What a difference a week makes...

So last week, I picked up the keg of Jubelale for our Holiday Extravaganza by bike in pleasant fall weather and the very next day, we started getting storm cycle after storm cycle...As I look out my window right now, I'm estimating about 8 inches of snow in spots...Deliveries were interesting and there may be potential delays this coming week...It's a bit frustrating that the city of Bend does little to maintain bike paths(or the roads for that matter)...and by little, I actually mean nothing...It's a vicious cycle...People won't ride in the winter because the bike paths aren't clear and the city won't maintain the bike paths because nobody is riding...It puts me in the situation where I have to ride in the road with traffic passing by within inches...Oh well, perhaps someday Bend will become a bike friendly town, but as it is now, my nerves are being put to the test...We had a storm move in last night that probably put another 3 inches on the ground with more to come tonight...The roads look awful...I have my downtown route tomorrow that should go on time but I'm skeptical about Tuesday...

On a lighter note...Skiing has been fantastic..There was an inversion today so all of that dry powder from last week is turning into a solid base for Mt. Bachelor. This means less chance of damaging my skis...

One more month

I just checked NOAA to see what the weather had planned for next weeks deliveries...Looks like winter is just around the corner...I always feel a little schizophrenic with news of snow...I love to ski and most of the time, deliveries in the snow are just as easy as they are any other time of the year. There is not much that compares to riding around Bend with a fresh white coat covering everything. That being said, there are times where even staying upright is a challenge. I remember one particular day last year. The snow had been falling for about a week with not much being plowed due to a combination of poor planning by the city and a heavier than average snow season. There was about 3-4 inches of snow and on that day, it happened to warm up significantly. The result was a layer of black slush that was almost impossible to navigate by bike(or by car). One block in particular saw me falling over more than once. This lead me to Webcyclery to purchase my dream bike......THE PUGSLEY....Once I got there, the guys at the shop talked me down and I ended up with a much more practical Salsa El Mariachi...The 29er got me through the rest of the winter without any issues and before I knew it, I was riding in 90 degree heat wishing it was winter....Well, here it comes. I've got a lot more business this time around so we'll see how it goes.