Winter, spring or summer?

Last weekend I decided it was finally time to start this year's "cycling season" and explore some surroundings a bit further from home.

I drove to Leominster, then rode around the Wachusett Mountain. Or at least I tried to, since spring hasn't arrived there yet and snow was everywhere. In fact, the summit was not even accessible with the main gate being blocked by a huge pile of snow.

I had to skip the ride to the summit and try my luck elsewhere. It was still pretty cold early in the morning but later on as temperature raised, you could feel that warmer days were coming. I actually enjoyed riding along Parmenter St in Leominster State Forest despite all the frozen snow on the ground.

To be fair, this place would be way easier to ride once snow melts completely, but even then make sure you bring wider tires. Parmenter St is not really a street at all but more like a very rocky forest road. I guess that's what makes it a place fun to ride.

Now this was two days ago and situation has changed dramatically since then. Snow is pretty much gone and now we enjoy... summer with air temperature reaching 80F (27C) today. It's a strange kind of summer though, with no leaves on trees (yet).

This warmer weather also means that suddenly everyone recalled those two-wheel machines stored in basement and as such, bike paths are now full of seasonal cyclists.

The season is officially open. Cyclists are here. I'm just waiting for pollen to arrive.