After 32 Poky Pedals over 3 years, bad weather finally caused the cancellation of one. Missing out on Bike Fun is always sad. Yet considering our reliably unpredictable weather, that’s a pretty good track record overall. Rather than dwelling on our poor fortune this past weekend, we should instead be grateful for all the times when threatening skies suddenly diminished, permitting our Bike Fun to proceed.

The Plover version of the Maple Ride was originally scheduled for Saturday. But it became clear in the middle of last week that there was no reasonable hope for cooperative weather that day. At that time, I postponed the ride until Sunday, which had a forecast that was borderline yet provided some hope of enough warmth to enjoy Bike Fun comfortably.

Indeed, the weather Saturday when we would have been riding barely broke 40 degrees, was completely overcast with a bit of drizzle, and saw gusts of up to 20 mph. There was certainly no opportunity missed by postponing to Sunday.

Sunday was forecast to get into the upper 40’s with some sun, yet the gusty winds were expected to persist. If only the clouds might dissipate beyond predictions so that the sun could warm things up a few extra degrees, then we might have had a nice afternoon for Bike Fun. Especially if the winds turned out to be gentler than expected.

Unfortunately, this hope did not come to pass. Although Sunday saw substantially better weather than Saturday – sun did peek through the clouds briefly and there was no threat of precipitation – it still was a chilly day with temperatures only in the mid-40’s and gusty winds similar to Saturday.

In the end, Poky Pedalers determined the fate of the Maple Ride, as only one other Poky Pedaler showed up. The Maple Ride was cancelled due to the poor weather.

The two of us did end up riding the route and enjoyed pleasant conversation along the way. But the cold conditions dissuaded us from lingering anywhere along the way, since the best way to stay warm was to keep bicycling. We enjoyed a nice bike ride, but it wasn’t a Poky Pedal.

Poky Pedalers can now look forward to the spring when we will once again share Bike Fun. The 2015 Bike Fun Calendar should be available in early April of 2015. The first Poky Pedal will be in mid-May, and Bike Fun will continue into the fall.

Over the past few months, I’ve made substantial progress on planning the 2015 Bike Fun Calendar and doing the research for its Poky Pedals. There may also be a few pleasant surprises that enhance our Bike Fun next year. (No promises yet, but don’t you yearn for a PPSP bike sticker to display on your frame or fender?) I’m pretty excited about what’s in store, and I can’t wait to reveal it all to Poky Pedalers in the spring.

Between now and then, I’ll continue to report on the PPSP blog about bikey news affecting the Stevens Point area. I’ll also use my Twitter feed to share posts of interest to Poky Pedalers written by others around the US and around the world.

In the next week or two, I’ll post a recap of all the Bike Fun we shared this year, which will be an opportunity to recall the many highlights from Poky Pedals in 2014. I also expect to blog about my experiences at the upcoming Wisconsin Bike Summit this Friday in Madison, where I have been invited to speak about PPSP to bicycle advocates from all over the state. Look for those two posts in the near future.

I hope Poky Pedalers will continue to read the PPSP blog and follow my Twitter feed through the fall and winter. And once the snow melts, I look forward to again sharing Bike Fun with all Poky Pedalers.

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