I really don't mind riding in the snow. I have somewhat decent gear and I stay relatively warm. This past Saturday there was a ride planned because one of my teammates is having hip replacement surgery. We all wanted one more ride before he can't ride again for a few months.
The ride was planned to start at 11am and I was thankful because that meant the temps would be higher. What I wasn't planning for was temps pushing 40. I was actually overdressed for a ride in January. Funny huh. Onto the ride. Brian, Jay, Dan S., Angela and I took off and rode the Red loop at Fort Custer and took a few different routes to end up with about 9 or 10 miles. The trail was a strange mix of snow, soft dirt, mud, and a little ice. The conditions always kept you on your toes that is for sure. It was a solid ride on a beautiful day in January. After the ride Gwen had soup waiting along with a few other people. We laughed a lot while eating our hot soup and then it was time for me to head home.
The temperatures dropped on Sunday. From 40 down to the teens overnight and the snow started. Living in Southwest Michigan we have this nasty thing called "lake effect" snow. It will snow 8" in one place and 5 minutes down the road they will have barely any. In my town we have around 10" from the last two days and it has been snowing all day again. About time January got here. Anyway, when temperatures drop into single digits I don't care to ride outside. I have my trainer set up and I will gladly spin for an hour versus getting frostbite. I spun on the trainer Sunday night and I noticed something. My legs felt heavy and sore. It is truly amazing how different riding outdoors is when compared to a simple spin on the trainer. Then it occurred to me....maybe I am not riding hard enough on the trainer. The problem with that thinking is that I am early into a 12 week training program and the workouts build every week. So I pushed those thoughts away and finished my ride. Today it is in the single digits again and I do not plan on riding outside. I will maybe find a video on youtube of people riding in Hawaii or somewhere warm and spin for a bit.
Brian is my teammate that is having surgery and I am not sure how I feel about this situation. I have been chasing him for the past two years and just when I get to the point where I might be able to beat him I find out he has been nursing an injury for some time. Now, he will go under the knife and will lose some speed. I wonder how fast he will be when he can ride pain free. I was just pacing him and he has a bad hip. Once that hip is healed up with shiny new parts in there I might be in trouble. More incentive.
No comments:
Post a Comment