During the past half year I’ve logged 3,000 miles including trips to Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The only two Mass border states I hadn’t reached were New York and Vermont, and I was hoping to take one of those off the list this weekend with a trip to Brattleboro VT.

The 75-mile trip (from Sudbury) didn’t sound that bad given recent rides, and I had done twice as much climbing as this course would require. I had packed up plenty of food and water and thought I’d be fine.

But the cold got me. In cycling parlance they call it “bonking” when you hit the wall.

Previously I had done 88 miles to Connecticut and back, starting at about 38 degrees but warming up to 50 by the end of the day. Yesterday, 38 was the peak temperature and there was serious wind. Moreover, the ride was mostly uphill with the occasional dip or plateau, whereas CT was mostly flats.

I was actually fine for the first five hours. We weren’t going that fast, as my riding buddy was walking up some of the hills. But after 45 miles and 5 hours I suddenly hit the wall. No energy. It was role-reversal, with my riding buddy leading the way and me following behind.

My BikeForums friends say that I should’ve eaten a lot more for a cold-weather ride and I suspect they’re right.