It “felt like” 8° at 8:00 yesterday morning. Not your eight degrees, in the EU or UK. No, I’m talking about the ‘Merican 8°. You call it -13. And also “too damned cold for cycling”. So do I for that matter. My phone started ringing at 8:03, my buddy Mike calling to say he was riding in the basement.
I did some work. It was so sunny outside I couldn’t stand it. Not a cloud in the sky, but holy man was it cold. I just kept working – the temp was due to go all the way up to freezing at some point in the day (about fifteen degrees below normal, as has become the new normal this winter). I decided to shower up and hit a noon meeting rather than mope around all day. Halfway through the meeting I knew I was going to ride at home as soon as I got home. I didn’t care how cold it was.
I was wheels rolling by 1:35, and it had not warmed up. I think it was only 26° (-3 C). I was into the wind for the first half of the ride and it took my breath away more than once – but I was outside, and anyone who rides a bike will tell you, outside is way better than inside… Then I hit tailwind and all was well.
Thoughts about how tough that first half was went the way of the wormhole. After tinkering around with my front derailleur adjustment for a minute, I hammered it up to 23-24 mph (37 km/h) and kept it there. Well, I kept it there for a few miles and ran out of gas a little bit. That first day back after a week or more on the trainer, sucks.
I finished up with 17.6 miles in a touch over an hour. I was okay with the results as cold as it was outside. I showered up, worked a little more, and took my eldest daughter out for barbecue after dropping the youngest off at a birthday party.
I would have been a lot happier if it had been about fifteen or twenty degrees warmer but beggars can’t be choosers, and I was beggin’!
Fit Recovery 
Winter just wants to keep hanging on around here too, though nothing like a Michigan winter I’m sure.
Almost done, brother. We had a great ride today. It was cold to start but warmed up nicely. Tomorrow’s supposed to be even better.
Do you get much black ice out your way or is it usually dry? I don’t mind the cold so much as long as it’s safe.
Was 85 deg F here yesterday. Bordering on too hot for me! 🙂
We o get a lot of ice this way. Winter is pretty treacherous unless you’re going to ride a fat bike I’ll take a little of the 85 over here if you care to send it!
Hey, at least you got the sunshine! But I’ve also found it hard to get out on the days that were too cold. We had a few -14 days.
Thankfully, I’m not in south Florida where I have warmth and sun 😉 Hope it warms up there soon!
woops… I meant thankfully I’m in south Florida… or maybe that was a Freudian slip? I mean, the people here can get pretty weird.
Yes they can! Depends on which side of the state, though. East side is dominated by New Yorkers. A little more arrogant and rude. West side is dominated by Midwesterners, mainly because of the two southbound freeways. Pretty crazy, really.
Today was decent. We’re getting there.
Woww! Cycling in the chill. Have a nice ride brother 🙂
Better than the trainer, brother.
As a fellow Midwesterner, I feel your pain with the chill spring seasons we’ve had the past few years. Besides the cold, I worry as much about black ice and just plain spots of ice where little puddles of water froze. Watch where you are rolling.
Thanks, Tony. Thankfully, it’s been dry so we haven’t had to worry about ice. Still, safe is the only way to be, my friend. Thank you.
i think we’re all beggars – we’re all begging for spring to get back here and stay in place for a few weeks!
Indeed! And we’re right back into the freezer this coming week.