Today we dipped back into winter and my axiom on Spring is holding true. Spring receded and most of the cyclists disappeared! Instead of seeing the large groups, pace lines and struggling novice riders — I saw a grand total of 4 riders in my almost 50 minute ride. And, no, I wasn’t riding a remote, little travelled route. I was on the ‘Carter Lake’ route which is one of the most popular rides out of Boulder.

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I was going to brave the elements either. The yards and vegetation are still covered with several inches of heavy, wet snow but the roads are clear and even dry in most spots. The problem is that the air temperature is still pretty cold and there is a pesky breeze (7-10 mph) that makes it feel at least 10 degrees colder than the 36 degrees F reported by the weather website. I dressed in multiple layers and wore a thin balaclava for full-face protection. Only my nose and exposed portions of my face got really cold.  I started with a tailwind which gave me time to warm up. As I flew along, I knew there would be hell to pay. And there was. At the turn around, I dropped from a cruising speed of 19-20 mph to 12-13 mph and I could feel the wind cut thru my 3 layers. Luckily, I had packed my GoLite windshirt too so I pulled that out and put it on under my jacket. Perfect!

Once I settled into my new speed and acknowledged the wind, I was fine and actually continued to enjoy the ride. The cold wind chipped away at my body warmth though and the turn-off to the farm came none to soon. A hot shower and a cup of hot tea and I was good to go again!

Stats for today’s ride (all off the Vetta C-16):
Distance:  12.1
ODO: 1050
Ride Time: 0:48:46
Ave Speed: 14.9 mph
Max Speed: 28.2 mph