Winter finally moving into our area
This week was probably the end of the season for biking along the Allegheny Passage. My 22-mile ride on Tuesday took place under sunny skies with pleasant temperatures in the mid-50s. My total for the year was 3,442 miles and this is down from last year蘑菇视频 4,025 miles. Age is beginning to take a bit of a toll, however, I am still proud of my accomplishment. Since 2007, I have biked 32,833 miles, most of it on the Allegheny Passage, which runs from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC. The circumference of our planet earth is 24,901 miles.
How fitting that on Tuesday蘑菇视频 ride, I was treated to the pleasant sight of a bald eagle scouring the river gorge for a possible meal. I did see a few bears earlier in the season, but had not seen an eagle for several years. What a great way to end the season. The sighting was between mile marker 67 and 68.
Speaking of the end of the season, the weather is about to take a turn more towards winter and leave the sunny pleasant, mellow days of October and November behind. We certainly have enjoyed our share of nice fall weather and this should go down as one of the most pleasant in recent memory.
Once the bike trail begins to freeze and thaw the surface gets soft and it becomes difficult to use as your tires sink into the cinder surface. After a rain or snow event and a freeze, the trail can feel like pedaling in wet concrete. These conditions will probably last until the warmer spring days harden it. Other factors that limit trail use are the cold temperatures and the wind. A 20 mile per hour wind on a day with temperatures in the 20s is not a fun experience.
Speaking of cold temperatures, last week I wrote about the cold air, bottled up in Alaska and the Arctic, waiting for an opportunity to plunge southward. Temperatures have now warmed in Alaska as the cold air has been picked up by a change in the jet stream and the Arctic air has made the journey to our area. This weekend, temperatures should struggle to warm to the freezing mark and most forecasts look for the cold to intensify and stay around for the next ten days and perhaps just about all of December. It may be some time before we see the 50s and 60s again. We should also see some snow over the coming days.
The mild sunny days have spoiled us since it can get very cold in early December. On December 3, 1976, we recorded a low of 4 below zero. It was -11 on that date in the mountains. December 11, 1958, saw a reading of -8 in the lower elevations and -13 in the mountains. Below zero weather is possible on any given day in December. The coldest was -14 on December 22, 1989, in the the lower elevations and -17 in the mountains. Average December temperatures are a high of 43 and a low of 26.
Again the best advice is to be prepared for winter. The next few days will be a good time to give your vehicle a once-over to get it ready for the winter days ahead.