spokesNspin

One aspect of touring that one must prepare for is weather.  Unlike a Saturday ride when you can decide that the weather is better for staying home and curling up with a good book, a tour doesn’t give you that luxury.    It is true that when the weather is bad you can get a motel or stay in camp one day and not travel.  But there are times when you just have to brave the elements.

When bicycling in the mountains of the West one should be prepared for temperatures at or below freezing, even in the summer.  During my Sawtooth Mountain Scenic loop I rode over summits with some snow falling.  That trip was during the first week of July.

This was taken just below Galena Summit during my Sawtooth tour. As  you can see I am wearing a jacket.  What you can’t tell is that I am wearing  a windbreaker vest, long sleeved jersey and an insulated base layer under that.  As previously stated it was the first week in July.

I met two women on the first day of this trip. They were doing the same loop but in the opposite direction. They told me they bicycled in temps in the high nineties one day and in snow the next.

You can also see that this was my pony tail and bearded time.

Once I took a Memorial Day weekend two day tour from Salt Lake City, Utah to Preston, Idaho by way of Sardine Canyon, Logan Canyon, Bear Lake and Emigration Canyon.  I spent the night camped in Logan Canyon with temps below freezing.  The next day, as I bicycled over the summit in Emigraton Canyon to Preston I had sleet and snow. 

I have been in thunderstorms when the winds were so hard it was a struggle to stay upright.  Along the Blue Ridge Parkway the difficult weather factor is fog.

One minute it would be clear and the next I was riding into a wall of thick wet fog.  On this trip it got so bad that a couple in a van decided to stop and pick me and my bike up and drive me the rest of the day.  It was dangerous since it was hard for cars to see me.

When it rains I have covers for the loads on my bike.

This was taken during my Southern Utah Color Country tour.  I had a bit of a thunderstorm but it didn’t last long.

Yes the weather may not always be pleasant but it is just part of the adventure.  And storms often present some of the most beautiful scenery.

Happy Friday Foto Fiesta.

Tags: Bicycle Touring

This entry was posted on Friday, December 19th, 2008 at 6:54 am and is filed under Bicycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.