Theoretically I shouldn’t complain too much. Last year at this time it was already snowy and much colder. But as we roll towards another winter, I gotta admit that I’m not on board. This year my feet seem to be pre-frozen and my body temperature hovering just above freezing. I haven’t got a ski pass this year because the bike biz wasn’t strong enough, I’m not really that keen to x-country ski, really I just want to be warm.

This weekend had temps in the 50s. Some nice sunshine made the area immediately around our house feel warm, but venturing any farther afield subjected one to a tough breeze. On Sunday I headed out for my ride on the afternoon shift, full of hope and positive thoughts for a good ride. An hour and a half later I quit.

I was cold and grumpy and sick of hunting season and not being able to ride the good trails. Unfortunately for me, quitting when I did had absolutely no effect. I still had to ride all the way home, it continued to get dark and continued to get cold. I had fallen at one point and my entire right side hurt. Super grumpy.

The good news from this weekend. A while back I demanded to have this Knog rackless pannier thing for commuting. I didn’t want to use a messenger style bag or anything on my back, I had dreams of pedaling along with everything i needed in my tidy, cute panniers. Well, it wasn’t cheap and it arrived and George attempted to install it for me on my Soma. No go. The thing was waaaaaaaay to big for the Soma, George was pissed at it and the panniers sat in the basement for the last 1.5 years getting dusty.

I’ve moved on from the Soma and have been enjoying riding my Vassago Fisticuff to work. This weekend, while working on cleaning out the basement I thought I’d give my pannier racks a try on the Fisti. And waddayouknow, they fit. Not perfect, they’d definitely work better on a bit bigger frame. But I’m excited for commuting season again next year.fisti_knog