Southern Links Trailway

...Or at least that was the goal on Thursday.

Before indulging in St. Patrick's Day festivities, I decided it would be a good idea to embark on a 60 mile road ride. The goal was to ride from Hadley to Columbiaville on the road (approximately 20 miles), and then ride from Columbiaville to Millington via the Southern Links Trailway (10 miles), and then back. All was going swell until I actually reached the Southern Links Trailway:

Which, to my dissatisfaction, was still thoroughly ensconced in snow and ice.

For the record, it was 67ºF on Thursday. Too warm for legwarmers...but somehow, ice? I decided to bear onward, but after about a quarter mile of the ice-snow mixture, I'd had enough. Also, I fell over and decided staying on the planned course wasn't worth struggling the remaining 19.75 miles and risking MORE ice down my pants.

The skinny cross tires were just not up to the job.

So I took an alternate route. I headed up north along some roads, saw the Columbiaville Trike Guy:

This guy is ALWAYS riding a trike around Columbiaville, even throughout winter. I see him every time I work at the Columbiaville branch library.

I ended up riding around the Lakeville High School in Otisville, then made my way back to Hadley. Total trip (with a few laps of the driveway at the end for good measure) was 50.1 miles. I ended the day with a beer (well...a lot of beer...) at Sherwood Brewing Company with some friends.

The perfect post-ride snack.