I got an email from Mike yesterday, saying that he was on his way to New Mexico for a winter break and that he was packing his bike in the back of the car and hoped to put on a few miles. That was enough to convince me to get back in the saddle on a balmy (-16 degrees) winter’s day. It’s been two months since I’ve been on a bike and it felt like it. The SC1800 felt good, if somewhat stiff. That’s very much the way my body felt, too. The bike has been parked in the cold for two months with nights dropping to -40 lately. The picture below is along my usual route to work. You can’t see it in the photo but there were a lot of people skating on the river, a lot of people out enjoying the sunshine.

Mid-January ride, Assiniboine River riverwalk, looking east.

I rode to work (7 km), stayed for 20 minutes, then did another 20 km on the bike. Really enjoyable. I smiled a lot. I’m looking forward to warmer weather and longer rides.

My first ride last year was on the 15th of March, a mere 5 km. Such an early start this year bodes well. I put 3,200 Km on this rolling anchor last year. I am aiming for another 3,200 this year… if I can hit 7,000 Km by the end of this season I’ll be ecstatic.

And so, after a two month hiatus, another season of The Bike of Doom is underway.