Winter Riding

Erik rides right through the winter, regardless of temperature or surface conditions In fact, sometimes I think that he prefers to ride in inclement weather. I, on the other hand, am not so ballsy.

But, there's a point at which even a fair weather rider can't take staying inside any longer. The snow hasn't yet melted and the roads are still lined with gravel, but it's warm enough to ride without a balaklava and, well, after 5 months locked indoors, that's good enough for me.

It took almost an our to pedal from end to end on Airport Road on account of a deadly headwind. A tilt of the head to watch a bird at the side of the road was enough to throw me off course. So, it was head down, legs pumping, lips smiling, for an entire hour until I reached highway 22. But, my battle didn't end when the pavement did. I headed north toward Cochrane, fighting a treacherous cross wind that tossed me back and forth across the shoulder as cars and trucks passed, breaking and then exposing and then breaking the wind. Still not enough to wipe the smirk off my face.

I crawled in to Cochrane and refueled on a hot chocolate and oatmeal cookie. This is basically like rocket fuel for cyclists. Add to that a nice tailwind to shepard me home, and I couldn't help but wonder why I waited so long to get out for a ride. Maybe 'winter' riding isn't so bad.