Sucked It Up, Thanks.
I was dressed like a bank robber in spandex. According to weather.com the temperature at 7:15 a.m. for the start of my ride was 12 degrees, with a “feels like” temp of -2 degrees. If I didn’t have plans to meet Kate at 8:00 in Webster Groves I might have bailed on my outside riding plans and settled for the indoor rollers. Instead, I grabbed my bike, pulled myself outside and started my 2 hr 45 min ride.
Saturday’s ride was cold, and at times, painful. But when riding on a day like this there are plenty of things to be grateful for:
- Windproof clothing. If you can manage the wind you can dress in fewer layers and be more comfortable.
- Wool base layers. Wool will keep you warm even if you soak it with sweat. Also, it has a very good warmth-to-weight ratio.
- Having good friends to ride with. Like I said, I don’t know if I would have gotten outside had Kate not agreed to meet me. Also, after I left Webster Groves I rode to the Frostbike ride and met up with another great group of ladies to ride home with!
- NO FLATS!!!!! Changing a flat in 12 degree weather would not have been fun, although now that Kate knows how to do it she could have helped me!
- Sunshine. When it’s cold out sunshine can make a world of difference.
- When I rode by the Hub in Webster there were some guys dragging their trainers and bikes inside for an indoor spin class. As I rode by I saw three guys stop and watch me, and I heard one of them say, “There ya go!”.
So, despite the frozen water bottle and the icicles on my eyelashes, Saturday’s ride left me with a lot of things to be grateful for this winter.
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I want to see pictures of the icicles that were hanging off of you.
That was the only ride where I actually looked more forward to going uphill than down.
Thanks for getting me out there Beavis. It was still a lot more fun than the trainer!