Willing spring into existence

After last winter, I declared my lower temperature limit for bearable biking was 20 degrees. But it has been such a long, cold winter that this week I crumpled that up and tossed it. The screenshot below was from this afternoon; this morning it was about 14 degrees when I put my winter gear on and hit the road.

Translation: cold

It wasn't so bad, and it was such a short ride that I was back inside by the time things got too numb. But the sun was out, and the benefits by far outweigh the challenges of riding in the cold. It's not wind-in-the-hair, soaking-in-the-rays-of-the-sun satisfying. It's more of a "Nice, I grounded it out and I feel 1000 times better, because I rode my bike." 

I got out four times this week; that's by no means "laying down base miles" like the guy at the bike shop told me last year, but even after just a few consecutive rides I feel like my body is getting back in the swing of things. I adjusted my saddle height up just a bit because I had been feeling a little cramped (my Pug, I think, is a tad on the small size for me). 

I am impressed at how my off-season maintenance paid off. Well, I should say off-season repairs. The wheels are rolling sweet after bearing replacement in the fall (prompted by that broken axle on Vernon Hill!), and cleaning the freewheel and the complete teardown/rebuild of the rear derailleur seems to have worked wonders on the drivetrain, which feels smooth and is almost completely silent. 

I look forward to the day (hopefully late spring/early summer) when I roll out of the bike shop on a shiny new road bike, but today I felt really connected and comfortable on the Pug. Anything I've ever read about Peugeots makes some mention of how well they go down the road; count me among the masses. It feels solid and it feels like it is always covering a lot of ground. It might not be fast, but it feels swift. I think I will realize and be able to take advantage of the benefits a road bike will offer me: light weight, modern construction and components, the low rolling resistance of skinny tires. 

The Peugeot will stay with me, that is assured. When I first made up my mind in that regard it was, I think, due to nostalgia and the emotional connection of the 80s relic getting me back on a bike. But the more (and more and more) I ride it, the more I think it stands on its own. It stands out as a hidden gem, a relic of the dawn of mountain biking, as imagined by a bunch of French guys who really, really knew their stuff when it came to building road bikes. It's a really nice bike, and I will continue to ride it.