On Winter riding

Trying to stay on the bike through the New England Winter is always a challenge. My biggest excuses to not ride are:
1. It takes half an hour to get dressed in proper layers (this has been alleviated lately with the invention of ("the bike clothes bin")
2. The layers quickly get smelly, requiring continuous laundry rotation.
3. The bike gets really cruddy from salt, road-nast, etc. Depressing.
4. You are just generally feeling the "blehs", which is perfectly normal this time of year. It's because your metabolism slows.

When we were cave men, we used to sleep all day, eat fatty meat, lay under the skins, and stoke the fire. Of course you gain weight in winter!

I pretty much expected my buddy to cancel this mornings ride, as this AM it was so gloomy- crappy out, we had our first snow dusting, and the roads were snotty-wet.

"I have uh, a stomach thing, and I got a lotta work to do"... I don't blame him one bit. Pretty smart, actually.

So I finally, forced/ dragged my ass out there and soloed 30 miles, turns out the sun actually came out. It was cold, but dry, therefore tolerable. The old Raleigh galloped along, just happy to be back again. This bike never complains, it's a battle-ship, a Seabiscuit. Ironically, the roads were perfectly dry by 2 PM. There was very little wind.


Snow squalls coming over the mountain are always fun to watch. I love how they swirl and bunch together, and the sun reflects off them in strange ways. This activity is always a flurry type of thing, usually harmless.

The looks you get from motorists is always fun. They do a double-take, and actually slow down a bit more in winter. They might even wave you on at the light. Make sure you have good headlamps, as most likely their brains are in a depresso-fog....

The best part is going indoors after the ride, and discovering you are actually somewhat hypothermic, but you only feel it in contrast to the warm air indoors.

It becomes apparent then you try to form a coherent sentence to the kid at the counter at the coffee shop.

"uh, I'll have like, uh, Ummm, yeah. hold on. Oh yeah, hehehe, a medium, no wait.. I'm not stoned on weed, just half frozen, relax..."

I have discovered that my waterproof socks (I think they're Goretex, originally bought for kayaking) make a great vapor- barrier over pure wool socks. The main things are feet and hands, as they come into contact with bike metal, which is a heat conductor, of course. Good ski gloves are coming next.

Tip: get some "Bag Balm" the stuff is pure Lanolin, the dairy farmers use it on Cow's udders when they milk the cows, as the udders frequently get chapped.
The stuff comes in a green can, and it's cheap. A tin of this stuff will last ten years.

Put it on your face, nose, ears, lips, toes, and hands. Then layer up. You will be amazed at how much more you will stay warm. It's similar to the bear- grease they put on swimmers when they swam the English Channel.

Because it has no water in it, it will completely protect your skin from the elements. Your face especially won't get wind-burned, and you probably won't need one of those special masks, which I hate anyway. Your ears will no longer be in pain from the wind. I've ridden in sub-zero temps like this, but use common sense.

I first discovered this stuff while flyfishing, releasing trout into 42 degree water. usually dipping your hand will cause your hand to become an instant "claw", rendered useless. But with the lanolin, you have a fighting chance. The water doesn't sting like hell.

Subsequently Covering any lanolin coated body part/appendage with polypropylene or pure wool will render it bomb-proof, (and waterproof!)

I love hearing the wind rattling down the alleyway here. It rattles the windows a little, they vibrate. It sounds like the Arctic out there right now, howling, but I feel great right now as I write this, next to my awesome quartz radiant space heater that glows a hot orange.

And my chicken, lentil rice stew is ready, oh yes. The TV is about to go on for the first time this week.

peace out