Some Icy Biking With Cranky Geese On Frozen Sikes Lake

With the temperature soaring well above freezing, into the balmy 50s zone, and with snow sufficiently melted, I decided my bike needed to do some rolling.

And so on this 3rd Sunday morning of the 2021 version of February I rolled north on the Circle Trail til I got to Hamilton Park. I experienced only a little snow or ice in only a couple shady locations on the Circle Trail.

Leaving Hamilton Park I encountered no icy dicey conditions rolling through the Wichita Falls Beverley Hills zone.

Same with rolling through the MSU (Midwestern State University) campus. 

But then, crossing Midwestern Boulevard to the sidewalk which takes me to Sikes Lake, I had my first bout of doing some slipping and sliding. Not too bad, but I was glad to be back where such was not the case.

Arriving at Sikes Lake I saw the lake was still mostly frozen. I took three photos documenting this rare phenomenon. The first of which is what you see above, looking west across the lake.

Next I stopped my handlebars on the bridge which crosses Sikes Lake on the north end of the lake. That sort of looks like footprints in the snow which is still on top of the frozen lake. But, I don't think they are human footprints.

I think it is perplexed creatures like you see above which made tracks in the snow on the lake. The geese seemed annoyed that they could only walk on the water they usually floated in. The annoyance seemed to be being verbalized by goose honking noises I had not heard previously.

I exit the paved trail around Sikes Lake at the northeast end of the lake. The usual trail which I use to do so was a muddy mess. So I used another exit, which I seldom use, and which was not a muddy mess.

But, when I got to the paved alley which takes me back to my abode, well, it is in a shady location, and still had a lot of snow and ice and water. This made for some challenging wheel rolling which was sort of fun. 

I have not felt this good for over a week. I was in dire need of some aerobic stimulation and the endorphins one gets as a result of that stimulation.

I think tomorrow, with the temperature scheduled to get into the 60s, I will go do some nature communing in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area...