January rides -- outdoors!!

[ridebikeme]

Got out for my first 2014 ride today. It was a short ride, and was snowing... although most of you are receiving the same weather. Cold here with lower temps and wind coming. But I definitely see a commute to work tomorrow on the Fatbike.

[SheFly]

V - it wasn't. I just wanted to go home. Sadly, the only "safe" way back was the way we had come. I'm skiing tomorrow. Oh - and the temp is now 3... I am jealous of your MTB riding!

SheFly

[Crankin]

It's nasty out there...
Skiing/snow shoeing on the agenda for the rest of the weekend.

[azfiddle]

Unlike the midwest, northeast etc, it's prime riding weather here in the desert- I've ridden every day of January (but go back to work Monday so that will be the end of that! New Year's Day: 60 miles on "The Loop" multi-use path that encircles Tucson (almost- we were on streets for about 10 miles of the total distance). Thursday, Saguaro NP for about 30 miles. Friday- took the extra long way from my house to my school to do some prep for returning to classes on Monday- 42 miles total through some beautiful Sonoran Desert. Today, rode with my women's cycling group, around the foothills and a short distance up Mt. Lemmon. I am always last... (today I was introduced as "not a bunny", but I ended up going an extra two miles without them, up the mountain to about 4500 feet elevation- it was getting a little cool and windy when I headed home for 48 miles total. So an amazing 177 miles for 2014!

[Catrin]

Azfiddle, I am jealous, there, I've said it So glad that some of us get to ride on comfortable temps this time of the year!

[malkin]

We've been out on the tandem a couple times and it's pretty cold out there! The road surface is kinda dicey too.

[ny biker]

I "rode" in Tuscon yesterday. More specifically, I just got Coach Troy's Tuscon Training "virtual reality" dvd for Christmas, and yesterday I tried out the shorter of the two rides on it. I think it was Gates Pass. The other ride is Mt Lemmon.

I finally got some warmer tights -- I scored a pair of AmFibs on sale this weekend. It was about 40 here yesterday so I would have given them a test by going for a spin outdoors, but the roads were wet all day and I didn't feel like having to clean my bike afterwards.

Keep your fingers crossed for this coming weekend -- the forecast is calling for temps in the low 50s.

[emily_in_nc]

Finally a sunny and lovely day on North Padre Island! Got in a 28 mile ride on this 70+ degree but quite windy day. It was a blast on the way out, with wind at our back -- we were flying along at 19-20mph on the flats, which I almost never get to do any more with all the utilitarian rides we do (and usually on MTBs, but here we're on roadies). Of course, once we turned around and slogged back into the wind, our speed dropped to 11-13 mph. Just thankful to be able to get out in shorts in JANUARY! My biking tan lines are coming back!

[ny biker]

We had decent weather today. After the deep freeze earlier in the week, we had temps in the high 50s yesterday but with rain all day. Today it was a bit cooler, in the low 50s, but the sun was out. Unfortunately I had to work today, from 6:30 am to about 1:30, so I missed a chance to join an 11 am club ride with friends. Their route was 41 miles and I expect they had a good turnout.

I did manage to get out for a late afternoon solo ride. I did a slightly shorter version of the Wednesday evening hill training ride that I do from spring through fall. It was about 15.5 miles long with almost constant ups and downs, and it took about 1.5 hours. I made some changes to the route last August, and had only been able to ride the new portion after dark, so it was fun to see what the houses on those roads look like in daylight.

Since we've had a fair amount of colder-than-average weather this winter, the ground here is pretty cold, and that made today feel a bit on the chilly side. Part of my learning curve as I get used to riding in colder weather is learning how to dress for 50 degrees in January vs. 50 degrees in October or April. Today worked out pretty well, and I was comfortable for the whole ride. I continue to need more coverage on my legs and feet than on my core, arms and hands.

We're expecting another blast of arctic air this week. It is January, after all.