Winter Has Arrived

The calendar pegged the arrival on the winter solstice but forgot to tell the weather.  We've been lucky and blessed with a very mild winter till now.  Temps are getting more in line with the calendar and we have snow on the ground again.  The forecast into next week brings back a bit more moderate temps but nothing that I see in the forecast indicates outdoor riding for me.  Once it gets below 40's F I find no pleasure in outdoor riding.  A walk or hike is ok in the cold and really can be invigorating, but riding with wind on your face is not my cup of tea. 

So it's onto the trainer for me.  Once again I have signed up for an indoor challenge and have made 9 hours of ride time my goal for January.  I'm on track to achieve or exceed that however it requires more motivation than outdoor riding.  Exercising in general gives that "glow" and the mood elevating rewards from physical activity help to motivate but gosh darn it that fun factor is missing in a big way!  No matter how long I ride for the view just dosen't change like it does when riding out of doors.  The saving grace about indoor riding is that it lets me hit the ground running when the weather turns in springtime.  There's little to no loss of endurance, your backside is saddle ready and your legs have kept tuned all winter.  Great rewards in and of themselves not to mention the physical conditioning benefits of heart health and weight control.

The calendar says it's trainer time and I hope by February to be looking forward to my time spent spinning along and going nowhere.  I wish I could read on the trainer but the body movements make that out of the question.  Time to look into some scenic DVD's.