Personal Best

Yesterday morning I had a new personal best...well coldest at least. As I was heading over to Lebanon Hills, the temperature was -10 (that is base temp NOT w/ windchill). Several hours later when I finished up my laps it had warmed all the way to -5.
Normally, I would have waited until the afternoon sun had warmed things a little, but my wife had movie plans w/ friends... having a kid = be flexible.

The Ride: Hardtail w/ Nokian studded tires...run tubeless w/ ~15 PSI

The only intersting thing about the ride might be the clothing I was wearing. I didn't get cold at all.
Here is the list from the top down:
Mountain Hardware Windstopper hat - sweat wicking and wind proof need I say more?
Pearl Izumi Balaclava - good for chincicles, wear it so each breath is exhausted over my face...keeps the nose running and the face thawed.
Stretch (generic) neck tube - just one more layer, as the balaclava is pretty thin
Under Armour Cold Gear top - best base layer I have found...I look like a really skinny Terrell Owens=)
Mountain Hardware fleece - I only wear this and cold gear if it is >20 degrees. It is 4x more windproof than cheap fleece
Mountain Hardware Windstopper jacket - This jacket makes riding in weather like this possible. Again, wind proof and sweat wicking
Pearl Izumi windproof bibs - I wouldn't buy them again but they are warm. The flaw is that the have no stretch around the knees so they really bind up (and make me work harder=)
Under Armour Cold Gear pants - same as shirt. see above
Nike bibs - low cut making it easier to pee
Mountainineering socks - wooly, thick, and big
Nike Shoes (same as I use all season) - tape up the holes in the insole. A lot of heat is lost through the sole of the shoe.
Performance Booties - cheap and fleece lined. The fleece lining really helps.
and last but probably most important...toe warmer packets taped to the top of my sock inside my shoe - would have lasted less than a lap w/o these.

The catch? The retail value of all this clothing is ~$1000. IMO, money better spent than on a nice trainer or power meter;)


My wife called me crazy for going riding. I called her crazy for going to see a horror movie: "27 Dresses". In the end, we agreed to disagree.

Baptism and Clown Tricks

Hello again...it has been a while. Time continues to fly, and we have been quite busy.


We have found a Church, Shephard of the Lake in Prior Lake, that we really like and today we had Tegan Baptised there. As an added bonus, my entire family - yep all 5 of us kids and mom and dad - was able to congregate for the occasion.

Training:
Has been going well and is on schedule...I think? I am not very scientific in my approach, but things feel right so far.

1. My gym work outs continue to evolve and Kris, our personal trainer at work, is always pushing us. Probably the latest cool exercise is squats on an exercise ball... when people walk by they always ask if I am practicing for the circus. I haven't ruled it out, but really it is all about core, stability and balance.



2. Hockey so sweet, and only one broken stick this year=) Breaking carbon is still a bit of a sore spot for me though (broken 9.9 frame two years ago).

3. Oh yeah, riding. I have had a training revival ->snowmobile trails. They go on FOREVER and usually end in Bonkville.