A Winter Ride

In Colorado we are spoiled. The weather changes daily not to mention hourly or go a block away. We can ski in the morning drive 45 minutes and golf, bike or enjoy the fresh air at your local park. Then the cold comes just to screw with your mind.

Yes it’s cold; at least to my old body it is cold. I see some sturdy cyclist going by the house, in shorts no less, see that beautiful mile high blue sky and I’m ready. I go to get my water bottles and look at the thermometer outside the kitchen window …….28 degrees what the…….Yeh, it’s Colorado.

One of my rides last week, my 32 mile loop, it was a beautiful 58 degrees, blue sky, no wind, the ideal ride in November. On the way south I watched the black cloud come over the Rockies the temp was now 68 and I had a nice breeze. 5 miles later there was a wind, not a nice wind, but a wind that took my bike with my super sized daintiness and blew it of the path. For the first time I actually wanted to call home for a ride. The wind eased the temp went up to the high 80’s (love that temp mode on my computer), and it was bearable. On the way back the wind kept changing directions, there was moisture falling from the sky, here and there, nothing consistent or getting anything wet. I decided to skip the trail and make a direct shot home, and cut off a couple of miles to get the ride over with. Then it became calm, the sun was back with the blue sky and no wind, just beautiful. I got home and sat on the back bumper of my van, getting my shoes off, taking in some more water and protein drink as I watched the first snowflakes of the season fall. Yes this is Colorado.

Riding in these weather changes, takes some self preservation as well as good clothing. There are a lot of companies out there getting on the “base layer” band wagon. I have been wearing Under Armour© for years, year around, it really does keep you cool in the heat and warm when it is cold. The plus side, besides having a shelf full of it, is it is cheaper than the same thing with a cycling logo/company on it. Leg warmers and Arm warmers are outstanding. I think of it as a cheap way to stay warm when you don’t ride below 55 degrees. You can usually find them from $14 - $19 for a pair of either (try Performance or NASHBAR online). This is much cheaper than buying a pair of $190 Gortex© winter bibs that you can follow snow plows in and be toasty warm. I also picked up a cozy pair of grippy, light weight, but warm gloves at COSTCO for $9.

With a new year coming up, you may also want to start the year off trying one of the free on line training logs. I mentioned the one on Bicycling.com, and that the tall son was doing “Daily Mile”. We are doing both now, and I have been doing them together for about 6 months. They are both very good for the basic stuff and easy to add to, in their comments section, if you want to add more like I do. Daily Mile is also a cyclists’ social network which is pretty interesting without getting personal.

Till Next Time

Ride Warm, Ride Safe, But Ride

G