Winter Riding

The Crux Elite has changed my biking paradigm. Winter riding is now a reality. Not a Concept, a Reality. And it's all because of the Crux. I'm scrapping its nickname "Crust" because it is more than the crust - it is the body and soul, the Totality of Cycle. It is, indeed, the crux of the matter and an elite performer in the Meander of Road and Path.

Today, the axis of perception shifted. Before setting out on ride # 6, winter riding was an adversary, an impediment, an inconvenience. I engaged it with reluctant but determined heart.

Then somewhere along the way, maybe a third of the way into the ride, speeding across a frozen landscape on salt-whitened tarmac, crows flapping & cawing above and not a car to be seen, it hit me - winter riding is fantastic! I LIKE it, even though I'm not supposed to. It's dangerous and arduous. The elements are enemies, the cold a curse. So it's said. Pivoting on opinion, in a flash I saw it all differently. It was not a burden, it was a gift! Winter riding reminds you that you are alive!

Dress properly. That's the key. And have the right bike too. Only a cross bike or a mountain bike will do. Cold? Layers. Wet? Position a plastic shopping bag inside your tights across your butt. Windy? Wear a wind breaker. A brown paper shopping bag between jerseys shields the chest. And then ride safely, consciously, defensively, reverently.

Winter Riding,  Be Alive!