Why riding in the winter is awesome

1.  Forget miles...  you measure your rides in hours.  7 hard hours might only be 60 miles but as the weather warms and your fitness comes together the miles come back and fast!

2.  Everyone is friendly...  I would say 85% of all cars I see on the back roads this time of year genuinely wave and are supportive.  There is this image in my head of riding through a small town in Italy back in the day on the right color bike with the right kit and the townspeople coming out of their shops to watch...  it keeps me going sometimes.

3.  You fall and it doesn't hurt real bad...  I've gone down 4 or 5 times in the last week but with no real ill effects.  Being that close to the edge has to be great for your bike handling (for the record the falls were all in 'safe' places such as very secluded roads or trails-  I don't push it like that on major roads)

4.  You build up mini successes into something...   the 'epic' Royal from two years ago in the rain or the conditions of day two at the Gravel Conspiracy or really anything cold/wet/windy are literally nothing if you've been out 4 hours from home, soaking wet, facing 25 or 30 mph winds in the middle of January.  It feels good to find what that takes and finding that kind of feel good feeling is what gets me through stuff.

5.  A flask is actually logical (sometimes)...  in the summer I find putting a flask on your bike to be pretty silly.   You like bikes and alcohol?  No Way!  That makes you awesome doesn't it?   In the winter and in your pocket it's a different story.

6.  The bike rack at work is almost empty...  nothing ruins my day more than when I have to remove my lock from it's permanent location and ride around with it to find an open bike rack.  Generally this happens on the first 72+ degree day in May and never again, but it's nice in the winter to just know it won't be a problem.

7.  "Fatbike Mentality"...  it's my opinion that most of the reason people love fatbikes is because they ride them to have fun.  They hop on them and ride in riverbeds or over stumps or off of curbs (all things their regular bikes could do but the fatbike has a freeing effect that really promotes fun).  I make a point of trying to ride whatever bike I'm riding to have fun-  you could almost say that's riding on purpose... but in the winter it's even easier, the fun is everywhere.