A Quiet Winter

2009 was a good year for me on the bike. I completed a super randonneur series, (200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k brevets), rode several permanents, and totaled more than 5000 miles for the first time.

When compared to fellow randonneurs from other parts of the country, my numbers look pretty pedestrian. I routinely read accounts of people totaling up to and beyond 10,000 miles with multiple 1200 kilometer grand randonnees. I guess I'll just have to use the excuse of living in a northern intermountain climate.

This winter has been especially frustrating. My bike went on the hook in the garage sometime in October and has barely been off since. Warm days have been few and far between and the roads are slow to give up their layer of ice and snow. The rides I have gotten in have been short. It’s just not much fun for me enduring the wind chill factor of a 15 mph ride-no matter how many layers I have on.

In lieu of cycling I’ve tried to mitigate my annual winter weight gain by walking back and forth to work. My commute is only about 3 miles round trip, but the 20 minute or so walk each way wakes me up in the morning and relaxes me in the evening. I also get a few extra steps walking the dog. A little cross-country skiing here and there helps too. Despite my efforts, a few extra pounds have packed on (especially due to a bountiful supply of goodies at Christmas time), but I think I’ve peaked and now have it going back in the right direction.

2010 will be an interesting cycling year. I am really looking forward to hosting my first brevets in June and July. Now let’s just hope the Montana Department of Transportation doesn’t have significant portions of my routes slated for reconstruction (dang stimulus money!). Paved alternate routes are hard to come by.

Until the weather starts to turn, I will continue to stare at my lonely bike hanging on the hook in the garage. Oh well, it shouldn’t be ridden that much anyway-not until it gets a tune-up.