After working most of the weekend, I was finally ready to spend some quality time on Sunday to get a long, quiet ride in. I was planning a solo trip along the gently rolling, country roads. A few minutes before I head out, my friend J.G. calls me and tells me some of the local fast guys are riding at 11am. I am always conflicted about riding with these guys. Most of them are in better shape than me and so I have to really gas it the whole way to stay with them, especially in midwinter when I am riding 1/4 their mileage. That and I don't have my winter pedals on my road bike (which are compatible with my spd winter boots) so it is the cross bike. It should have been a pretty simple decision. Don't show up to a road ride with faster guys, who are in better shape than you on your cross bike. So I went with them anyway. I stayed with them for about 25 of the 35 miles; for most of them I was pegged at my redline. Pretty good considering the circumstances. They had to slow down in two places to let me catch back on, but I survived. About 7 miles from home, I cross Lafayette Rd -- a local dirt/gravel hillfest that is now packed with firm snow. So I thank the group for keeping me on the back, peel off and head down the back road to catch my breadth and wind down.
It was a lovely way to end a hard, fast ride. Lafayette always puts a smile on my face and this time was no different. The surface was winter-perfect with packed snow and a strip of exposed dirt. I could suit my fancy by choosing any number of lines. There is something that just feels right about riding a cross bike on wintery, snowy, dirt.
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