A Wee Bit Nipply

Today I had grand plans to get out for a slightly longer commute to work but when I woke up this morning and saw that it was a whopping 5 degrees outside my very manly testes immediately hoisted a white flag and the plan changed to a simple, direct route in. Once out this morning it actually wasn't all that bad except on the downhills where windchill temps were approaching -20. Thankfully, I was committed to the shorter route so it gives me time to do an actual post today before clocking in. Lucky you.

The cold weather of late has got me thinking it's time to up the ante gear wise so that I can really enjoy winter riding. I've got some Bikeman Bucks from Christmas burning a hole in my wallet anyway so I guess it's time to spend some virtual money. The first items that I'll be picking up are a pair of pogies. For those of you not in the know, pogies are essentially sleeping bags for your hands that mount to the handlebars. They create a super warm womb for your hands and allow you to wear summer weight gloves on even the coldest days. They look kind of dorky but they work great so as soon as I figure out which pair I want I'll be putting an order in at Bikeman.com. The other item on my immediately must have list is a new pair of heavy weight shoe covers to fit on my winter riding shoes.


As you can see, my current pair have had a hard life and are ready for retirement. Chewed up sole, check. Duct taped toes, check. Blown out zipper, check.

Also on the agenda, but not slated to happen until late 2010, is a honest to goodness, fo rizzle my schizzle, snow bike. Carver is coming out with a more piggy bank friendly aluminum snow bike frame to go along with their sweet but out of my price range Ti snow bike frame. Every winter I say that I want to get one but every winter I fail to pull the trigger because I always feel guilty about buying yet another bike. Good news for me is that with my Selma still being practically brand spankin new I really don't NEED a new race rig for 2010 so that finally leaves the door open for a snow bike. Plus, if I somehow manage to pull off a 3-fer in this September's Bradbury 12 single speed race, I'll have another frame to trade in towards the whole schebang. Thankfully I have plenty of time to plan and save for the project.

Tomorrow's topic? Vegas Baby!