Rides: Dec. 6th-12th

[owlice]

redrhodie, I'm glad the rash went away quickly! And on the liftoff, it'd probably be fun for a second or two if you didn't sail away!

MDHillSlug, thanks for the explanation of rollers/trainers, and for the link; very helpful.

7rider, I wish that really was the list price for these!! I'd have already placed my order! I think I'll be checking out Craig's List instead.

I rode 12 miles today, an out-and-back mostly on a trail next to a road through a park; it was 43 out when I started, and dropped to 36 or 37 by the time I was done. I wore a coat (the coat of unknown origin -- found it in my closet a few weeks ago) over my turtleneck and teeshirt, and had to peel the teeshirt off halfway through. (So what did I learn today? I learned that I cannot take off a teeshirt without first taking off my helmet. I had to laugh at my attempt to do so; I'm sure I looked very graceful.) The first five miles felt awful; the rest of the ride felt better, but wow, even the baby rises on this required my granny gear!

It grew fully dark on my return. A car that was letting me cross a street very nearly was rear-ended, I almost ran into a ninja cyclist coming toward me, and another who didn't announce he was passing me, and every single runner on the trail save one could scarcely be seen. I was astonished at how many people simply disappeared from view once darkness fell -- it was scary. People dressed all in dark colors, nothing reflective on them except perhaps a small part of their shoes, some riders with no lights at all... surprises me, this.

I want to be SEEN, and I want it obvious that I'm on a bike. I have on a safety vest (screaming yellow/green with reflective tape on it), a white light on my helmet that I set to blinking, a headlight aimed at the path, the SuperFlash and a regular reflector on the back, and a reflector and two SpokeLits per wheel. Don't know whether it's enough; I may add a red blinkie to the back of my helmet.

I think I need battery-operated Christmas lights for my bike and/or helmet, too.

[Crankin]

My training program called for an hour to one and a half hour outdoor ride (this is supposed to be once a week. usually I substitute x country skiing for it). So, I dutifully got on the trainer and figured I would watch the news, since it was supposed to be an easy zone 2 ride.
Ugh. This was the longest I've spent on the trainer in the 3 years I've had it. Most of the other days the plan has me doing drills and changing up things for no more than a half hour, plus weights or core stuff. By the end of the hour, my butt was killing me and I am pretty sure I have a saddle sore developing.
The wind is blowing at like 30 mph, there's ice all over the sides of the road, and the temperature is not going over 30 for the next 2 days. There's not enough snow left to ski or snowshoe and what's there is all ice, so the trainer it is...