8 inches of snow…again

The weatherman didn’t lie when he said the snow would start falling yesterday. It had barely melted from Thursday’s 8 inch snowfall. I was sincerely hoping it would only be a few inches, but when the snow started to fall at 4:30 PM yesterday and was accumulating to about .5 inch/hour, I knew I’d wake up to a lot of it this AM. Don’t get me wrong, it’s gorgeous and great for skiing, but going out on 2 wheels is less than desirable. For some reason, I sleep really terribly when it’s snowing a ton. I don’t know why, but it’s something I have noticed. Maybe I get troubled inside b/c I know how cold I’ll get the next day?

Well, I rode my trainer once last week, and this is a big training hour week – 18 hours of bike time. I do not intend to spend any of those hours on the trainer. Today, I am going to suck it up, bring a thermos of coffee in my pocket, and ride to Fort Collins. After all, there is some motivation – Mr. Kerkove will be waiting for me there, the brewery, good food, cute dogs. Not so bad right? I will be taking my Ergon BA3 Outdoor pack and using the rain fly to keep water out. What I really need for today and would be awesome in general is the Ergon BC3 cycling pack. “The BC3 utilizes a high-tech, heavy-duty water proof material (water proofed on both sides), with water resistant zippers, a helmet holder, internal compartments to keep you organized and a sleeve for a hydration bladder. The BC3 can carry your gear on an overnight mountain bike trip or your office clothes and laptop on an everyday commute. ” Sounds perfect for any assortment of rides. It should be available in the US sometime soon.

What else will I wear today?  Here is the plan, and I’ll let you know how it went. It is 20F out right now and isn’t supposed to warm up too much. I figure this is useful for those who don’t have all the fancy gear (like me!). I used to have only arm warmers, leg warmers, and a vest, and I would make it through the winters somehow. As funds come in, I will be adding to my winter cycling collections.   I’ll be combining some of my everyday/outdoor gear with my cycling gear. Why not?

• Smartwool beanie

• longsleeve baselayer (I need to get a thermal one)

• jersey

• Montbell Crag Jacket. I wear this jacket everywhere anyway, so why not ride my bike. It will take the place of a long sleeve jersey and/or thermal vest.

• Endura Stealth Waterproof thermal jacket

• Pearl Izumi Amphibian gloves, and a pair of light running gloves underneath

• The Royal Chamois

• Fleece (fitted) running tights and because it’s going to get wet, I may choose to wear Mountain Hardwear gortex pants. If not, then I will pull leg warmers over the tights.

• Swiftwick wool socks

• Cycling shoes (Man I wish I had a pair of these)

• Toe warmers or Full sock shoe cover

• Neoprene shoe covers – I am waiting on a pair of new ones from Endura

I think that my feet will be the coldest. I probably will overheat, but it’s better to have too much, and since I have my BA3, I can always shed a layer and stuff it in the pack. It will not be totally loaded down. What will I put in my Ergon BA3? Since this is just an overnight trip and I am not camping, I don’t have to worry about packability.

• My laptop (in some plastic) – this will be the heaviest item since it’s 3.5 years old and heavier than newer laptops. I need the Macbook Air or Ipod Touch for short trips so I can stay connected 😀

• 1 pair of pants

• 1 shirt

• Montbell Neige Down Jacket (actually IS nice and packable)

• extra socks

• extra gloves

• extra hat

• shoes

• if I had cookies, cookies would go in there too.  I will have Larabars in my pack which is almost as good as cookies.

I probably forgot some stuff in this list since I haven’t actually packed it yet, but I figure, this is mildly entertaining!  I will eventually be doing an overnight cycling trip including camping.  The pack list will be very different and more fun too!

I need these if it continues to snow and get worse! AWESOME!