short ride on a cold day

 That was my view for much of today's ride.

The weather today was predicted to be even colder than yesterday, so instead of my usual 35-to-40 mile-ride-with-a-planned-rest-stop, I decided to list another of those shorter rides, with no rest stop planned; this route 25 miles. I only had one registrant by yesterday morning, but I had seven for today. 

They were strong riders. I was only nominally a leader; by about halfway, most of 'em were ahead of me, and by the last quarter, they all were. They were cheerful about it, and waited at turns if any of us were way behind... but, with my lower-than-the-posted-range average (see the ride page), it may be time to re-think my posted pace for the New Year.

It was cold, too; while my trunk, and even my hands, were warm enough, my feet were cold, and after I got home, even when my feet had warmed up, the tingling affected my walking for almost an hour. I may need to re-do my shoe protection for these cold temperatures, or avoid riding when it's this cold.

This is likely the last ride I'll lead for the year. I generally lead on Sundays, and next Sunday is the day we celebrate the Saturnalia and Sol Invictus, or Yule for those (like me) whose ancestry is from south of Caledonia. The following Sunday starts the new year. I got in 35 leads this year; weather and other responsibilities got in the way, so I couldn't match my record of 45 club rides led last year. But I'm close to 4,000 miles for this year, which is good for a guy who doesn't bike commute.