After spending the past two weeks on the trainer, I finally got to go on my first outdoor ride of the year. I took my xbike out, mostly because there is still snow on the ground, but partly because I've been using my road on the trainer, and it isn't comfortable. I'm getting a full on fit from Isaac sometime this month, or early next to solve that problem.
So, lots of snow and sub freezing temps have made it impossible for me to ride. The tires I have on my xbike are meant for gravel, so they kind of suck in mud and snow. With that in mind, I dropped the tire psi down to 45 (the lowest I can have them without pinch flatting) and bundled up. It's a gorgeous 37* and windy today, but that's about 17* warmer than it has been, so it feels great. I finally got to use the wind resistant winter jacket I bought back in November and it is exactly what I've needed for this kind of weather. With just a base layer and arm warmers I was sweating.
The bike path was much more exposed than I was expecting when I first got on it, but the further I got from the Transit Center the worse it became. There was a lot of ice with half melted snow on top, or just ice with melted foot prints. The latter made for a bumpy ride. A lot of my internal dialogue went like this: "keep it pointed straight, keep pedaling at an even pace, keep it upright, fuck." I only hopped off once, but I had plenty of close calls. The snow on the grass was too deep and I couldn't keep any momentum and would just cut through it and come to a stop. I'm going to invest in some tires for these conditions as soon as I get a pay check.
I've spent a lot of effort trying to take my time in getting back on the bike. Every year, I let my excitement get the best of me and I end up hurting my knee. This year, I started breaking out the trainer so I could just spin around and slowly get my knee used to the stress of spinning the pedals. So far, so good. My knee didn't hurt at all today. I was mindful of it, but when climbing or standing up it never bothered me. It's still a piece of garbage, but If I can keep it pain free through most of this season, that would be a huge improvement. I plan on getting an MRI in the coming months so I have a better idea of what is really wrong with it and act accordingly. If it's so bad that I need surgery, I will wait until the winter to get it.
