It's Cold...Go Figure

I had originally been planning on riding Franklin Falls today but I woke up to 17 degree temps with a wind chill that brought things down to single digits. I will probably ride in temps like that at some point this winter. But I couldn't find the mental motivation to put my fingers and toes through that right now.

So the indoor trainer season kicked off with a bang instead! And man did I realize fast that I have lost some cardio fitness over the past month and a half or so. My riding has been dialed way back due to loss of daylight, stupid battery issues with the lights I bought, temps and general mental cycling fatigue after a long season.

torture device for the next 3-4 months

mmmm sexy.
or as Gina would say, 'so lame' for spending the time to make this picture exist and then posting it haha.

I prefer only the finest of late 80's early 90's television while I toil away

I looked back over my long term goals from my training log from last year and I am happy to report that I met about 90% of them. Some accomplishments include:

A top 3 finish in the overall Single Speed EFTA rankings
I finally established myself as a solid SS rider finishing with (and once beating) some strong SS riders
Finished on the podium at at least one race
Joined NEMBA and got more involved in trail maintenance
Commuted to work more (60+ days 800+ miles)
Completed an 'epic' event (Harpoon B2B 147 miles)
Completed a century (B2B)

The only ones I missed were attending every EFTA race, which was more a factor of scheduling and gas prices than anything else. I also wanted to whoop the Gonzo pass ride that ruined me last year but I never got around to it. I am still in the process of writing up my goals for next year but they will shift a bit, with less XC racing and more endurance events and possibly some adventure racing. '09 should be interesting with lots of new challenges...now I just need to make it through this winter without hurting myself like last year.