Adversity and Accomplishment...More or Less: Snow Be Damned....I Rode Anyways!

So I had a choice to make today to either test my mental toughness with 3.5 hours on the trainer or test my physical toughness by heading out on a 20 degree morning that called for snow and winds of 10 to 20 mph. So what do you think I chose? Riding outside of course!! I hate the trainer, I consider it a necessary evil and today I just thought that I'd rather fight the snow and wind than the boredom of the trainer. So I got up at 6:30, ate some pancakes with Blueberries and after letting that digest for a little bit I got all my gear together. Layer by layer I put it all on until I was sweating buckets inside the house, which meant I'd be perfect outside. I put on 3 tops plus a jacket, arm warmers, tights, leg warmers, shorts, two pairs of socks with TT booties over the shoes and neoprene winter booties over those. I also took my Camelback to keep the water warm, I hate it when my water bottles turn to slush. I headed out from New Berlin towards Mukwonago and then over to Waukesha and Big Bend before finally heading home. The first and really the only body parts to freeze during the ride were my toes in spite of the 2 pairs of socks and 2 pairs of booties. My face got a bit wind-burned but it really didn't feel all that cold. I didn't see any other bikers during the ride but saw quite a few runners, hmmmm, maybe they are hardier than bikers, at least I was out there representing us. Sooo, anyways, the grand total for today's ride was 4 hours and 1 minute, yes I was crazy enough to ride for 4 hours today in this crap!! I'm really glad now that I'm home to think that I completed my 2nd 4 hour ride already this year, like I said previously my first one didn't come until July I think last year. That's why I said 4 hours and 1 minute previously, I had to make sure I went over that 4 hour mark. All in all, I have to say that the cold definitely made the ride more difficult, I could tell that it sapped my muscle strength quite a bit as my body was trying to keep itself warm. I'm happy I did it though and now I have the rest of the day to do what I want, no worries about having to ride the trainer later. Suckers! Just kidding...seriously. Anyways, I got some great pictures when I got back of my bike because of course when snow hits metal and starts to melt in these temps it freezes pretty quickly. I also sweated right through to my jacket and by the time I got back it was frozen solid in the front, I had to pull it over my head and it actually stood on it's own. Well, tomorrow might be too cold and snowy, 16 for a high and I'm sure I'll have to test my mental toughness tomorrow instead. Until next time....