Descent into a new realm

This Ride: 18.3 miles
Kona Distance: 5,023.7 miles
Month to date: 384.7 miles
2010 Total: 5,510.2 miles

This was my first ride this year below freezing. It was 26 this morning. That means that I wore all the warmest cycling clothes I have.  I was looking forward to the ride although I was a little worried about the bike.  I’ve done no maintenance over the weekend after the rainy ride and two flats, except bleed out the CO2 and pump air into the tires. I’m glad to say there were no mechanical issues to report.

There was no one at the Rusty Bridge.  I waited until a minute after start time, and there were no lights on the road or trail headed to the bridge.  I resigned myself to a chilly solo ride.  When I got to the Ranger Station, Dan and Brian “The Commodore” were there.  I didn’t hear a word from “The Commodore” until well after the hill in Round Bay.  His first words were, “I think I’m starting to warm up.”  Jeff joined us shortly after the Ranger Station, so there were 4 on the ride this morning.  It was good to see Dan again.  He had been away for about a week, over the holiday.

I have to admit, it was a hard morning for me.  The hill in Round Bay kicked me where it counts and nearly wrestled me to the ground.  You would have thought we climbed THE WALL the way I was huffing and puffing.  After that, I had nothing left.  I did push it on the one downhill on B&A Blvd that I love, but even doing that winded me and made the rest of the ride an effort.  I cut the ride short, choosing to bail close to home on White’s Road rather than completing the ride to the Ranger Station and returning home that way.

There were times I was chilly.  There were times I was overly warm.  It all depended upon the effort I was expending.  My hands were cold to start, but by midway through the ride, they were toasty.  I had hand warmers on top of my shoe and under my shoe cover, and even then, my feet were a little chilly.  I think there is enough room in the shoe to put them inside on top of my foot the next time.  The coldest I got was after getting home and inside about 15 minutes after the ride.  I actually started to shiver before I stripped off the damp base layer.

If I let the mustache grow out, I could look a little like Jamie from Myth Busters!