Winter Cycling - Yo bac, you would have been proud...

One last outdoor ride today, and I the only thing I didn't have on was that breathing aparatus that bac is wearing on his avatar.

Cold and dry and I had the day off so after throwing a Christmas party last night and eating and drinking all kinds of stuff that made me feel guilty, out I went this afternoon.

My usual 26-mile out and back....30 degrees. The cold wasn't as bad as my body falling apart by the end of the ride. The once proud warrior who could rip that ride off averaging 17 mph without thinking about it struggled to turn a 15 today. Everything hurts. Hot shower and pasta and bed early tonight.

I really envy you riders that can go out year round.

Yeah, cold muscles suck. Stretching really helps the warmup in the cold, I've found.
How were your toes? I just picked up some SmartWool socks the other day. WOW! In the words of Keanu Reeves: Totally awesome, dude!
With the SWs and some toe covers, my toesies were nice and warm (or at least not cold and numb) for 4:41:16. You should give 'em a try.

Do you have to lube that hip, or.....?

Cole

Yeah, cold muscles suck. Stretching really helps the warmup in the cold, I've found.
How were your toes? I just picked up some SmartWool socks the other day. WOW! In the words of Keanu Reeves: Totally awesome, dude!
With the SWs and some toe covers, my toesies were nice and warm (or at least not cold and numb) for 4:41:16. You should give 'em a try.

Do you have to lube that hip, or.....?

Cole

Coming back to life a bit now post Tylenol and hot shower....
Wore two pair of wool socks, with a full bootie over the shoes. Not bad at all.

As for the hip, I lubed that at the party last night, if you know what I mean.
This Christmas party time of year is tough. Like I said....I drank real beer....I ate cheese-flavored chips....I ate Christmas cookies....I ate a brownie....I drank more real beer and Smirnof....all stuff I wouldn't touch all summer during riding season...man....sheer guilt drove me to this sufferage of a ride today! But I'm glad I got one last spin in outside. Anyone who is goingto watch the Packer's game Sunday....a high of 14 degrees with minus 15 windchill expected for Lambeau Field....and a team from Florida is coming here!

My usual 26-mile out and back....30 degrees. The cold wasn't as bad as my body falling apart by the end of the ride. The once proud warrior who could rip that ride off averaging 17 mph without thinking about it struggled to turn a 15 today. Everything hurts. Hot shower and pasta and bed early tonight.

Awesome! Riding in the cold is a different experience in many ways - some rewarding, some not! Believe it or not, your body will acclimate, but you still may not be cranking @ the same speed as you would normally do in mid-summer. It takes some time to warm up, but after I finally get to full song, I really find it difficult to end the ride.

One little problem unique to this too....the water bottle started to freeze up!

Why is there a separate winter cycling place here? It's all the same thing, just some of us live where it's cold and snow.

Because winter cycling trancends the type of bike you ride.

Congrats on making it out in the cold, you should do it more. Even if you can't get the speed you have in the summer, just think of how much faster you will be <i>next</i> summer...