She has a name.

For the final post of the 5 day challenge, I have decided to reveal the name of my road bike. On this blog I have referred to her as my Trek or my road bike, but in real life she has an actual name. It wasn’t that I intentionally kept her name a secret, she has just grown into her name so gradually that I never bothered to mention it. But since Gary nominated me for this challenge, and all of his bikes are lovingly named, I have decided it is time to tell you the name of my faithful summer companion.

Her name is Winter.

Pretty dumb name for a road bike that will not be biking in snow, right? That is what I thought the moment her name flashed through my mind as my dad and I were driving her home for the first time in May. I figured I would come up with another, more suitable name later, so I shelved the idea of calling a summer bike, “Winter”.

But as I spent the spring and summer with her, riding around the countryside of Northern New York, I realized that there was no better name I could give my bike.

Really, the only reason I even decided to buy a road bike is because of winter. Last winter solidified my love of biking and I came into spring with the urgent desire to bike more miles and also faster miles, than I ever had before. It didn’t take me long to understand that I needed to buy my first road bike.

Also, her name is a reminder to me that I can do anything I set my mind to. When I have been out riding this summer and I face some kind of hardship; maybe a headwind or a giant hill or low energy or seemingly endless miles-her name reminds me that I can make it-just like I made it though winter.

Her name reminds in particular of my first subzero commute, a ride so hard and painful that I arrived at work 25 minutes late. I remember the exhilaration of finally bursting into the restaurant, with a smile on my face because I finally knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I could bike through winter. I use that commute as an example to myself of how worthwhile it is to push through obstacles, because that is how I get stronger, mentally and physically.

Everything I have done on this bike is the outgrowth of my winter biking experience.

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that her color scheme is white and silver.

Yes, her name is Winter.