More January Sunshine!

 Today was deceptively mild.  The light breeze actually felt warm.  Our temperature at home topped out at 54 degrees.  When I arrived in Silver City, there was almost no wind!  Mari Jo & I had planned this ride since last weekend, in the hope the trail would stay frozen.

At Happy Trails~

Mari Jo said she needed to check her tire pressure.  I asked her to check mine. Well...  Now I know why I was working harder yesterday.  Smokey has Goodyear tires - I found the recommended psi on the sidewall.  The rear tire was at 28lbs., the front 32lbs.  Well under the manufacture suggested 70-80 psi.  Those lower tire pressures probably helped in the snow though.  Mari Jo explained that bigger tires lose air faster than the smaller tires my Verve had.  Lesson learned!  Now I'll be checking tire pressure before I ride.

Spectacular day~

Once we were out on the trail, we both realized the surface was starting to thaw.  There were places where our tire tracks could be seen, but we weren't sinking in.  Sticky is one of the descriptive words used. 

Frozen creeks~

We couldn't help but comment more than once - on the beautiful day & had to keep reminding ourselves it's only mid-January.

Mari Jo & our bikes~

The usual quiet on the trail is its greatest draw for me.  With another day of warm weather forecast, we won't be riding here again for a while.

Silver Creek from the trestle~

The creek was tinkling along under the ice.  We could see in several places where the deer had crossed from one side to the other.  Along some of the edge, the ice was already breaking away from the banks.

Bikes on the trestle~

The Trestle is always a nice sunny spot to warm up, at just over four miles from Silver City.  We continued to the far side a way before turning back.  The snow was thicker on the next section, more shade, more snow.  There too, though, the unseasonable warmth was starting to soften the trail surface.

The Beavers now have two dams~

The beavers have been busy!  Two nice dams now in this creek.  So pretty with the water flowing under the ice & again making the most beautiful sound!

Back at Happy Trails, we'd finished just under nine miles, on the sticky surface.  With an ice storm forecast for Friday & snow on the way - the next few days will be interesting!  Back in Glenwood, I decided to stop at the car wash.  It was a much easier & quicker way to wash the trail grit off Smokey!