The lack of good weather days for road riding is definitely getting to me, but worst case scenario I still have my rollers and Todd’s classes that get some leg-moving time in. The thing that is really getting to me is the lack of mountain biking. Sure we had the Snake Creek Gap race recently, so you would think I would have had enough of the singletrack lifestyle for a while, but all that did is make me want more riding (and less mud).

Between the cold and the near constant precipitation, every trail in the area is useless right now. Montgomery Bell is actually closed. Everything else is constant freeze/thaw cycle, which means I could theoretically ride before the sun was up, but if you happened to still be on the trail once the ground reached warmed a little you would be riding in wet muck (and destroying the trail).

I want a long day on a dry trail with the sun coming through the trees, and the temperature warm enough that I don’t have to dress for an arctic expedition.

I want my water bottles to still contain liquid after an hour of riding, not slush.

I want short sleeve jerseys and shorts instead of wool socks, booties, shorts, leg warmers, windproof tights, base layer, jersey, arm warmers, windproof jacket, helmet liner, and insulated gloves.

The cold, demoralizing weather has also made it hard to stick to a training plan. Corner sprints last Friday? No chance, it was snowing. I can get time in on the rollers, but that soul-sucking contraption is tolerable for an hour of tempo at best. My CTL has risen very very slowly (if at all) over the past several weeks due to missed or shortened workouts. I have another FTP test scheduled in a week and a half, and I’m not looking forward to the results.

I used to pride myself on being from the Great White North (okay, just Iowa) and being able to handle the cold. Not any more. My transition to southerner started with greens and pulled pork, continued with a reluctant acceptance of people who say “y’all”, and has apparently been finalized with a hatred of the cold.

Yeah. It says 31 degrees, feels like 24 degrees. As a result, this is what I will be wearing.

This kit consists of an underarmour compression shirt, pearl izumi long sleeve fleece jersey, capo forma arm warmers, descente windproof jacket, sugoi bib shorts, novara windproof tights, smartwool socks, homemade neoprene booties (cut out of a pair of neoprene wet wading socks I don’t use for fishing), windproof skullcap, and a buff for my neck.

Ride update: James showed up around 8 this morning. Part of me was hoping he’d call and cancel, but he didn’t. I had all of the gear on and was ready to go.

We headed towards Franklin, TN on some of the backroads that I know fairly well. Within 5 miles or so, I was starting to feel comfortable, and was no longer thinking about the temperature. The coldest I felt was in the first ten minutes, and also during some of the moments when my speed exceeded 30-35 mph (this was not often). James stopped after 7 miles and took off a layer.

We planned to ride a loop of 30 miles that I ride fairly frequently, but since both of us have been off the bikes for at least a month, we cut it down to a 22 mile out and back ride. It felt good to get back in the saddle after focusing on strength training for the last few weeks.

All of the gear performed well. I think that same kit could be used down into the teens without much additional layering and still work.