First (Disasterous) Ride Of The Year

Total for this day: 14.6 miles

Total for this year: 14.6 miles

This first ride of the year started out pretty much as I expected it would. It was cold when I left the house - about 29 degrees - so I layered up, loaded the bike in the back of the truck, and set out for the commuter parking lot that always serves as my point of departure when I ride into work.

The plan was to follow the route I typically use when commuting in, with one small change. Thinking that all the recent snow melt would make riding on the crushed stone portion of the Erie Canal Towpath a little sloppy, I delayed jumping on the trail until I reached Schoen Place in Pittsford, where the paved segment of the path begins. Except for the fact that my ears were killing me because of the frigid wind - at least for the first couple of miles - the ride started off well.

A few miles past Schoen Place I rode by the first of the two canal locks (I think it's Lock 32) I pass when commuting to work. The construction that forced a detour off of the towpath last year is now complete. A stairwell underneath Clover St. has been removed, and in its place there's now a small tunnel with a ramp which brings you back up to the towpath level. Nice. I breezed through the new addition, making pretty good time for the first ride of the year.

It's about a mile from Lock 32 in Pittsford to Lock 33 in Henrietta. Along the way you pass a pond which I believe was used to "absorb" surges in the canal's water level. It may have also been a small port at one point - when the canal is drained you can see the remnants of a few sunken barges which were apparently docked along the west side years ago. Not much left these days except the ribs which supported the hull. Then it's up a modest rise and through a wooded area before you get to the Jewish Community Center, right across Edgewood Ave. from Lock 33. It was just after I crested the rise that I realized I was in trouble... whereas the trail had been clear up to this point, now, because the trees prevented direct sunlight from reaching the ground, there was still a significant snowpack on the path. And it wasn't just one little patch... there was snow as far as I could see.

I knew right then that I was in trouble. I was just about halfway to the office. I could turn around, go back to the truck, and drive in. But I'd definitely be late for work. Or I could press on, try to ride through it as best I could, and hope that once I got to the lock the snow would clear again and I could continue on. I decided on the latter. It never got better.

For the next couple of miles I alternated between pushing and riding my bike - pushing through the patches of lumpy, ice encrusted snow, and riding during those brief intervals where the path had received enough sunlight in the previous few days to allow the trail to completely dry. My greatest fear was black ice - in many places the snow which had melted the previous day forming thin puddles and streams had re-frozen overnight, resulting in an almost imperceptable and totally frictionless surface. Riding over one would have resulted in an instantaneous crash with absolutely no warning. Walking on one would have been only slightly less hazardous. Even pushing the bike over black ice was a chore. As soon as the front wheel hit the stuff it immediately went flying to the side.

I don't know how long I continued like that, but at some point I realized the situation wasn't going to get any better and I needed to escape the trail and hit the streets, where I knew the surface would be dry. Only problem was how to get there. The towpath crossed under a couple highways, which didn't offer any respite. And where it went under roads suitable for riding, the embankments up to those roads were too steep and slippery to climb. Finally I made it to Westfall Road, where a path (albeit one with some snow cover) led from the trail up to the street. I took it, and remained on-road for the rest of the ride.

All together it took me an hour and 45 minutes to get to work - about 45 minutes longer than normal. I was late for my morning staff meeting, but only by a few minutes. And I had called ahead to warn the group that I was having a rough time getting in, so at least they knew I was on my way.

I guess the moral of the story is that in the future I need to run some reconnaissance before hitting the trails this early in the season...