Originally Posted by
patentcad
Man, Pat, it was friggin nasty out there today. Not so bad with the wind at your back, but I did have to grind into that headwind on a flat road (after I came out of the hilly route I take on windy days to mitigate my exposure to the prevailing winds on this route) for a few miles and that part of the ride was gnarly. 26 miles for me too. It's hard going longer; on days like today that takes two hours. I do a route with a bunch of steep hills on days like today just to keep my body temp up and the speeds lower.
How do you tolerate the descents after the climb? I agree about the time, anything more than 2 hours is too much for me as well. I'm like you-I ride for my mental well being more than for the training, I find it easier to withstand the cold if I use my ipod. I have been commuting to work since I lost my last job in October and I've found that I've actually enjoyed riding in some weather that would have definitely had me housebound at other times.
Now that I can ride all year, I didn't even get cabin fever this year.
BTW what gear were you wearing today to fend off the cold?