It's February (almost Valentine's Day) and we're expecting snow/ice/rain/cold, possibly with some significant accumulation. None of this bodes well for me and my Eddy Merckx.

I'm not really an indoor trainer kind of guy. I had my days on rollers and wind trainer. Now I'm more of a fair-weather rider. If it's a sunny day above 50 degrees, then I'm okay to hit the road and go for a spin. Sometimes I even stay out for less then three hours at a time.

My epic spin in 2006 began in the great basin of Salt Lake and traveled east over the Wasatch Mountains. I climbed up Emigration Canyon, pedaled over Little Mountain then Big Mountain and down the east side of the Wasatch toward Henefer. Once at Henefer, I turned south and rolled along the Weber River through the towns of Echo, Coalville, Hoytsville, and Wanship. Bearing left down Route 32, I passed Rockport Dam and State Park heading toward Peoa. Peoa would be the last point along the relatively flat stretch of my circuit before turning west again to climb back over the Wasatch. By this point, I've been on the saddle for nearly six hours.

Needless to say, the climbs heading toward Park City were slogs. I managed, however, found my way through beautiful Park City, followed a frontage road to Kimball Junction, then brutalized myself up East Canyon Road to Parleys Canyon. At last, I made it to the summit and rolled happily for more than eight miles down Emigration Canyon into Salt Lake City and back to my hotel. It would be an eight-hour, 120-mile ride, with nearly 15,000 vertical feet of climbing.

And I forgot sunscreen.