Fuel for the Fire

Dressed all in indignation and plenty of Gore Tex

This is what motivates me to ride outside all winter long:

• The other option is riding inside on a trainer for 3 hours
• A splash of vodka in each water bottle (to keep them from freezing, of course)
• I like to suffer and I need to exorcise demons
• Cold air brings clarity
• Dopamine keeps me on the high road
• Physical discomfort expels the emotional variety. Or, as one of my teammates recently expressed it, 'My mind can't pay attention to both. Trade one pain for another.'
• The small victory I achieve in summoning the activation energy required to overcome the 'holy shit it's cold out there' inertia
• Cold weather riding steels my resolve
• The taste of road salt
• The long, way-too-hot shower at the end of the ride
• The way my skin burns when that shower water hits where I embrocated
• The solitude. Duh.
• Putting Rule #6* into practice.
• If winter is here, can spring be far behind?

*Rule #6

// Free your mind and your legs will follow.

Your mind is your worst enemy. Do all your thinking before you start riding your bike.  Once the pedals start to turn, wrap yourself in the sensations of the ride – the smell of the air, the sound of the tires, the feeling of flight as the bicycle rolls over the road.