Embracing the cold
It only took two pairs of socks, winter shoes, knee warmers under fleece knickers, wool base layer, heavy jacket under Gore jacket and wool gloves under winter mitts. Oh, and a windstopper baclava! Yeah, last night's ride was just a little chilly - started out at 20 and dropped from there. But we are so lucky where we live - instead of dealing with a long climb and hypothermia inducing descent, we headed over the Bear Creek Terrace single track. After meandering through east Beat Creek for a few minutes, we got stopped at the light on 21st street. My bottle was already slushy!
Across the street and we just played around. Took every trail in the area, up and down, working on some technique and smoothness on the dry, crunchy snow. I wasn't fast at all - my legs still feeling the training of the prior three weeks. Nick was just riding away from me on the climbs, but I didn't care. If I rode easy, I was able to ride steady and stay warm. And staying warm was the primary goal! That and enjoying the crisp, cold air. Other then the sounds of tires on snow or gravel, the air was still and silent. Nicks lights glowed in the darkness, illuminating the frozen trails. Worth bundling up for! I could have ridden earlier - in the relative warmth of the sun, but I would have missed the joys of night riding in the winter chill.
After about 1:20 of playing the snow, we finally returned home. My toes were numb despite the warm socks, toe warmers, booties and winter shoes. But everything else was warm - a testament to the quality of our riding clothes. My water bottle hadn't fared as well - it was frozen near solid after our short ride! So much for staying hydrated in the cold air!
Across the street and we just played around. Took every trail in the area, up and down, working on some technique and smoothness on the dry, crunchy snow. I wasn't fast at all - my legs still feeling the training of the prior three weeks. Nick was just riding away from me on the climbs, but I didn't care. If I rode easy, I was able to ride steady and stay warm. And staying warm was the primary goal! That and enjoying the crisp, cold air. Other then the sounds of tires on snow or gravel, the air was still and silent. Nicks lights glowed in the darkness, illuminating the frozen trails. Worth bundling up for! I could have ridden earlier - in the relative warmth of the sun, but I would have missed the joys of night riding in the winter chill.
After about 1:20 of playing the snow, we finally returned home. My toes were numb despite the warm socks, toe warmers, booties and winter shoes. But everything else was warm - a testament to the quality of our riding clothes. My water bottle hadn't fared as well - it was frozen near solid after our short ride! So much for staying hydrated in the cold air!
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