Shorts in January!

Hollis/Amherst Road Ride
33.6mi, 1:37hrs
Bedford Skate Ski
8.7km, 43min
It was forecast to get warm today, but it got really warm in the Nashua area. I went out for my lunch ride with tights and two layers on up top. The tights and outer layer came right off. It was +67F and sunny. Had really planned a short moderate pace ride today and go hard tomorrow. Tomorrow's forecast looked bleak, so I took advantage of the nice day by riding longer and harder.

We've had the most wintry December in modern history. Seems like we've had a full winter already and we've only gotten past the holiday season. There's something about shedding the tights on the first warm day. To feel the wind on my not shaven since September legs was stimulating. This sent messages to my brain that it was spring and time to really ramp up the volume and intensity. But visually, you receive conflicting messages of 5ft high snow banks. Mental torture of sorts, as this teaser day is surely not the beginning of spring.

I ended up doing a couple hill intervals heading into Hollis. I knew I wouldn't be recovered from 3+ hour ski session Saturday and nearly 4hr ride with UNH guys on Sunday, and the lack of top end proved it. I decided to skip Ponemah Hill and swing through Amherst instead, doing a few more short sprint effort hills. Roads were much drier than I thought they would be, unlike Sunday's grime fest. The ride produced a good fix, but this warm spell does not bode well for skiing.

I worked a little late and decided last minute to head over to Legacy Park in Bedford, NH to see if conditions were skiable. They were, barely. The trails in the woods were deadly, alternating between ice and slush. The fields were ok to start, but as temps felt, a crust started to develop. This made glide much faster, but also locked in the deep ruts and made control very difficult. After taking a spill, I bagged it and went home. Could be a while before there is local skiing again.