January rides -- outdoors!!

[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.