Winter Riding

“Anyone can ride in the warm sunshine!”, a fellow cyclist once triumphantly yelled to me as we slogged through a downpour.  He certainly had a jovial spirit, but internally I’m thinking “only us idiots are out riding in this kind of weather!”. Winter riding in Colorado can bring about the same sense of “why am I out here”. Ultimately, it’s always great to be riding – no matter the circumstances. A winter ride often brings a heightened sense of pride and accomplishment.

Bundled up with the right gear, including leggings, arm bands, shoe covers, and ski gloves, I can comfortably withstand temperatures down to about 30 degrees.  When it gets in the 20s, the wind-chill factor on a bike starts to really kick in – and my eyeballs literally start to freeze.  I suppose I could try ski goggles to match the gloves!

A full schedule of summer rides and tours helps provide motivation for those cold winter rides.  And I’ve got some great rides planned for 2018.  This year I’ll kick off a coast-to-coast ride with a 9 day tour from Astoria, Oregon to Boise, Idaho.  To train for this 700 mile jaunt, I’ll be riding the Santa Fe century in May, and a popular local ride in early June called the Elephant Rock.  More on all these in future blogs.

For now, the goal is to sneak in those cold winter rides when Mother Nature allows, and rejoice with a few other crazies out joyously freezing on our bikes.

Happy Riding,  ~Dan