Back in the saddle again....

Back in Colorado after spending a week in Northern Virginia visiting friends of mine from my ROTC/college days.  Some hunting with no results, lots of good food and drink and recalling old and new memories.

Still, I had been (as suggested by RichardM on Facebook) feeling slight withdrawal symptoms from no riding.

Prescription: Snow Riding.  Mother Nature obliged by dumping about 1-2 inches of snow on the metro Denver area yesterday afternoon and overnight.  We woke to this thin blanket of snow and lots of ice this morning.

Traction conditions were marginal at best in the neighborhood roads as it seemed Scarlett and I were riding on a sheet of ice until we got to the main roads.  The temperature was 22ºF (-5.5 ºC) and it did feel a bit "brisk" at first.

There was practically no traffic as we motored along mostly icy slush covered main roads until we reached the suburb neighborhoods south of the junction of Smoky Hill Road and Inspiration Drive.

The weather forecast for today was for mostly cloudy conditions and as you can see below, they were right on the money in terms of cloud coverage.

As I was riding about, enjoying the cold crisp air and solitary road conditions, there might have been a song on my lips as I watched the morning light grow brighter and one could get a good look at distant Pikes Peak:

 "On my Cayuse, I will straddle my old saddle till I see a mountain rise"

Heading south on Inspiration Drive, we found ourselves once again posting Scarlett in the recently discovered "cul de sac" where once had been part of Inspiration Drive itself.

We stopped while close to the Saddlerock Golf Course for this view of Mount Evans.

The temperature was reported at 26ºF (-3ºC) as we neared home, Scarlett and I, and it felt positively balmy now that the sun was out.  A couple of hours of riding in snowy/icy conditions, with clear views of the nearby mountain peaks....just what the doctor ordered for my riding withdrawal symptoms!