Winter riding is here

It's been a brisk weekend.  As always though, there's no such thing as bad weather, just inadequate clothing.

Saturday Kate, Double Bunnin and I got in about 3 hours in the city.  Sunday I got up earlier to pick up the bike box pictured below from Kate - and the whole way to her house the car thermometer read -19 or -20.  Kate didn't seem to be bothered one way or another, of course doing great justice to the whole Norwegian born above the arctic circle thing.

I got dressed and rode back to Cadence as quick as I could - this is good testing for some of my new clothes for Nepal.  I wore same as I did yesterday but with the Gore Alp-X pants over my other outfit, some booties, and an extra sweater.  By the time I got there, everyone else other than her had bailed.

All in we did about 5 hours.  But I wasn't sure if the Gore tex clad companion for the day was Kate or not, I couldn't see a single bit of skin showing.  I actually think it was a Norwegian snow biking super hero(ine) with a mild accent that's Kate's weekend alter ego.  We had planned to go to Cochrane, but a co-worker of hers called with some issue that made us stop and do some calls from Tuscany Starbucks. I'll need to remember that's the only thing that slows her down and pay one of her co-workers to bail me out sometime when she's motoring along.  We did some of the north roads then back down the ravine.  I did a consistent job of praying to stay on a wheel, but didn't succeed.  Climbs, headwinds, technical snow tracks, etc, I was just schooled.  Good thing is another 8h this weekend of snow and ice riding on 35mm Racing Ralphs prove studs aren't a winter requisite, neither are fat tires, and after a decade of doing this, I've never fallen to injury riding a bike other than 5 seconds of inattention on smooth dry pavement.  Go figure.

Two days in a row I needed a nap on the couch after riding with Gunther.  She doesn't mind at all.  I've been doing some intensity, but not these longer endurance rides, and not these cold ones that suck innumerous extra calories out of your body.  3h later I feel like the house is a sauna.

Of all the things that concern me about the Yak Attack - altitude, water quality, heat on the first days actually register as concerns.  Knowing how to bike for half a day in frigid weather, dress for it, stay upright on snow… not top of the concern list.