There’s ice in my water bottle!

This Ride: 21.7 miles
Kona Distance: 5,155.1 miles
Month to date: 114.1 miles
2010 Total: 5,646.6 miles

At the end of this morning’s ride, I experienced a “rite of passage” of sorts.  My water bottle had a thick enough layer of ice that it was difficult to squeeze.  It looks like I’ll have to consider one of the many options to keeping the water ice-free.  (1) buy an insulated bottle, (2) use warm water to start the morning, (3) a little vodka into the water.  It is all going to depend on the ride.

It was 25 degrees (the bank thermometer read 19) when I pushed off this morning, and there was a steady breeze blowing.  Cyclists make our own wind chill, but the wind chill was 15 degrees when stopped.  Dave and I pushed off from the Rusty Bridge and soon picked up 3 other riders.  It felt like a much quicker pace than the 15.7 mph average I logged, but then that’s been true in the colder weather.  I can tell from my average heart rate that the morning was a good workout.

The cold weather is testing my ability to keep up with clothing and gear.  My feet were comfortable, and so were my hands.  The effort to keep them that way has been tricky.  This morning one brand new toe warmer on top of my socks and one used toe warmer between my sock and sole of the shoe was just the start.  Wool socks, Izumi Pearl Neopreme shoe covers, with a used hand warmer on top of the shoe and under the shoe cover completed the foot warming gear.  Much colder, and all warmers will have to be new.

(The life of the air activated hand and toe warmers can be extended to 2-3 uses by putting them in a zip-lock bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and storing them in the refrigerator.  Two uses of the hand warmer and the temperature is good, the third use and it is not quite as warm.  The toe warmers seem to be ok for a couple of uses.  I’ve ordered a case of the toe warmers.  They should be here next week.)

The ski gloves are working well for my hands.  They are big enough that I can wear open fingered cycling gloves and the ski gloves still fit.  That way, I have padding for my hands.

Underarmor tights and long sleeve “jersey” are still working for my arms and legs, but the first half of the ride they were chilly.  I’m thinking that these might take me to 20 before I have to figure out something else to add.

The ride itself was relatively uneventful.  Our one “incident” was on B&A Blvd.  A school bus, impatient with our 25-30 mph speed (in a 35 mph zone), decided to pass when it was not safe to do so.  An oncoming car forced him to swerve back into the lane, nearly hitting our lead cyclist.  Then, 500 yards later, we are having to slow dramatically while the bus stopped and picked up students.  Chip chased the bus to a parking lot (where the bus sits for a few minutes because it is running early) and tried to engage the driver in a conversation about the close call, but the driver refused to open the window.  Chip was even trying to be nice about it.

The bike is working well after yesterday’s maintenance.  I need to do a little gear tweeking, but that’ always the case after it is in the shop.