Outward Bound

This is the 200th post on The Fine Grind.

A break in the super cold weather gave me some motivation to get the winter bike/trainer bike rolling. The day was a crisp 5 degrees, with some nippy wind that warranted 2 thermal base layers, a wool jersey and 2 thermal jackets. I had so many layers on I couldn't reach the brake hoods, but no matter, it was my first ride outdoors in a week.

Despite the cold temperatures I had a great time. I didn't push the pace at all, and simply rode. The cold weather was more refreshing than unpleasant and I found my mind thinking of 4-5 years ago when Andrew Brown, Mark Grimmit and I would ride in the single digits often. I use to skip school to ride in the crap weather...wearing a couple pairs of socks, cycling shoes with grocery bags over them then layering everything with winter booties. It was the norm, but despite all this our feet would still freeze. Sometimes I notice how bad the circulation is in my hands and feet and I'm convinced its from those days of riding in the slush and salt of the early months of the year.

Despite all this, those rides are some of the best I've ever had. Those guys were/are the best riding buddies a guy could ask for. There would be freezing slush on the roads with hail coming down and Andrew would convince me to go for a ride. If I skipped out on it, he would guilt trip me into going the next day , or go himself alone, in which case I would feel like a jackass.

The year I got my first road bike in 2003, Andrew and I put in a ton of crap miles in the spring. The road was so new to me, and after the rides I would go to Indigo and read all the roadie mags cover to cover learning of the weird world of road racing. Being a mountain biker then, the roadie lifestyle was compete shift.

Either way, the new winter bike worked great and the lungs got some fresh air. I can feel how weak I am on the bike. The more you seem to work on other parts of the body the more horrible you get on the bike...funny how that works.