Winter wears on the outdoors enthusiast
The love hate relationship with winter effects many.
The snow looks beautiful when it falls just right and the sun is shining, but let’s be honest, those days are few and far between. The blustery weather, wind and ice do not invite even the most die-hard outdoor enthusiasts to spend the day outside.
As a cyclist I love the outdoors. But winter is no joke around here. The relentless cloud coverage, lack of sun, wind, ice, even negative temperatures do not feel inviting to go pedal two wheels around for hours at a time.
Fortunately — or unfortunately — I married someone who thrives in freezing temperatures.
His unwavering ability to take photos and videos in the freezing cold and snowy weather with gloves removed is beyond me. I find myself fighting, loathing the settling in to the deep freeze of winter. I rebel. I deny it is winter. Then I hibernate and find myself feeling depressed, my fitness begins to regress, and I become cranky, self-doubting and miserable.
How can this be? I mean I married the SNOWMISER for Pete’s sake!
But the shorter daylight, the bitter cold and the lack of sun even during the day wears on my soul. It is a challenge. After the last two weeks of fighting the change in temperature, today I made the choice to ride outside when I had plans to just ride the trainer.
You see, even I can be full of excuses. The snow-covered trails add more resistance (more work and still slow pace), the road adds the bitter wind chill — ahhh I’ll just ride inside. But today I had an opening in my schedule to ride outside, during daylight hours.
I bundled up and out the door I went. Within 10 minutes I was “in my zone” — so grateful to be outdoors, dressed warm enough to break a sweat even on the road. A much better choice than the trainer and a better overall workout.
I was able to see four dogs and three sheep right by the road with no fence holding them in (until the dogs sounded the alarm to “run away from the alien cyclist!”).
While it can be tempting to compare myself to the man I married, watching him ride for four-plus hours in the worst weather conditions, I remind myself that getting outdoors and pedaling, hiking, and skiing are good for my soul no matter how short the timeline or how slow the speed.
Just keep moving. Step outside, start moving and don’t stop until you are done. The hardest step is the first. Once you start, it’s easy to just keep going. Momentum is your friend (and so is Newton’s first law of motion: inertia).
You see, as humans we were not meant to live indoors. Yet season after season we find excuses to stay inside. Winter is the easiest time to justify those excuses. We can fill the void by going to a gym to break a sweat, workout, etc., but it’s not the same. The air is stuffy, smelly, and the ability to “weather the storm” doesn’t exist inside.
I am a believer in the highs and lows of life being necessary to fully understand it and come full circle. If I had my wish of full-time fall/winter weather would I know how to fully enjoy it and not take it for granted? Probably not. Conversely, if I don’t step outside into the freezing elements (with proper layers of clothing) then how do I find my limits? How do I know what I am truly capable of? Why should I limit myself to the conveniences of modern society when I know this body is capable of so much more?
I know better. No one person, place, or thing in society will ever care about my health or well being as much as I do. The same goes for everyone. Each of us should care enough to go above and beyond because this world is a crazy place filled with a business mentality over a health mentality. You have to rise above the sales pitches and dig a little deeper to find what your soul needs. Often times, it does not need anything with a price tag. Rather, step outside into the “unknowns” of nature and discover a new path, new territory, something to stimulate your mind and senses. Look for the adventure, then push your physical self a little in that element.
Winter is no doubt a challenge to many of us in various ways. Just remember, if we didn’t know winter, we wouldn’t know just how sweet summer is. If we didn’t struggle, if we didn’t have the challenge ... then how would we know reward? It takes me some time each winter to settle in, but once you accept what you do not like it’s easier to get on board with following a plan that will get you through to come out stronger and better able to handle adversity.
“Nothing worth working for ever comes easily.”
Julie Saeler is a cycling columnist for the Butler Eagle
