

The other modification I made today was that I went back to sunglasses, no cumbersome ski goggles.

With these two wardrobe changes, my face started out cold, and my feet ended up colder than yesterday. But it was a nice ride on a sunny afternoon.

The photograph is at Sunset Park. The sign says that the park is closed November 1 to April 1. That means we have one more month until this park, and its restroom, is open once again. To me, April 1 is when the bicycling spring arrives.

It’s interesting that yesterday I could not get to this park because the trail was covered with snow past an earlier point. Today there were patches of snow before the park, but easily passable.

I rode a little past the park before the snow patches became uneven and a bit icy. That’s when I turned around.

Today’s ride was the shortest of the year.

11.31 miles. YTD 78.56 miles.