After being in relatively warm weather, pretty much the whole year so far, it was a reality check to come back to Denver to snow covered mountains.  Yesterday Vincent and I got out for a good ride, but later today it is supposed to start raining, then turn to snow and just keep snowing.  Like 20 inches or so on the foothills.

It is funny how the bike race season has started earlier and earlier every year recently.  It sort of makes you mental, reading Facebook about all these guys doing road races and criteriums in LA or San Diego.  Plus, the Pro peloton goes to the Middle East or is racing stage races in Australia and it gives the basement banished guys the impression that they are already behind and need to catch up.

That isn’t the case necessarily.  I think that most of us that live where we get winter weather have an advantage to those Texans, Tusconans or SoCal riders.  That advantage is hunger to ride.   Many of us stay pretty fit by doing some cross throughout the fall and winter.  So, the potential downtime is really just January-March, depending on where you live.

If you do get an opportunity, take a long weekend, or even a week trip to somewhere warm and get in a good block of miles.  It is really good for your mind, alleviating some of the stress that is mainly media induced.  Before we could follow each others daily training via the internet, we’d just do our own winter thing and show up at the first races eager to compete.  Now that we know just exactly what everyone else is doing, it is hard to keep a positive mindset about form.

I am pretty lucky being from Kansas.  Most people don’t know that the winter weather in most of Kansas is relatively mild.  I think average high in Topeka for January is around 40 degrees.  That doesn’t mean it can’t be -10, but on the average, it is pretty okay.  There are lots of times when it is in the upper 50’s or even 60’s this time of the year.

But, if you’re from the East coast this year, especially New England, you’ve been snowed in again and again. Don’t worry.  Your season will come, just a little later than many.

The season kickoff race, Froze Toes, in Columbia, Missouri has been postponed from this weekend to March 8th.  It is supposed to be really cold, below 20 and snowy there.

I’m not sure what my plan is.  I’ll see how Bromont is after surgery on Monday and then go from there.  It is hard back tracking after I’m been riding the majority of the year in sleeveless jerseys.  But, I need to remind myself, as I’m reminding you, that it is only February and there is plenty of bike riding to be had this year.

Doubling up on breakfast and training.