April Showers

When April showers come your way

They bring the snow you'll see 'til May.

We got a solid twelve inches of April showers Wednesday into Thursday. Then the temperature dropped into the twenties overnight, so the snowbanks stayed in the road and black and gray ice made the lanes more treacherous. I could try to ride in that, but I didn't.

Tonight is even colder, but we did have a little thawing today. If I feel bold, I might give it a shot tomorrow. The forecast holds no really warm weather for the next week.

The refreeze set up the crust, and the old snow had mostly melted away, so it does not open up back-country ski possibilities, either. It just delays the next season's fun.

I could scrape the storage wax off my skate skis...

Tonight I rode my new Minoura rollers for the first time. I retired the rusty Roll Tracs. They sagged. At speed they vibrated so badly they threw the drive belt off. But the new ones intimidated me for the first few minutes. I don't know if the actual roller drums are narrower, but the frame around them is, making it look like I have much less margin for error. The drums roll smoothly, which should be better, but they seemed to magnify my own errors until I'd stayed on long enough to get my chops back.

Rollers have apparently become hip again. I've seen two models with added stability enhancers that claim to let you relax and ride in a more "natural" (read "sloppy") fashion.

Yes, at high cadences you can bounce and wobble. That's the point. Learn not to bounce and wobble on the rollers and you will gain incredible balance and confidence on the road. You can learn not to bounce or wobble on rollers with stabilizers, but then you won't need the stabilizers. Why not work on smooth form from the start? Push your cadence up until you get rough, then back off.

Place the rollers next to a solid piece of furniture so you have something to grab. It's also a handy place to set water, a towel, and other items.