Two wheels rolling

...on a cold winter's day

The thermometer seemed to be stuck in the teens. I pushed my desire to ride to the back of my mind, and I headed out on two feet, walking. It was a cold, gray day, but the pavement was dry, and although the wind was blowing, it didn't seem too strong. Walking, walking... I was just 10 minutes away from home when I realized that in spite of the temperature I was "toasty" warm. I could hear my bikes calling, insisting that a ride was in order. I listened, feet still moving, quickly turning towards home.

I switched some layers, adding bike shorts and knee warmers under my fuzzy warm tights, grabbing a heavier vest instead of the light one I was wearing as an extra insulating layer, and sticking toe warmers to the bottom of my socks. Tires pumped to an appropriate pressure, Gatorade on board, and it was time to roll.

It was a good ride... no, actually it was a great ride! 18 miles in 18 degrees, it was a new record for me in terms of low temperatures and riding. I'm very comfortable riding with temperatures in the 30s, and I've ventured out in the high 20s before, but the teens? No way! I'm so glad I won that argument with myself today though. Dressed in layers and layers and layers, and with ice forming in my Gatorade during my ride, I had a very enjoyable and pretty much comfortable wander on my bike. (Well, comfortable except for my fingers... I wore a pair of mittens that are multi-layer and pretty warm, but I think I needed another layer. Actually, maybe I needed hand warmers. Next time...)

It's funny, not one but two people told me I was crazy to ride in today's temperatures. But think about it - people ski in these temperatures. What's different about biking other than the fact that most people think of it as a warm weather sport?

Layers and layers and more layers... A happy cyclist, and still mostly warm after my 18 degrees 18 miles ride.