Cornbread

Yeah, it was cold.

Frozen bottles

Negative four windchill at take off. Barmitts, balaclava's and ski googles were necessities. Well, at least for me. The older I get, the more difficult it is for me to stay warm.

Small crew for the "early" ride

Rafal made the trip down from Omaha for the ride this morning! Was great riding with ya, homey. Gotta get those winter miles in for the madness of the gravel grinders! Trans Iowa, Almanzo, and Dirty Kanza!

Icy tailwind home

Cortland was about most of us could muster in today's frigid temps. Bruce is the only one to venture on to Adams. Animal! My baselayer was soaked by the time we got to the convenience store in Cortland. Normally my baselayer is dry as a bone, but not today. Weird. A damp baselayer isn't so bad when you're moving, but stopping with a wet baselayer is bad. Real bad. I froze. Even inside the convenience store I was struggling.

Ron adjusting the newspaper layer

I took a tip from Ron and Scott. Put a newspaper in front and back under my jacket. Worked like a charm. Not sure about the ride tomorrow. There's a chance of rain. Boo.

Brisk goodness

Following Wills on the Moonlander - I need one of those!

Rode Wilderness last night with Wills. It was effing cold. My face hurt riding over to D Street for the meet up. After warming up everything was A-OK. Smart wool NTS 195 oz baselayer and Voler thermal jacket was the perfect combo. Felt comfortable and dry the entire ride.

Quick pit stop

We rode for longer than originally anticipated because things were working out nicely with temp, time and trail conditions. Lemme tell ya, the temperature in the park was much warmer than the exposed roads and Jamaica Trail. The south stretch on the Jamaica getting to the singletrack was muderous!

After an hour and a half of singletrack it was time to call it good. My Niterider Minewt 600 juice indicator was red as the battery had drained. First real ride with the new light. I love it.

Thanks for the ride, Wills. I needed that.

The weekend!

Saturday - D Street Indoor century

Saturday the PCL crew and associates completed an indoor century at D Street (aka the D Street Hotel, Dirtbag Mansion, the bike house, etc). This indoor century was a bit different from most. We didn't ride rollers or trainers. We actually rode bicycles in a dynamic fashion. And we rode in a figure 8 between the living and dining rooms. The dining room had a pool table to navigate while the living room had two couches butted up back to back. A majority of the miles were completed on a Pugsley and a vintage Bontrager B29 cruiser (24 inch BMX cruiser).

Cultiva hooked us up for coffee!

Now I know what you're thinking. Yes, it's a bit unusual. Honestly, who cares. It was pretty damn fun. Got to hang out with fun loving people enjoying some two wheeled adventures.

Wills and Jen riding thru the living room during an early shift

We had no idea how long it would take. Rough estimates based on speed with two folks riding simultaneously were anywhere from 8 to 14 hours. Once we got going the miles ticked away rather quickly. The event started at 8 AM and finished before 5 PM.

Dining room

Folks signed up for half hour slots. I rode one in the morning and planned on riding in the evening, but the 100 mile mark had already been cracked. Even riding just one half hour turn really worked me over. Lots of turning!

Schmidty on the Bonty B29

Eric and Jen rounding the pool table

I'm not sure who's taking credit for the idea. Whoever it was, thank you. It was a blast riding laps and I gained some confidence in my indoor 106 year old wooden floor cornering skillz.

Good company for Saturday gravel to Valpo - thanks guys!

I managed to ride outside on Saturday and Sunday too. Two tough days on the bike. The fitness is slowly creeping back, but not without some suffering.