Positive Spin on Negative Degrees
Suck it up. I tell myself that on a weekly– er– daily basis in the winter. Finding the motivation to ride when it’s icing, snowing, sleeting, or just damn cold is one of my biggest struggles. Well today I decided that suck it up just isn’t cutting it. So from now on, I’m pretending to like riding in the winter. And here’s why:
- Balancing a hot cup of coffee (preferably Velocity of course) in my waterbottle cage.
- Telling myself I’m better than you because I rode and you didn’t.
- Laughing at all the wide-eyed, open-mouthed fatties that drive by shaking their heads like I’m the idiot.
- Eating all the Christmas cookies I want (or at least I tell myself I can).
- Necessary winter gear triggers four key words – EXCUSE TO SHOP MORE.
- Not fabricating excuses for “not hearing” your phone call.
- There’s no spinning on stage in the summer.
- The sweatier I get, the hotter Jack Bauer is on the TV.
- There’s no point (read – no motivation) to cleaning my bike in the winter.
- 20 mph is hauling ass.
- Every outdoor ride I do get is utter paradise, no matter the temp.
- I can gain 10 lbs and you’ll never know under all those layers.
- Being in good enough shape in early spring to drop that dude who loves to jack the pace in October, right after race season ends.
- Darkness is irrelevant.
- Purposely “forgetting” fenders when riding with people who annoy me (or just to be annoying myself).
- Riding the cross bike in the snow.
- Blaming all crashes on “that nasty ice patch.”
- Planning training trips in warm places.
- Updating my facebook status, texting, or ebaying while on the trainer.
- Coffee shop rest stops.
- Team Revvers will PAY you to ride on the weekend.
- Absolutely NO interruption to my day-long pajama-wearing House (or Bones or hell even the Hills) weekend marathon (just throw some chamois on under those sweats.
- Watching the dog try to lean in for some petting, but not get caught in the spokes, pedals, etc.
- LSD means no intervals, no hill sprints, no speedy rotating pacelines, and no getting dropped.
- Being fresh for sign sprints (c’mon ladies… you know those are year-rounders).
- Never having to lug around a set of race wheels.
- Never changing my cassette.
And the number one reason I love riding in the winter:
Riding indoors and drinking wine (or beer) at the same time.
After all that I’m not sure if I thoroughly convinced myself, or you, but hell, I procrastinated getting on the trainer for an hour 
So next time you come home from work, pull off that winter jacket, plop down on the couch, and contemplate just cracking open a beer and watching some TV instead of riding… or roll out of bed and just don’t want to take off those jammies… or are really, really craving a triple latte remember, you can have it all in the winter. Don’t be the one I think I’m better than because I rode and you didn’t. Pull on that chamois and suck it up…
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