Breaking the Ice

By Stan Purdum

Our permanent residence is in Ohio, but for the last 10 years, my wife and I have spent the winter months in Florida, where we owned a villa. I always took my bike along, so each year, I managed to log some 800 miles or so on local roads and paved trails during January and February. That meant that when we arrived back in Ohio in the spring, I was in decent riding shape and didn’t have to go through a lot of training rides to be ready for the full riding season.

Not so this winter, however. That part of Florida is growing rapidly, so that each year, we arrived to find that several new subdivisions and hundreds of new homes had sprung up, increasing traffic in the whole area. And last year, it was so intense that we often elected to stay home rather than fight the traffic just to go out for dinner. That, plus the fact that my wife has developed a health condition that makes long trips currently not feasible, led us to sell our Florida place.

So this winter, we’ve stayed in Ohio. I managed to get in one short ride in early January, but shortly thereafter, deep cold, deep snow and thick ice arrived with a vengeance. I retreated to my indoor exercise bike, but I dislike indoor pedaling enough that I usually found an excuse to cut my time doing it short. And it didn’t take long to turn into a slug, despite keeping up on strength training.

Finally, in mid-February a temporary warming spell came, especially in midday. On Valentine’s Day, it hit 50 for about an hour before the temperature dropped again. There was still snow on the edges of the local roadways, and the paved bike trail, which had not been plowed to start with, remained snow covered in the shady stretches. But I figured out a route I could use and pedaled a slow 15.5 miles. I came home aching all over and bummed about how far out of shape I was.

But I had, both figuratively and literally, broken the ice. So when, three days later, the midday temp hit 60, I headed out again and rode 22 miles — half of it into a headwind. But this time, I came home without any aches and pains, and my average speed was higher.

And best of all, I now have hope. I know winter is not over, but one good ride lifted me out the doldrums of indoor detention. 

Nobody can tell me that a bicycle is not a vehicle of inspiration. 

---

Stan Purdum has ridden several long-distance bike trips, including an across-America ride recounted in his book Roll Around Heaven All Day, and a trek on U.S. 62, from Niagara Falls, New York, to El Paso, Texas, the subject of his book Playing in Traffic. Stan, a freelance writer and editor, lives in Ohio. See more at www.StanPurdum.com.