Pre-Christmas Winter Ride

This past Saturday Madison had her first party that was not a birthday party to attend. Her friend down the street had a holiday party and invited about 20 of the 5th grade girls. This presented Brent and I with the opportunity to ride the road bikes together. We bundled up and headed out.

This area is shaded by the mountains so it was colder than we anticipated. In fact, there was ice and snow on one of the roads which scared me even on the uphill. While we ride the MTB in several inches of snow and over ice, road bike tires are not quite geared toward that type of ride. We decided not to take that route home since we would be going downhill and unable to control our speed. Instead we opted for the freeway, not sure it was all that much safer but I stayed upright and that was the goal.

I would say it was easily in the low 30's for most of the ride and as we got closer to sunset the temperature began to drop considerably. I have great gear but still can not seem to find anything to keep my feet warm. It felt like my cleats were freezing and then sucking the warmth from my feet. It was miserable but still better than not riding at all.


The baby cows were out an near the fence so we stopped to check them out. Brent got the mama's all upset by mooing at them. We got this shot of one of the babies mooing at him too. When we got home I took a nice long hot shower to defrost. It was a crisp day but well worth the ride. The next day, it was in the 50's but we had to get ready for our Christmas eve festivities so no time for a ride.

Franktown Loop

Yesterday Brent and I did the Franktown loop in Carson City. It is about a 30 mile loop from our house and it away from traffic and very scenic. I typically do this ride after work about twice per week depending on the wind.

This is Brent at the first climb on the loop called Lakeview. This somewhat short climb is the worst of the entire ride.



Parts of the ride overlook Washoe lake and Lightning W golf course. The homes in the area are all ranches with lots of acreage and livestock, etc. It is strange to leave the city and just a few blocks away you drop into this beautiful farm area.
Here is Brent in front of one of the ranches with roses that cascade over the fence. The tattoo is a nice touch I think. After Franktown road we extend the loop and head past Bower's Mansion and all the way to a green dome in Washoe Valley.

Can you spot the stud in this picture? It is actually kind of sad, my friend Kathy says that after this bull does his business for the season, they segregate him from the other cows so he is all alone in this little pasture.














People drive from Reno, Gardnerville, and surrounding areas to ride this loop. We feel very fortunate to be able to just ride out from our home to such a great area.