Cycle 365

The bicycle in daily life

Splendor In The Ice

Posted: February 20, 2021 Under: Challenges By 7 Comments

Today’s post features some of My Town’s best scenery. I’ve shown them several times before, but I don’t think I’ve done so when they’ve been frozen. If I have shown them in that state, then I don’t think I’ve shown them frozen on such a sunny day and with lots of snow cover. If I HAVE shown them in a frozen state on a sunny day with lots of snow cover, please forgive me for repeating myself.

I felt some urgency today, because last night might be the last of our below-zero weather, and starting tomorrow we’re looking at a week of ABOVE-FREEZING temperatures. In other words, our frozen splendor might soon be slowly disappearing.

Before I get to the beautiful scenery, I do want to display my latest work of art. Yesterday’s trip among the ice sculptures of downtown MY Town inspired me to create my own Valentine-themed ice sculpture for The Feeshko. She was almost overwhelmed.

My Valentine heart and the tools of the trade. (Every artist has to begin somewhere.)

One thing I learned it that ice sculpting is harder than it looks. Another thing I learned is that ice from an ice cube tray is not as clear as the ice used by real ice sculptors.

Let’s move on to MY Town’s scenic hotspots. (In this case, scenic coldspots.)

One nice thing about an icy river is that you don’t have to wait til you get to a bridge to cross it. Here, The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong and I took a short cut across the Vermillion River.

The Falls of the Vermillion River are icier than I’ve ever seen them. The water roars over those falls and it looks almost as if the cold air flash-froze it in mid-roar.

I checked the “monthly challenge” box when I started this post because I did actually run into a couple of potential hazards. I’ll discuss those hazards in the next two pictures and a video.

Always be careful when crossing railroad tracks no matter what the weather is. One minute you’re riding along and having fun, and then the next minute you’ve gotten caught in the grooves of the track, your handlebars turn sideways, and you’re flipping over your bike. Thanks to my vigilance, that didn’t happen to me at this railroad crossing.

Walking on icy surfaces is another potential hazard. The Penguin Shuffle is an excellent technique to help you to avoid a painful slip and fall. Rather than try to explain the Penguin Shuffle with words, I decided to make a video.

If this public service announcement can prevent a single bruise or broken bone, I will consider it a success.

Moving on to the Mississippi River. I’m sure I’ve made it clear that I love the USA’s largest river system. I love it in all seasons. Unfortunately, I haven’t been down there during our two-week long cold spell. That situation changed today. River. Ice. Snow. Bridge. Sky. Bike.

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Hi. My name is Greg and I ride my bike a lot. That is to say, I ride my bike almost every day. I go on long rides and short rides. Sunny rides, cloudy rides, and rainy rides. I like commuting, errand-running, day-tripping, overnighting, and touring on my bike. I ride on city streets, highways, gravel, single track, and snow with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes I ride fast and sometimes I ride slow. I try to keep my feet on the pedals at stop lights and I do not dismount when I hop up on a curb. I have a roadie bike, a mountain bike and a touring bike. I try to accept any challenge a bike ride can throw at me without complaint. But I don't like bugs.

7 response to "Splendor In The Ice"

  1. By: Scooter Posted: February 20, 2021

    Amazing to see the Mississippi frozen over like that! And a very touching valentine. The Feeshko is so lucky!

  2. By: Laura Posted: February 20, 2021

    Beautiful blue sky shots.

  3. By: Suzanne Posted: February 21, 2021

    Impressive pictures of frozen rivers!
    I think sculpting an ice cube is probably more difficult than working on a giant piece of ice. A sweet heart.
    Thanks for the penguin shuffle. I think we have seen the last of our ice and snow for this season, but you never know.

  4. By: The Navigator Posted: February 21, 2021

    Glad there were no injuries carving the heart. And I do like to see how the same places look at different times of year. Here is a bit more subtle – the change in light, brown to green, etc, definitely nothing as dramatic as MN. But boy am I glad I do not live somewhere that there are PSAs about how to walk on ice. The penguin shuffle certainly made me giggle thinking about all these people in heaps of clothing shuffling along on the ice….

  5. By: NancyG Posted: February 21, 2021

    There is so much about this post ;’-).
    If you HAVE shown these before — who would remember? Not I. So i so enjoyed all of them.

    You and Mr. Bing Bong seem oh so brave to me in crossing a frozen river. I suppose you two know just how safe it is in YOUR town.

    Carving a heart from ice cubes! What a feat, and so sweet. You have got to have won the sweetheart award from the Feeshko.

    The Penguin shuffle is a real thing? I guess it is the best technique in the ice tundra where you live. ?.

    Brilliant snow and deep blue sky above the Mississippi River bridge is awesome.

    I feel that you have outdone Splendor in the Ice and shared such a gorgeous time with us. I bet you might just feel a touch of sadness that the weather is changing to warm up YOUR town., But — maybe not, ?.

    • By: gregblood Posted: February 22, 2021

      “I bet you might just feel a touch of sadness that the weather is changing to warm up YOUR town”

      Maybe just a touch, but that’s about all.

  6. By: Lednar De Nalloh Posted: February 22, 2021

    Looking at all that snow makes me feel cool, it’s 39Celsius outside right now.

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