It is funny how my views of the outside world change once the snow starts to fall. I am both attracted and repulsed by the arrival of the snow.
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Winter attracts because the snow brings with it challenges not present at other times of the year. Cycling is more difficult, driving more interesting, dressing for the weather can be a challenge as the needs of active transport clash with the needs of standing still.
While cycling is undeniably more difficult in the snow, it is a lot more fun. Knowing that the bicycle can slide out from under me at any given time makes me acutely aware of what goes on 'round me. I have to remember all my off road steering tricks: how to float a bicycle, how to let it do what it will while I guide it, how to feather my brakes and use them to flow the bicycle, not stop it. The importance of tire pressure (not too hard!!). Winter tires. More attention paid to the road ahead and traffic behind. Lights! Don't forget them and use them even in daylight hours. They are a life saver. Change or charge the batteries.
I love car rallying. Therefore I love driving in the snow. Drift surfing on a well set up front wheel drive car with snow tires is a real delight. Bring a shovel. Don't be an idiot. Things I have to remember.
Should I dress for the weather for comfort walking around or standing still, I will overheat and freeze when riding. Sweat is the enemy. So is cotton. Should I dress to accommodate the heat of riding, I will avoid the enemy, but will quickly freeze if I have to stop. It is a balancing act I solve (as much as I do solve) by using layers which can be peeled off or back as needed. It has been years since I have used my parka.
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Winter repulses because I am driven indoors more (riding on the trainer, attending RPM classes at the gym, treadmills...), because I am reduced to one heavy commuter bike with snow tires.
The only thing that makes riding on the trainer bearable is a tolerant wife who lets me set my trainer up in the living room, a living room office with a computer, a very long HDMI cable, and my hi-def television. Plus YouTube. Clearly I am spoiled. But without the inspiration of watching Spartacus destroy all comers in a spring classic, or watching the climbers crush another col, I would not be able to sustain trainer riding.
This year, RPM classes are starting for me again. Spin Spin Spin. They are good, intense, but very loud and not outdoors.
I miss my "real" bicycles. The old 'cross bike is parked. Single-speeded now, it is away until the spring when I can get out and ride the city fast again. The mountain bike, rarely used, is also shelved. My new 'cross bike sits on the trainer behind me as I write this, taunting me to come play. But I cannot. I don't have the resources to take the new machine in the salt, muck, and sludge of winter and rebuild/replace a good chunk of it every year. I can't and won't do that to a nice bike. I consign instead my commuter bike to take the hit. Heavy, slow. Beast of burden. It can take the pounding, and costs little to repair. Saved gas more than makes up for it. Not so the good bikes.
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So I am left dreaming. Visiting bicycle sites on the internet. Riding the trainer with eyes half closed behind the best in the world. Pounding out the beats in a spin class.
Staring at the bicycle.
Dreaming of the open road.
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