Thursday, March 13, 2014

Change your attitude just a bit.

"This winter is too long," "I am tired of snow," "I can't believe that there is more snow in the forecast." Blah blah blah.


Making the most out of winter.

I get it, there is still snow falling in Michigan. You could look at this as a bad thing, a bummer, one more reason to sit on the couch and press play on just one more episode of ____________ on your DVR; or, you could make the most of it and go have some fun.

Face it: this winter is not stopping, and neither should you! Get outside and do something already!


Winter storm "Vulcan's" impact on my bike, no biggie.



-J

Monday, March 10, 2014

No snow days...

... from fun that is! 


When the winter weather hit this year I slapped a mountain bike tire up front and kept trucking. With the exception of one miserably slow slog through new snow in December and a few spills on the ice I was able to ride whenever I wanted to this winter due to this setup. This is definitely the most versatile bike that I have owned.

-J

Hard Water

Several years ago I blogged for Pure Michigan about the ice formations that are found on Lake Michigan. At the time it was no big deal. In fact the post did not receive too much traffic. However, this year it seems the Big Lake's ice features have been receiving rave reviews. 

When I was younger exploring the lake ice was a yearly occasion for me. I remember spending quite a bit of time out there the first winter that I had my driver's license. I thought that as I "grew up" the excitement of the ice on Lake Michigan would lose its majesty as most memories of youth tend to do; fortunately, that was not the case.


Every year I find an entrance to the icy playground, and every year it's just as much fun as the first time.


This is what a beach is supposed to look like; in 3-4 months there will be a few hundred people staggered along this section of beach.





While these are only about 1/2 to 2/3 the height of those in Leland I did not have to brave any sort of crowds or wait for parking to experience these.







The weather is quickly warming up and the season of playing on the ice is drawing to a close. If you haven't made it out there yet you probably have missed your chance. Better to play it safe and wait for next year than to wind up in the frigid drink.

I am eagerly looking forward to next year's ice season.

-J