Couldn't do group this morning because my back was in so much pain I couldn't sleep. I didn't think I was going to be able to ride more than 1 mile. I wore a back support all night and day took pain meds. every 4 hours all which helped. I stretched and did some self lower back adjustments which made a huge difference. I then rigged up a more supportive back belt to ride with, this made the biggest difference. It was blistering cold at 33 degrees with a wind chill of 17 and winds at 16 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. My intentions were to do my 1 mile loop come in if my back felt a lot of pain. I went out slow and stayed slow and my back felt OK so I went out to do one of my favorite short courses. The wind was really strong and if you weren't holding onto the handle bars and a gust hit, you were going down! I kept it slow and kept my heart rate below zone 1 for me which is below 120 beats per minute. It was difficult because of the winds but I was determined and my back was not being pushed. At points I was going 9 mph to keep my HR down into the wind. I would say the ride was very successful but won't really know more until tomorrow. I probably need 2 more of this type rides, I really enjoyed the ride even with all the winds and freezing cold temps. The other thing I dress as perfect as I could for this ride and my effort output. If I would have ridden harder may have over dressed. Here's what I wore from head down: uncovered vented helmet, balaclava, skull cap that went just over the ears and clear riding glasses; thin base layer, arm warmers, shoulder pads, back support pad and back belt, insulated shoft shell and short sleeve jersey with pockets, wind stop shell gloves with wind resistant mittens and liners over top; thin base layer long pants, medium thickness bib tights, light medium socks, summer shoes with thin wind stop shoe covers and vinyl wind stop toe covers. Upper body was perfect, hands were perfect, legs were slightly cold could have gone with either a heavier base layer or heavier bib tights, feet got a little cold towards the end, I could have worn a more insulated shoe cover or a little thicker socks, most of the cold came from under my feet and through the shoe cover cut out for the cleats. I would not wear thick socks because that would cause too much foot movement inside the sock and blisters. Dress correctly and winter riding can be very rewarding and fun.