You question why you are going to ride a bike when driving across the bridge to Columbia and half of the Mississippi River is frozen. The time/temp sign at the Market Place that reads 15 degrees isn't any more welcoming than the frozen river.

It took me a while to get my ol' diesel engine rolling but the legs slowly started working. The stuffy nose messed up my breathing and kept me from being real comfortable. Ride time was something over 3 hrs as we looped around on the bluffs, down to Maeystown and back on the flats.