Wish him Godspeed! I can't imagine what it would have been like to deal with family situations from across the country!Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
Printable View
Wish him Godspeed! I can't imagine what it would have been like to deal with family situations from across the country!Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
Thankfully, Gore-Tex helped, but only to a point. I had on a Gore-Tex jacket with wool underneath, and "water-resistant" pants. Also had on my Lake MTB shoes (and there is a reason the call them that ;)), and some water-proof/resistant gloves. When I started to complain of cooling off some, DH would say "OK, we're gonna race from here to that sign. Ready? Go!" And we'd spin down the path like gerbils, at about 140 rpm!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Silver
BTW - he always wins :D. Truthfully, I didn't really get cold until we were headed home and the downpours had truly started. This created HUGE puddles on the path, and in my shoes and gloves. The warm shower when I got home was great though.
SheFly
p.s.
I think the wind on today's ride was worse.
My ride Saturday was an adventure.
I need to go about 30 miles north to drop off 2 more dining chairs to be repaired, and pick up 2 that were finished, at one of the Amish carpenters. These are heavy oak chairs, turns out they weigh 22 lbs each, and the trailer coincidentally weighs the same. Weight hauled in addition to my usual 40 lb bike and me: 66 lbs.
I guessed it would slow me down by about 4 or 5 mph (resulting in 10 mph average). I guessed wrong. I averaged 6-7 mph! I thought it to be a 3 hr trip. It took 5.5 hrs, with few breaks. The 2 breaks took longer than I liked (grocery store, remove broken fender).
And COLD. It was ~10F when I started. My water froze in less than an hour. My toes hurt so much at the grocery store I had to sit down until they thawed. After that first miserable hour, it warmed up, and I fell into a rhythm of pedaling and wiggling my toes. Pedal-wiggle wiggle left, pedal-wiggle right, pedal-wiggle wiggle left. (My left toes froze faster than my right toes. They were also less coordinated wigglers.)
I don't know what happened, but suddenly the plastic fender had bent in half, my foot was caught in it, the front tire wouldn't move, and we all fell over. The trailer with chairs stayed perfectly upright. NO traffic on that quiet road. A 6 mph fall doesn't really hurt much. I didn't even tear my jeans.
It was only a fender bender. :D
My husband and I had discussed beforehand that I might be too ambitious, particularly in light of the temperature. I had nothing to prove and had no problems calling him and having him meet me at the carpenter with the car.
My knees hurt today, reminding me that I really need to get a longer seat post. The seat is high enough for my knees ONLY when it is past the "Do not raise past this mark" mark.
One of the nice things about this ride is that I rigged up a sort of handlebar bag (although that may have contributed to the fender mishap). I kept food in there, and by opening all packages right away, I could get at the food even with my awkward gloves. I clipped a little radio to it and a radio talk show ("What Do You Know") made the hours fly by.
HA! Great job!Quote:
Originally Posted by MDHillSlug
Well, my first hour was spent chatting on the phone with a gal pal. I had my blue tooth headset on and she did most of the talking. My coach would kill me if he heard this though, as I should be focused on my riding. :p
The next 45 minutes was spent watching some TV shows I had recorded.
The last 45 minutes was listening to music... and counting down the time.
That's 2.5 hours... right?
Was it fun? Eh, not really. Was it completely miserable... naw. Riding outside in 28 degree weather would have been miserable.
I just had to do it. It was on my training plan, so I did it.
At least it wasn't 4.5 hours like I did one Sat. in February! :eek: I hope I don't have to do one of those again!
You are INSANE!!!! Do you use those toe warmers you can stick in your shoes? I know those help keep my toes toasty warm on cold days. Although I don't ride when it's below 50 these days.
Quote:
And COLD. It was ~10F when I started. My water froze in less than an hour. My toes hurt so much at the grocery store I had to sit down until they thawed. After that first miserable hour, it warmed up, and I fell into a rhythm of pedaling and wiggling my toes. Pedal-wiggle wiggle left, pedal-wiggle right, pedal-wiggle wiggle left. (My left toes froze faster than my right toes. They were also less coordinated wigglers.)
I know I've done something right when I hear those words...most days, I do! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by KSH
I admit I did not check the weather before I left, or I might have changed my mind, or at least worn wool socks.Quote:
Originally Posted by KSH