the birm*

Cold is one word

But there are many others: fresh, chilli, freezing, Baltic, painful… (it was about -6 or so in the shade, add wind chill to that and the cold becomes painful).

It was such an amazingly beautiful day that I had to get out of the office and into thin air. I donned thermal layers, topped them with windproof ones and grabbed the bike.

I opted for going beanie-less, as it would be too much of a hassle to have to stop and take it off for up hills, which mean that I had a “slushy headache” for the first 10 minutes (downhill/flat riding).

I decided to head up Alpe d’Huez until I hit the sun (thus giving me a goal). Needless to say it was hard work. I then headed across from La Garde towards Auris (I’d only ever done this the other way), which proved to be excellent: sun, snow, great views, steady up hill, no traffic.

Riding down from the highest point was F-REEZING (especially due to the hour or so of climbing sweat that had accumulated on my body), but it only lasted 10 minutes or so. I’m really glad I got out: gave my legs a spin, did wonders for my lungs and I rode a loop I’d never ridden before…that’s a trifecta!