Early winter ride

It's meteorological winter in the Boston area and it's been cold, even if we are the midst of 50-55F afternoons.  This morning was no exception.  I knew it was going to be cold this morning so I dressed for it.  I thought it would be around 30F but the weather station said that it actually dipped to 23F.  How does that feel?  Well, dressed as I was, I was fine and never felt very cold.  My toes did get a bit cold but I could wiggle them around and they would be fine.  I was wearing a neoprene shoe cover over my road shoes with a thick pair of wool socks.  Maybe I do need some heater packets for colder days.  But despite how well prepared I was, it was cold.  I could tell how cold it was when I touched my top tube without gloves.  That was very cold.  This ride would have been impossible if I lost a glove.  Another way to see how cold it really was?  Checking my water bottle after realizing that I wasn't drinking enough water, I saw a fair amount of ice and it cracked when I squeezed my bottle to get water out of it.  That's cold.  I was outside for about 3 hours and while not chilled, I was more than happy to take a hot shower when I got home.

Edit: Just to be clear, I'd love to be doing daytime rides but I'm trying to find a balance between enjoying riding and being part of my family. 

The route.

Miles for the ride: about 38 or so, miles for the month: 92, miles for the year: 3,960.  Given good health, I should easily top 4,000 miles this year.

Some pictures from the ride:

Looking at the beaver lodge from the Maple Street bridge in Carlisle.  The 2007 IF Club Racer was a great bike for the dry roads.

Near the intersection of Pope Road and West Street in Acton. 

South of Strawberry Hill Road in Acton.