Brrr

I managed to get a chilly 8 miles in on Sunday afternoon. Temps were a balmy 9 degrees F when I left the house. I rode up to Fort Snelling, mainly to see what condition the Mendota Bridge was in. Most years, I would give it a B-/C+ as it was hard packed and rideable but not smooth by any means. But this year with the dumping of snow we got, followed immediately by 33 degree temps and rain, I'll give MN/DOT an A for effort. The ice is still all over the roads in my neighborhood, and that's with cars driving it every day.

I enjoyed the ride quite a bit. But it left me wondering if I need to explore some new handlebar options. Over the last few years, I've put Albatross/North Road style bars on several of my bikes, including my primary summer and winter commuters. An hour of riding (that's right, 8 miles in an hour) had my left wrist reminding me that it's not fully recovered. I tried switching hand positions, but on the Albatross style bars anything other than the ends of the bar is really a kludge of a hand position. I've heard many good things about the Titec H-bars, though they seem a bit on the pricey side. I've also talked to a few people who seem to like the On One "M" bars (Mary, Midge and Mungo). However, the On One bars don't seem to be out there in internet world. Makes me wonder if they're discontinued? I also wonder if any will work with the bar end shifter I'm currently using to run the Sturmey hub in my rear winter wheel? In that regard, Origin-8 has a Gary bar that claims to work with bar ends and also is comparable to the Midge. Time to ponder.

I didn't ride in to work today, because it was too darn cold. And I think I need to ease back into riding. I also think there's a reason why most people don't start riding in January. They either go through the fall season, acclimating, or they take the entire winter season off.