indianagirlonabike – Page 5 – An Indiana Girl On A Bike

The Winter Kit

Winter in Northwest Indiana can last from November until May. There are two choices – spin mindlessly indoors for 6 months, or adapt to the elements and get outdoors. It’s a delicate dance to get the winter kit just right, especially in subzero weather. The dance can take 30-45 minutes of preparation:

•Thin liner socks

•Plastic bread bags

•Wool outer socks

•Toe warmers

•REI ski boots

•Outdoor Research Flex-tex II Gaiters, Black, Large/X-Large

•Under Armour base layer long johns

•Pearl Izumi padded shorts

•Pearl Izumi AmFib tights

•Under Armour base layer shirt

•Under Armour thermal shirt

•North Face Fleece

•Outdoor Research Gore-Tex Outer Shell

•Neck warmer

•Klim Men’s Arctic Fleece-Lined Neoprene Balaclava

•Outdoor Research Wind Stopper Gorilla Balaclava, Black, Medium

•Smith Vantage ski helmet and goggles

•Castelli mid-weight gloves

•Outdoor Research Meteor Mitts (Black/Charcoal, Medium)

Shelf Ice

The shelf ice that forms each winter on Lake Michigan is spectacular and transforms Indiana into an Arctic netherworld. All of these photographs were taken at the Indiana Dunes in Beverly Shores while exploring the beach on my fat bike.

Some winters the shelf ice extends for thousands of yards, and icebergs drift aimlessly in the lake. During the winter of 2013-2014 the ice was so expansive due to the polar vortex, that melting took a long time to occur. All spring and summer whenever there was a north wind coming across the lake it felt as if someone had opened the door of a refrigerator.

The Old Barns

Indiana is home to thousands of barns, many of them old and majestic. Sadly, the architectural magnificence of the old barns is slowing dying. Many of the oldest barns are in terrible disrepair, and every year there is a good storm that takes down one or two of them. All of the pictures below were taken from my bike as I have pedaled through Porter and LaPorte counties in Indiana. Most of these barns are within a 20 mile radius of my house.