Originally Posted by rholland1951

It definitely is different. I sometimes think that when we ride in the cold, less is taken for granted by our bodies--we ride to stay warm, but if we ride too fast, our self-generated wind chill lets the cold steal in; hill climbs warm us, descents chill us, and we stop pedaling at our peril. Riding surfaces become complex, interesting but sometimes treacherous: this triggers an unaccustomed degree of feral attentive focus in our urbane and protected selves. Our little bubble of personal space shrinks a bit, and the index of refraction between ourselves and the surrounding world changes. There is also a deep quiet that, paradoxically, can be heard, and that in turn allows our mental contents to speak up and be recognized. It takes us a little longer to get where we're going, and we work a little harder to get there, but we see a little more of where we've been.