January's Final Breath

The final Saturday of January brought with it picture perfect weather, but more snow, wind, and sub-zero temps were on their way in for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Once again I rode the multipurpose trails at Elm Creek Reserve and they were in near perfect condition.

 

Some areas were still drifted, but riding was firm and it would be down hill as far as the conditions go from this point on.

Making tracks through a wintery landscape.

Saturday night brought more snow and Sunday the winds arrived. By the time I was done riding the wind gusts were near 40 mph and temps were plunging rapidly.

In a matter of one hour after the big winds hit parts of the trail were blown over. Tracks I had laid 45 minutes previous were literally gone.

By Sunday afternoon much of the single track, which is about two miles from this site, was buried under drifts several feet deep. It would take days to get the single track groomed only to be buried once again on Wednesday night by six more inches of wind driven snow.

 

 "Wind Driven Snow at the Trailhead"

Monday and Tuesday brought -20 (F) temperatures with -40 (F) wind chills and school closings, so it left me with days off and time spent working at home and venturing out to enjoy the weather.

 "Monday Morning"

 "-20(F) -40 (F) Wind Chill"

 

 "Bike Trails Vanished"

Tuesday brought with it more cold temps and I took out the snowshoes. It was awesome to get out and do something different. I'm looking forward to getting my running program going once again.

 

With January taking its final breath it will be interesting to see what February has in store for us.