chill

this morning i woke up with one goal in mind -

BIKE RIDE.

it's been a while. too long in fact. and i haven't wanted to risk getting sick so - i've waited and waited for a dry sunny day. the temperature was hovering around freezing as i pulled on layer - after layer. lined tights, thermal top, warm jersey, jacket, gloves booties... etc etc.

cold aside, it takes an additional 15 minutes just to get dressed before a ride in this weather!

the grass was a frosty pale green when i left my house - rockhopper in the back. rear view mirrors still frozen, but my ass was nice and toasty thanks to the subaru COLD WEATHER PACKAGE - heated seats are a must have!

yea i am spoiled and i enjoy it. deal.

i hit the forest and realized i was early. one never wants to be early when it means waiting in the cold for 10 minutes! so i pulled on the rest of my gear - and did loops around the parking lot until the other ladies arrived. through the trees from the lot, i saw two cyclists making their way up bear meadows road. after a year or running into mr roman in the forest i can recognize him from a mile away! eric and jordyn swung by to say hello and then we went our way and they theirs.

The ride was SLOW. first in over a month! while the climbs were great as my body pumped blood throughout keeping sensitive toes and fingers warm, the descents were brutal resulting in tingles of burn in my finger tips, toes and face...

my favorite part - the last climb up gettis. i love this climb as it has it all... rocks, wide enough area to pick a line, more rocks, switch backs and today, snow - yes snow! we were high enough to see it and it was beautiful! i'm used to tackling this on the cross bike so it was a refreshing change to be able to muscle over rocks without thinking too much about my ideal line.

we ran into sparky at the top on his single speed coast brake setup. it has a purple chain and bright green velocity rims (among other cool parts). i'm jealous.

a brisk descent down north meadows. by the time i made it to the bottom i was officially frozen - and apparently partially delirious.

i decided to see whether or not my bike could push its way through the gate at bear meadows road. my mind said "go around", but my frozen body said "no, you don't need to be that far away from the gate post."

handle bar made contact with the gate post and down i went - almost. a last minute grab of the gate saved my ass from completely planting on the rocks to my left.

now that's grace under pressure.
a ride to remember and many more cold ones to come. there is just something about winter.... that i think i love. or maybe it's just winter in the forest on my bike.

yea probably the latter.