I finally got to ride today for the first time this year. Between sickness, cold weather and rain I did not get to ride. So today I decided to break the ice so to say and rode 19.3 miles on my Motobecane 700HT MT. I figured since my legs probably did not remember how to turn the pedals riding the trails would be the best choice. The weather cooperated with 71 degrees and a nice clear sky. This is the first clear sky in at least 5 days so getting out to ride was even more calling.  It has rained here for the last two days and the trails were wet with many branches and other debris. In two places I went off the trail to ride around fallen branches.

My choice of clothing today included a long sleeve jersey, leg warmers and a windbreaker jacket. The choice kept me comfortable even when I was in the woods and out of the sunlight on some of the trails.

I varied my route today by going to the Northpark Recreation Area on the north end of Woodland Hills Drive. It has been a long time since my last visit. As I reached the edge of one of the parking lots I could see the street in a new subdivision under construction on the far side of the soccer field. I looked at the soccer field to see if it was dry enough to ride across and decided it was. I made it past the field to a drainage ditch overflow barrier and then into the the dirt area beside the new street. It looked wet but I found a somewhat dry route and made it to the street. Surprisingly I did not leave a trail in the dirt and my tires showed only a little of the dirt sticking to them.

After that I stayed on the paved trails and some side streets. The water drained from the trails except for a couple of spots. Starting my ride at 12:44 probably accounted for not many people on the trails today.

Last January I rode 267.25 miles. I will have to get some help from the weather if I am going to match that this year. The weather for tomorrow is supposed to be 72 degrees wit a 20% chance of rain. I plan riding my road bike then since the streets should be dry by then.

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