It was cold yesterday morning. I mean COLD. 17° F or -8 C. Mike texted early that he was riding the trainer. I got ready hoping nobody would show but my friends Phill and Doc Mike showed up to ride. I was out the door with a few minutes to spare.
I wanted to test the limits of my new Funkier jacket anyway…
We rolled out on time and I was warmed up within two miles. A light base layer, a decent long-sleeve running shirt and I was sweating before mile seven. Sweating. Sadly, my lower body was chilly. Not horribly so, but I didn’t want to be out too long and risk. Erm… problems.
We chose dirt roads and were happy for the choice until about five miles in. The conditions devolved into an icy nightmare. Several times we were reduced to unclipping and pushing off on the ice. It was absolutely treacherous.
Nine miles in we chose a paved road and stayed on asphalt all the way home. We hit the pavement with a 12.8-mph average and pulled into the driveway at almost 15-1/2. The ride home was a blast, holding 18-20 all the way. On the gravel bikes with all that cold weather gear on, in that cold, we were moving.
The ride wasn’t all that long but we were out there for more than an hour and I had some serious fun. Had we been out much longer I think it would have taken away from the enjoyment of the ride. The cold would have caught up.
So this led to the good part. Before getting in the shower I stepped on the scale for the first time since Thanksgiving. I was ready for my jaw to drop at the jump in the number on the screen… and I was only six pounds over mid-season cruising weight… and still in the 170’s. Barely, but I’m there. I was expecting to be well into the 180’s and to have a daunting task in front of me to get ready for the hills of the Horsey Hundred. Instead, it’ll just be some rigorous trainer rides for the next couple of months with some intelligent eating decisions. Once March gets in gear, I’ll be in fantastic shape in no time.
I did some maintenance throughout the day, lubing chains and a bit of crank work on the Diverge (I didn’t quite get the bolt tight enough last time I cleaned it – you really have to… um… crank on the Allen key to get it tight). I also went to the shop with Mrs. Bgddy and picked up a trainer tire. I’m pushing too hard a gear and road tires just aren’t lasting very long. I had a Bontrager tire on there for a couple of weeks and that worked well till it started slipping the other day. I’m hoping this puts the issue to bed. I won’t find out today, though. We’re going to brave the cold again and head outdoors.
UPDATE: My friend who goes by biking2work asked how the jacket held up in that cold. I finished slightly sweating. Comfortable and warm the whole ride. The wind chill was 14 F or -10 C. Simply amazing, though not a jacket to go all out in. You’d end up a puddle of sweat on the road.
Fit Recovery 
But how was the funkier jacket? I logged on hoping that they could post to the UK but they only had S or M in the red 😢
I finished sweating, warm and comfortable. Wind chill was something like 14 F or -10 C. Simply amazing.