Spring time in Fairbanks

High today: 57
Low today: 29
Woohoo! Hot Licks finally opened for the season! I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to go there since January. Maybe it's my inability to go a very long time without ice cream, or just the joy of getting ice cream at an actual ice cream stand. In any case, these four studs came along with me to enjoy our first Hot Licks for the season.

Just a week ago it was 5 below in the mornings and we had a solid 9 new inches of snow on the ground. Now, with a few days of warm temperatures, most of the snow has melted off of the side roads and now they are pretty muddy but drying up quickly. It's incredible how quickly the turn around from winter.. to.. summer has been. I took the below picture yesterday but even today it looks incredibly different. The gritty Fairbanks dirt is already penetrating back into my bike cables and the giant slow mosquitoes are beginning to show their ugly faces.Even the delicious smell of Alaska has returned. I first smelt it two or so weeks ago when I was riding into work and there was still a lot of snow on the ground. I still don't know what is producing that smell but it makes me happy and reminds me of the very first day I laid foot in the state.

A few more weeks and the trails will be good for riding. CAN'T WAIT! Oh, and in 2.5 weeks Aviva and Justin will be here.. even better!