Winter Lament

Farmer-tans are fading;
fresh sweat stains the floor.
DVDs are blaring;
riding is no more.

Minds drift further than the snow,
on cherished roads and mountain trails.
Hearts pound loud from rapid strokes,
that keep the muscles hard as nails.

We train with purpose born of need
to once more lead a pack uphill
and pedal hard to get nowhere,
focused on that future thrill.

We know that soon a day will break,
warm and filled with fresh clean air.
We'll hit the road, feel the wind once more,
and speed away without a care.

Farmer-tans are fading;
fresh sweat stains the floor.
Winter storms are raging;
riding is no more.

Damn the ice, the wind, the snow.
I'll not let winter dampen my soul.

Alas but those of less than hardy souls
Cringe at the thought of bitter cold.
The wind burned face,
is the thing apt to replace,
The farmer's tan in summer's months worn so bold.

While for some the indoor trainer purrs with ease,
For me, I'll take my chances in the big deep freeze.
No sweat of mine will stain the floor,
For I find indoor training such a bore.
My choice is outside where I'll climb, spin, and sprint so free.

Damn the ice, the wind, the snow.
I'll not let winter dampen my soul.

Better you than me. The cold here in The Arizona desert is more than enough for me.

For those in colder climes

There you sit, broken-hearted.
Wanna ride? Just get started.

To everything there is a season. I'm riding in a friend's garage with my peeps on Wed. night and Saturday morning. I kind of enjoy it actually. (The whippersnappers cannot drop me now!)

There are worse ways to spend a wintry evening.

With apologies to AzTallRider, I was feeling impish when I did a parody of this piece of bathroom wall graffiti. Your poem was nicely written. My point is, and I do have one, is that many of us in the northern climes actually revel in winter riding. A great deal of my own satisfaction is overcoming the challenges winter riding presents. I have previously commented on a few threads, that judging from the postings from commuters, Boston, Minneapolis and Toronto have the most active commuting cultures. Some really hardcore winter riders write from Edmonton Alberta and Alaska, and my own favorite winter rider, tsl, posts from Rochester NY.

Just yesterday, a snow emergency befell Boston that was a front page story with plenty of pictures, including two of cycling commuters. Concurrently, some cyclists from the Southeast USA have posted on BF about their travails of riding on ice and snow without studded tires.

So more politely, may I say, “Don’t cry for us Arizona.”

Plows crawled, through urban sprawl
Piling snow high, on the road side.
Road shoulders, there are no more
It's not safe to ride anymore.

Heck, I know how to warm my sole
I am not resigned to avoid the cold.
But until the roads edges are clear
I'm at the gym, shedding a tear : (

_________________________________________

Az and NOS, your poems are terrific! They each gain more power when read together and contrasted . . awesome! Mine, lame, shouldn't even be in the same space. lol! But I did want to express what's going on in NJ.

Billy, now I could look forward to that! Nice garage!

cold winter draws on
trust to toasty windstopper
spring hopes eternal

Love 'em all! I'm embarrassed to bring up the cold right now. While our mornings are chilly, it's gotten into the 70's in the afternoons.

Great pictures. Now that is awesome!

OUCH! It was 13 F on my commute into work this morning and projected to get up to the toasty 26F by the time I take my trip home. Want to consider a house swap vacation this winter?

This is true! Nice group of folks you got there.

Where are the oil stains? That's one heck of a nice garage.

Wait!! What??



That's okay, I still respect you! lol!

Bare feet. I see your from No. NJ. I am from Roxbury, Succasunna, area near Netcong. Ring any bells?

I know where those areas are, but I'm not very familiar with them. I may be interested in moving one day, but that seems a little too far out. I'm further east, towards the city.

Thanks. The place is heated and the owner is a colleague of mine at work, a PhD in Exercise Physiology. He writes up a program and we start the music and all ride through the routine together. I just leave one of my bikes and my trainer over there all winter. It has been fun so far and I get in some weights and core work a couple of times a week at work. In keeping with the poetic theme:

When the mercury downward creeps
And wind and snow outside are howlin’

My bike and trainer inside go
and I will join up with my peeps
To spin and pant and gasp with all
And keep our trainer rollers growlin'

For those in warmer climes .... You don't know what you're missing

Winter is my favorite time of year. I like cycling, roller-skiing, and kayaking in the mountains near my home during the warm weather months, but for me it's all preparation for cross country skiing (skating), my favorite sport.

Yesterday, I drove down to 6,000ft to pick Rita up at work. While there, I got in a 90 minute ride in 50F temps. We then drove up to Keystone Villiage (9,400ft) for a weekend of skiing and snowshoeing.

The roads at Bear Creek Lake Park (Lakewood / Denver) were clear on Friday .... XC Comp with 28mm slicks


Bike, skis, snowshoes .... All the Ingredients for a fun Colorado weekend


I've skied 25 days so far this winter, with at least 25 more to come.


Winter ... Bring it on ! ... Triumph Sprint / Salomon Equipe 10 skate skis


.... Though Summer does have it's moments too !! ... Specialized TriCross Comp at Loveland Pass ( 12,000ft)


Saturday morning 20km skate at Frisco Nordic Center

Sunday morning at Keystone Villiage.... Proof that all snow is not created equal


When the snow finally melts, it's time to kayak on it ... Homebuilt Sonnet folding kayaks.... https://www.yostwerks.com/

Great pics Werks, nice rack for the road bike! That's real livin' out there, good to see you're making the most of it!

I dunno, people from here go to Arizona to escape winter! I stick around and ride, this is my first winter not bike commuting (too much stress for my wife!), but mountain biking has been great the last 2 winters, just enough snow to make the trails more fun! Looks like I'll have to try something else for a week or 2, we had 6" of loose dry snow on Saturday that just won't pack down and makes for a very challenging ride. I was out Sunday for 2 hours in -7 C ( around 20 F) temperatures, it was a great workout!
I have a road bike on the trainer in the basement, so far I've managed to avoid needing to get on it. I'm sure trainer time would lead to some kind of poetry! Playing ice hockey twice a week helps with conditioning too! (except for the beer after)

Just beautiful werks. Like being on fantastic vacation!

Thanks Bare Feet and pinerider for your comments....

I avoid an indoors trainer unless there are no alternatives... and there are always alternatives. I refer to my mag trainer as a sensory deprivation device .... Just my opinion.

Alternative workouts like ice skating keep it interesting, and actually improve overall fitness. Beer is an integral part of training... The darker the better

We just got back this AM as I-70 was at a standstill from Frisco to Loveland Pass (Eisenhower Tunnel) yesterday due to heavy snows and high winds ( 99 mph windgust recorded at Loveland Pass), so we stayed an extra night at the Condo

I-70 is still closed today due to avalanche issues, so we drove over Hoosier Pass and came home the back way. All in all, a great weekend of skiing and snowshoeing. Plan on do it all again next weekend plus a couple of rides this week at lower elevation, weather permitting.

Regards, Tom

Rollerskiing is my summer alternative to snow skiing. Technically more demanding, and oh so much harder than snow in the event of a fall .

Beware the asphalt snow ! ... Helmet, gloves, kneepads, elbow pads, hip and tailbone protection, are mandatory kit for an old git like me.

Love the picture of the morning sun hitting the snow covered mountains.

Nice mix of outings and some stellar scenery.

WHAT a garage! Looks like a fun time.

Thanks. It was a cloudy morning, but for about 5 minutes, the sun broke through. Couldn't pass it up
My little point and shoot doesn't do it justice.

I like to do different workouts to stay interested. Plus, it's just lots more fun to mix it up a bit. Here's 2 pics from today's 90 minute climbing ride (pavement) at Red Rocks.

Hard to believe but this is only a hours drive from where we skied this weekend, and the 24" of new snow that fell in the past 48 hours. The difference being the 4,000ft lower elevation. ( 10,000ft vs 6,000ft)

A change in altitude is like a change in latitude ... Tom




Same ride... different day and different bike.... Rock Hopper take-apart