Kind of a double whammy of dark descending on us this week.  Not only are we into the shortest days of the year at one week removed from Winter Solstice, there’s also a new moon on Wednesday.  So this week’s evening rides are going to be…  dark, particularly in the park and on poorly-lighted Lawyers Hill Rd, towards the end of my ride.

Other than the utter blackness, tonight’s ride was uneventful.  The temperature was a not-quite-balmy 46, and I wore the same stuff as the morning, minus the rain pants and shoe covers.  My tires behaved much better after I wiped them down.  Road conditions were so-so.  Mostly dry but still some washed out areas, but still a lot of road grit and debris everywhere.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer with more fog in the morning.  The rest of the week looks dry.  I will probably take the road bike again tomorrow and then switch to the fixed-gear for the rest of the week.

Note to self:  after oiling bike, remember to wipe off excess and make sure it doesn’t get on tires.  I somehow managed to get to work without falling down, but boy was that some white-knuckled, slick-track excitement this morning.  Didn’t help that the roads were wet and oily (especially in Catonsville) too.  I survived by staying in the saddle for 90% of the ride and spinning up the hills in low gear.  Would have been a real drag if this had been the fixed-gear bike.

Rode into Ellicott City via New Cut Rd, then up Oella and Westchester Ave, and through Catonsville via Rockwell and Edmondson Ave.  Around 13 miles at a rather deliberate average pace of 14.3mph.  NWS says it’s only 34 degrees, but it felt warmer.  Mostly sun and some clouds, with fog around the river.  I wore a short sleeve athletic shirt, long sleeve Under Armour top, cycling shorts, leg warmers, rain pants, wool socks, toe warmers, shoe covers, light gloves, REI helmet liner, and hi-vis windbreaker.  Felt comfortable the whole way, and probably could have done without the rain pants, as they ended up with just a tiny bit of spray on them.  It had been about 16 hours since it rained.

I’ll be thoroughly wiping off my tires before the ride home tonight!