I stepped outside to take a feel. I’d heard the wind chime playing it’s song but it was technically supposed to be warm – well, above freezing by a degree, at least. It was still quite dark and Mike, Chuck and I were due to roll out in half an hour. Freezing drizzle.
The dirt roads were already out of the question, impassable by bike with a layer of compacted snow and ice we’d be riding mountain bikes on paved roads. With the freezing drizzle the paved roads were out, too.
I texted Chuck I was out with the freezing rain. Mike called in the second I hit send on the text. He confirmed the wisdom of my dropping out when he said he had to walk on the grass to get down to collect his Sunday paper. No way I was riding in that, and Mike was out, too.
I set up the bikes on the trainers and my wife and I had a nice spin to 6 Underground. I was 30 minutes into it when I realized I didn’t have to talk myself into getting on the bike, and I was on my sixth ride of the week – so I could have easily justified a day off. Thankfully, that’s a little more like me.
I received a text from Chuck right around that point that he’d gone out anyway and braved the sleet and freezing rain. It didn’t go well. He went down (though from the sounds of it, not too hard). The bike was fine but I’m sure he’ll be bruised up today.
And that’s exactly why we ride the trainer after freezing rain. It doesn’t matter how fat your tires are on ice. Once you lose it, you’re down before you can blink.
The rest of the day was phenomenal. I spent the whole day in my pajamas watching football and napping intermittently. It was better than a swift kick in the pants. I didn’t do very well with watching what I ate over the weekend, so that starts today.
Fit Recovery 
First, the opening sentence “I stepped outside to take a feel” sounds a little sketchy. It sounds like the sort of thing you’d say the day after a date in high school when you told all your friends you were going to get to second base with that cheerleader that had that certain reputation.
Second, you say “It doesn’t matter how fat your tires are on ice.” It most certainly does. I know you’re in college funding mode for a while, but I would just like to remind you as a public service that a fat bike with 4.5″-plus studded snow tires will stick like glue to roads that the freezing rain has turned into sheets of ice.
The deadline to get one may be moving sideways for a while as you write tuition checks, but we fat bike aficionados among your readers WILL eventually sign you up, and you’ll be the happiest you’ve ever been on a bike.
Opening a ketchiness aside, I could have done a better job of articulating that the TYPE of ice matters… and I almost worked in a comment about studded tires but felt it shouldn’t be necessary – I didn’t want to play captain obvious – on top of that, I don’t own studded tires…
As for the width on the type of ice we had yesterday, my buddy fell on his fat bike… the width of his tires literally didn’t help him. 😉