Winter is a hard time for most cyclists. Most are a bunch of chickens afraid of a little cool weather and snowy roads. With some exceptions, I hear plenty of talk about shelving the bike in winter, watching some kind of "ball" sport on the TV (boring), drinking heavily, gorging thyself on everything in excess, then come the poor-me complaints of getting fat, a lot of talk about nothing interesting...it's just continuous rehash of some insane blah, blah, blah spewing out of everyone's lips.
People, listen to me and get on your bikes in the winter, it will not only save me from listening to the same cursed conversations again and again, it will also enlighten your soul because you will pray for warmth and hot chocolate every time you're out there pedalling your bike with frozen fingers and toes. Well maybe I'm exaggerating a bit about the frozen extremities, but I'm not about the anything else. Riding your bike will lift you from the blah winter life you are living, plus it will give you something interesting to talk about to people.
I'm here to say that winter is a cool time to ride some gravel, back roads at a slower pace, usually on an off-road kind of bike. I spend a lot of time riding alone in the winter and can not believe that more people are not out enjoying the ultra cool things I get to see. Winter riding is way better than riding any day with temps beyond 90-degrees in the summer. The only thing you need is preparedness (just like anytime you ride), so those of you that can not foresee the need for being prepared for the conditions should just stay home and drink/eat yourselves into a fat stupor...or maybe just go to a movie, take a nap, then come and bore me to insanity with every detail of your weekend celebrating in a big fat drunken lipid fest.
A few pointers if you do decide to venture out this winter for a real cool adventure on 2-wheels...I know it's hard for some road-toads to swallow this, but start with a pack so that you can bring extra gloves, hat (keep your head warm!!!), and extra layers as needed (one layer should be wind proof). Toe and hand warmers make a world of difference as does a mini-thermos of you favorite non-alcoholic hot beverage (hot chocolate for me) or soup...there's nothing like a hot carb drink a few hours into a bike ride on a cool day. Don't stop too long or you will have a hard time re-warming. Take time to put on windproof or extra layers before going down hill and remove the extra layer prior to climbing (keeping dry is important).
The only thing better then cold titanium is cold steel...Anyone ready for a ride?
