A Change In The Weather

We finally had a nice sunny day in Duluth. It was my chance to finally ride the FX home. It was 31 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny as I started off on my ride home. As I drove through the streets of Duluth I noticed that nobody was paying any attention to me. Apparently people around here are getting used to crazy people doing strange things in the winter!

The bike is so quiet that I had to watch out for pedestrians. A couple of people walked across the street in front of me without looking. When I buzzed by them they didn’t even turn around. I don’t think they knew I was there.

As I headed out into the country towards home I increased my speed. That made my ride a little cooler. I had on an Aero Fleece Wind Triangle that I pushed that up further on my face to accommodate the increased wind. I was pretty thrilled that I was cruising at 41 MPH! However, I don’t think the person in the car behind me shared my enthusiasm since the speed limit is 45 MPH.

I was concerned about pulling into my driveway because it is still snow packed and icy. With a tip from Kyle I made a wide turn so I could enter the driveway straight on rather than at an angle. It was a 13.9 mile ride home and I was pretty excited to have done it without dropping the bike! I am waiting for Bruce to do that first.

The next morning was a bit cooler. Overnight the temperature dropped down to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. I added an Aero Warm Bib under my Roadcrafter for some extra warmth. The suspension was a bit stiffer in the colder temperature so when I got on the bike my toes couldn’t reach the ground. My husband set out wood blocks on the right side of the bike so I could move the bike enough to get the kickstand up.

My driveway was an ice skating rink and I was nervous about going from dirt to ice and then to a tar 55 MPH road. I took it slow and the tire studs kept traction on the ice and snow. As I approached the end of my driveway the FX was so quiet that I could hear that there were no cars coming. I slowed down enough to verify that but I didn’t need to try and stop on the ice and then get going again. I shot out into the road and I was off feeling pretty proud. My fist pump and celebrating was short lived when I had to slam on the brakes because a deer ran out in front of me. The FX was stable on the brakes and it stopped quickly and without sliding out. Feeling a little rattled, I kept on motoring to work. I got behind a school bus and was glad to be going slow and it wasn’t my fault!

I made it to work feeling exhilarated. A little cold weather and a near miss with a deer gets your blood moving. As I was getting off the bike a couple of customers from our store came over to check out the bike. After chatting with them for a while I was off to work and handed the keys over to Bruce.