Winter Riding

I fully planned to ride my bike to work throughout the winter months, cold be damned! But a quick check of my log shows that I only rode 34 miles in the entire month of November – and the worst part is I went over three weeks between rides. In fairness, I was sick for much of that, and I had a bunch of evening commitments, making logistics difficult. But it was still disheartening (and, sadly, fattening).

I'm doing a lot better this month. With almost half the month complete, I have ridden close to 50 miles. It's not nearly as momentous as what I achieved during the summer, but then, I didn't have to bundle up with five layers and toe warmers during the summer! This morning I rode 13 miles to work -- impressive considering I'd left both pairs of gloves at the office. What did I do? I wore socks on my hands. Not the most stylish, but it worked in a pinch.

It had been a week since I last went riding. I really wanted to go sooner, but my Bionx crapped out on me, and it turns out riding to work without it is not nearly as fun. I can do it, sure, but it takes about 20 minutes longer. And that "quick" 4 mile jaunt from work to rehearsal at the church? It takes a lot longer than 20 minutes when you have to manually power up a 5% incline for at least half a mile! It's hills like that that really make me miss my pedal-assist.

Luckily, my dealer dropped off a spare system while mine is in the shop. He is without a doubt the best shop-owner I have ever dealt with, installing the entire system for free, and then making two housecalls to help with problems I was having. I'm a 45 minute drive from his shop! And he didn't have to give me a loaner system while he tries to fix my faulty battery. He's a real class act and I heartily encourage anyone who's thinking of the Bionx or any other electric system to head down to Green Pedals in Annapolis, MD.

I can't ride tomorrow because I've got an early conference to attend and then a swanky formal dinner at night. But Friday evening I shall brave the dark and cold!

Here's a picture of me this morning:

Under 40 degrees. I wore an under armour base layer,
T-shirt, fleece, Pearl Izumi shell, balaclava!
Also toe warmers.