It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Whether you celebrate Toyotathon or Happy Honda Days, December ushers in the best few months of training for the whole year. Eat what you want, drink what you want, because you will burn more calories going 5 miles in an hour than you will during an entire weekend of cx racing. It’s also great, because the snow and ice open up a lot of riding opportunities that aren’t possible in the summer. The thickets of stinging nettles are gone, the mosquitoes and deer flies are gone, the marshy sections of trail that are submerged for much of the year are either dry or frozen over. Groomed singletrack is great, but there’s something to be said for riding out of the garage to the local neighborhood “trails”.

Which leads us to this past Monday, which was the coldest Christmas here since 1996. It was about -4° with a -20 something wind chill when I rolled out for a holiday recovery ride. Here’s a breakdown of the layering for the day: Craft long-sleeve base, Podiumwear thermal skinsuit, two pairs of wool socks, Louis Garneau thermal bib tights, Sportful GoreTex XC bibs, Castelli Winter Base Jacket, Podiumwear mid-weight jacket, 45North Wolvhammer Boots, Cannondale balaclava, REI watch cap, Columbia neck warmer, Giro snowboard helmet, Smith goggles, DaKine mitts with liners, and a set of $15 ATV bar mitts from Fleet Farm. I was only going out for an hour or so, or I would also have brought a backpack — useful for when you need to shed a layer of kit, as well as food/bevy/etc.

My “route” is basically finding some footprints (human, deer, other) to follow along Rice Creek. The best way to describe the terrain would be to imagine a ski run where the moguls were made of clumps of tall marsh grass. You ride around these clumps, either following a set of footprints, or cutting your own trail in the snow. This makes for a pretty challenging workout. You need some good slow-motion bike handling to negotiate the tight turns and undulations through the marsh. Your core gets worked trying to maintain balance, and your arms get worked as you are constantly pushing and pulling on the bars to get the bike up, down, and over the uneven terrain. Your legs are constantly spinning the whole time, so you’re getting your cardio in as well.

The bushwacking eventually leads to a few short sections of actual trail before it’s back to more of the above. It’s only about a 5 mile out and back, but it takes a solid hour of effort, and zero minutes in a car. You need to scan the terrain and pick the best lines. You need to know the depth of the ice you’re about to ride across. You need some navigational skills. It’s more about how do you get from here to there than how fast can you do it. You need to slow down and be aware of your surroundings. More of our rides should be like that.