Saturday, October 28, 2006

Any weather is randoneering weather

It was -3 deg C this AM with an ice fog shrouding downtown Calgary. The view from inside my warm apartment was beautiful. I wanted to get out and bike a bit, but I just didn't feel like freezing my butt off. It is one thing to commute to work in sub-zero weather, but a fun ride is a whole different matter!

I kept putting it off hoping the temps would start moving towards the day's predicted high of +11 deg C. Eventually I gave up such foolish thoughts and geared up to ride. Anna was missing a bolt for her Time cleat so we stopped at Campione Cycles first. They were kind enough to provide one for free. Next we bombed the nearly empty pathways towards Bowness. As usual once I was on the bike it was a lot of fun and the weather was not an issue. It is way worse thinking about winter riding than actually doing it - as long as you have good clothing.

On the way back we encountered a hellacious windstorm that nearly knocked us off our bikes. You gotta love Calgary weather!

We ended up riding 25kms over two hours including lots of stops for errands and lunch. All in all it was a great ride and a nice way to spend a cold day.

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