Wow did the mercury drop last night. When I set off at 7:50 it was 4.5 below with ice everywhere, not enough to slow cars down, though, apparently they hover above the ground and have no need to have reliable contact with the earth... clearly I missed when these new types of vehicles arrived.
Luckly the cold was dry, it was better than yesterday so speeds were up, routes were almost completely rideable and it was a much more pleasant experience than yesterday, moreso when the temps creeped towards zero. My hands and feet weren't cold at all, pointing toward a perfect clothing system, (for information it was : thermal t-shirt, dry fit long sleeved top with arm warmers over the top, another dry fit top with a thermal LS jersey as the outer layer,shorts were thermal 3/4s under Fox 3/4 DH shorts, Sealzkinz Merino socks in NW Celcius boots (which are good in the dry, but terrible in the wet).
30 miles on the nose, hopefully the temps will go up again, not least because when it's that cold my crappy double glazing condenses like crazy.
Double mileage celebrationette today: Firstly 6,000 miles (6022.70) this year*, and secondly the Surly passed 7,000 miles (7034.28), which puts it back into second position for the most ridden of my bikes - ever... and it's possible it could be #1 in the next month or so. (that comment has pretty much guaranteed that it will snap in two tomorrow) (and that comment about that comment has probably put the frame-cracking-pixies on call)
* of course, this time last year I was already to 8,000 or so
The Inbred 29er's done over 4,000 miles now, and it's amost falling apart again, especially the BB which sounds a few miles away from the balls escaping from the collapsed drive-side bearing.
Summer's properly here now, 3 days of rain, ends a run of 1,300 mostly dry miles, more rain to come, strong winds still present... shopping for running shoes.
1000 miles for the year, done, done in 33 rides, two bikes. Technically I passed this mark on Sunday, but I discount 12.6miles from the ride when my BB bearings fell out.
Only 4 days slower than 2007!
30.6mls (12.6 avg) | Dry, Wind, Thick Air, Coldish, 6-8°c
Dec 2007 Summary:
Mostly a rainy, windy, muddy month, with 2 weeks of ice in the middle.