First bike commute and ride of the new year. Usually I participate in one of the local group rides on New Year's Day, but my wife wanted to go for a hike, so that's what I did. That was OK because I finished 2007 with a bang. I was off work from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, and rode well over 200 miles during that period including 64 miles on New Year's Eve. That put my total mileage for the year at 7,009 -- the first time I've topped 7K since 2002.

This morning tied my previous record cold ride at 21 degrees, but it was colder today than the last time. The last time, the temp dipped to 21 for a brief period, whereas it was downright cold all day yesterday (high of 35) and all night, with sustained winds of 10-25 mph. The winds weren't too bad this morning but are supposed to pick up again this afternoon. My cold weather gear performed great. I borrowed some Pearl Izumi AmFib gloves from a friend, and they kept my fingers warm. Got an Under Armor winter base shirt for Christmas, and with my Gavia jacket, I was warm but didn't sweat a drop. Also wore my PI AmFib tights, which kept my legs warm.