Lovely Sunday Snow Rides

This bicycle soldiers on in winter.

The weathercons were right.  The snow began about 7 am and was over by noon.  I think Des Moines received 3" of snow.  With the temperature hovering a few degrees below freezing it was a nice day to spend outside.  I rode the bicycle twice.

My first ride was to Church.  Had to be there by 8 am as I thought I was to fill in for a person who was scheduled for Holy Communion.  I was wrong, that is next week.  Oh well, here now better stay.  The snow had been falling for an hour and the streets may have had over an inch.  No one had driven over it so I had streets of virgin snow.  This is the best snow to ride in.  After Mass it was apparent that a lot of people woke up and drove.  They made the roads a bit crappy to ride in.  Had to pay attention to my line and prepare for the wheels breaking through the snow to the street surface.  This is like a reverse anti-lock brakes, smooth then a jolty rough patch then smooth again.  Find virgin snow toward the curbs.

They did a nice job clearing the snow off the walk and bike racks.

After Church, Mary and I decided that we should do our weekend taco and coffee ride.  We ride downtown about a mile and have breakfast tacos at Fuzzy's then go to DSM Brew for coffee.  Neighborhood residential streets to Mullets then we crossed the pedestrian bridge which the city had already made one pass with the plow.  The MLK sidepath was clear of snow which was getting near the 3" depth.  I decided to indulge in a beer, Iowa Eagle from Iowa Brewing Co, a Czech lager.  While enjoying said beer and chorizo tacos we noticed that someone was riding their bicycle in the street instead of the sidepath.  A bike with drop bars.  Heading east,  Probably in the street to avoid an inattentive driver from killing him with a right hook at the intersection of 3rd and MLK.  Good move but that street was wet.

I was shocked!  No espresso from here today!  After dropping Dora off at work i noticed that they opened.

DSM Brew was not open.  Maybe the snow delayed the openers.  But it was nearly 11 am.  We went to Java Joe's instead.  Their espresso is a bit darker roasted than DSM Brew but quite good.  I was a bit shocked at the price but Mary's medium iced vanilla latte was about the size of a large anywhere else.  I relaxed with that revelation.

At Java Joe's.  Not shown is the silver Chevy Impala blocking the entrance/exit of a parking garage and the Toyota Tundra & driver that wanted out.

The snow was over when we left but the struggle was on.  A Chevy Impala was parked illegally in front of the garage next to Java Joe's.  Two people wanted to exit the garage.  I almost chuckled as I unlocked our bicycles from the rack.  We'd be moving soon, they would not.

One stop at Hy Vee for cat food, two cod filets, pork and a bottle of wine.  Best get shopping done while I am out.  The rest of the ride home was alright.  Another pass was made on the bridge.  Got home and shoveled.  Both of us.  Worked up a sweat and stripped off my warmth layers and got the snow removed in time for tomorrow's winter event.