First, apologies for my infrequent posting. The paradigm shift in my house has left me without reliable access to a computer. I'm left to scavenge what is left over, and that doesn't happen at any regular intervals. In some respects I'm a regimented individual, and I get used to doing things at a certain time every day. Once that time is past, I tend to let whatever task go. In this case, by very late in the evening I don't much care to sit down and try to compose anything cogent.
Next, where did fall go? WINTER arrived so quickly, I didn't even have time to appreciate fall. Wait, let me reduce that font some more, to illustrate the brevity of the season. fall. There, that should do it.
I'm proud of Jimmy. He understands his weakness. He is 100% socially driven in his workouts, and he knows unless he provides group times for his spins, they won't happen. I've known him for a couple of decades now, and I feel qualified to observe the certainty that Jimmy does not spin on his own at his own home. He simply won't.
It's another happy intersection of need, because a few of the boys are joining in over at the Energy Lab. There are the rudiments of a great workout facility present, and more accumulating all the time. Galloway's contribution Saturday was a CD from his son's friend, HUM-V, a white boy rapper with smooth Snoop Dogg style and rhythm. Scott brought a flat-screen TV, Rand fixed lighting, I brought a DVD/VCR player, and Allen brought his personality.
I could have joined them, but I have a few things working against it. Don't get this the wrong way, it may not sound right, it's just my explanation.
For starters, they don't ride often enough. By that I mean there are three scheduled days, and that's it. For me that doesn't work, because the selected days will often as not land on swim meet days, and I simply won't be available. Sure, I could go over on my own, but that defeats the purpose.
Next, they don't ride long enough. Once I get the spin going, 20 miles is my minimum distance, just like outside. More often than not it's 30 or 40 miles, and often I will go 60-80 for long spins. Those boys will wave bye-bye after an hour, and once again I'm left there alone.
Sometimes I have a very limited time to get a spin in, and the timing is down to minutes. The travel time to-and-from the lab, however short, is a factor.
So it's nothing against the opportunity, I'm glad it works for the guys, but it's just not going to work for me. I might occasionally drag a bike over, but it will never be a regular thing. Too much stuff to get through.
With all this in mind, Saturday came and it was cold. The forecast high was mid-30's, meaning the morning temperature we saw on the run was pretty much it. We ran and headed to McDonald's for a quick breakfast and discussed the scheduled spin. Up to this point, I was still considering the move over. It was cold out, no mistake about that. However, the sun was beginning to peek out behind a thin layer of clouds on a broken cloud deck, and it was likely it would break out altogether. The wind, though not calm, wasn't yet strong as it was forecast to be later. There was a small window for a ride, maybe not a full ride, but a ride.
Inner IronBill was talking it up, so loud I could hear him over the dialogue at the table. "Go on, wuss. You can ride outside. Show these guys it's too early to be indoors." Stuff like that. Hey, I'll be the first to admit Inner IronBill is often full of crap, and he was Saturday. But don't we all find ourselves upon occasion listening to the wrong influence?
After dropping by the lab to watch the guys get set up, I made the call. It was outside, for sure. Jimmy told me to pull into the neighbor's parking lot if I went, so after I got home, pulled on the gear, and started out, I pulled into the lot, near enough the south-facing windows for the boys to see me. I know Allen did anyway, as he saluted me with the seat of his pants pressed against the window.
The thing to remember about cold-weather rides is they always start off cold. If you can't ignore the first 15 minutes outside, you'll never go outside. Things you may rely on: your core will be warm in a short while, your head and face will stay warm, your legs won't be bad, but your hands and feet will take the brunt of it, and if they start cold, they'll probably stay cold. Those are the greatest limiters of winter riding in my humble opinion.
It was 34 degrees and sunny, wind was light out of the northwest, and my plan was to spin around town on the south side. I had in mind to do the Industrial workout, maybe adding a bit to the end to get to 20 miles. On my way down Washington, pitching that idea around in my head seemed more and more unpalatable. Halfway down the avenue I knew I was headed to Mitchell. Inner IronBill will not be denied! He was right though... you can't kinda be a man. You are or you aren't.
It was a pleasure to ride south, so much so I was becoming alarmed. It meant of course the ride back would be no fun at all, and at this temperature, a headwind is brutal on hands and feet, however small it might be. My regular path would have been to get to Mitchell and come back on 37, but if the wind was strong, that would be suicidal. The backup plan was to come back on Rabbitsville Road. I went a little deeper into Mitchell just to have the extra miles to play with on my weekly distance, turned north, and knew it would be a long trip back.
That's the beauty of an out-and-back course. Once you're at the turn point, you have no choice but to return. I had 12 miles by the time I turned; the ride would be at least 24. The question remained whether or not I'd have toes when I got home.
It wasn't all that bad, at least not until the very end. By then the fronts of my feet did feel the bit. I'd forgotten to duct tape the air holes on the front of my shoes, and that caused me a bit of trouble. I would correct that for my next outdoor ride and it would be better.
I did ride out again on Sunday, and of the two rides, it was the colder. I was fortunate enough to get my Cannondale repaired on a Sunday, the intention being to test it out on a spin, but when I got home and the conditions were only marginally worse than the day before, I decided to get another outdoor ride.
It went well enough, but my feet got way colder than the day before. The wind was stronger, it was slightly colder, and I didn't have a run right before the ride. I made it, but the last 5 miles were no fun at all.
The up side was I did test the new Garmin sensor. It worked, though I noticed a couple of dropouts during the ride. Nothing significant, and it was cool to see the candence information later.
Running tonight. I doubt there will be a spin.
Next, where did fall go? WINTER arrived so quickly, I didn't even have time to appreciate fall. Wait, let me reduce that font some more, to illustrate the brevity of the season. fall. There, that should do it.
I'm proud of Jimmy. He understands his weakness. He is 100% socially driven in his workouts, and he knows unless he provides group times for his spins, they won't happen. I've known him for a couple of decades now, and I feel qualified to observe the certainty that Jimmy does not spin on his own at his own home. He simply won't.
It's another happy intersection of need, because a few of the boys are joining in over at the Energy Lab. There are the rudiments of a great workout facility present, and more accumulating all the time. Galloway's contribution Saturday was a CD from his son's friend, HUM-V, a white boy rapper with smooth Snoop Dogg style and rhythm. Scott brought a flat-screen TV, Rand fixed lighting, I brought a DVD/VCR player, and Allen brought his personality.
I could have joined them, but I have a few things working against it. Don't get this the wrong way, it may not sound right, it's just my explanation.
For starters, they don't ride often enough. By that I mean there are three scheduled days, and that's it. For me that doesn't work, because the selected days will often as not land on swim meet days, and I simply won't be available. Sure, I could go over on my own, but that defeats the purpose.
Next, they don't ride long enough. Once I get the spin going, 20 miles is my minimum distance, just like outside. More often than not it's 30 or 40 miles, and often I will go 60-80 for long spins. Those boys will wave bye-bye after an hour, and once again I'm left there alone.
Sometimes I have a very limited time to get a spin in, and the timing is down to minutes. The travel time to-and-from the lab, however short, is a factor.
So it's nothing against the opportunity, I'm glad it works for the guys, but it's just not going to work for me. I might occasionally drag a bike over, but it will never be a regular thing. Too much stuff to get through.
With all this in mind, Saturday came and it was cold. The forecast high was mid-30's, meaning the morning temperature we saw on the run was pretty much it. We ran and headed to McDonald's for a quick breakfast and discussed the scheduled spin. Up to this point, I was still considering the move over. It was cold out, no mistake about that. However, the sun was beginning to peek out behind a thin layer of clouds on a broken cloud deck, and it was likely it would break out altogether. The wind, though not calm, wasn't yet strong as it was forecast to be later. There was a small window for a ride, maybe not a full ride, but a ride.
Inner IronBill was talking it up, so loud I could hear him over the dialogue at the table. "Go on, wuss. You can ride outside. Show these guys it's too early to be indoors." Stuff like that. Hey, I'll be the first to admit Inner IronBill is often full of crap, and he was Saturday. But don't we all find ourselves upon occasion listening to the wrong influence?
After dropping by the lab to watch the guys get set up, I made the call. It was outside, for sure. Jimmy told me to pull into the neighbor's parking lot if I went, so after I got home, pulled on the gear, and started out, I pulled into the lot, near enough the south-facing windows for the boys to see me. I know Allen did anyway, as he saluted me with the seat of his pants pressed against the window.
The thing to remember about cold-weather rides is they always start off cold. If you can't ignore the first 15 minutes outside, you'll never go outside. Things you may rely on: your core will be warm in a short while, your head and face will stay warm, your legs won't be bad, but your hands and feet will take the brunt of it, and if they start cold, they'll probably stay cold. Those are the greatest limiters of winter riding in my humble opinion.
It was 34 degrees and sunny, wind was light out of the northwest, and my plan was to spin around town on the south side. I had in mind to do the Industrial workout, maybe adding a bit to the end to get to 20 miles. On my way down Washington, pitching that idea around in my head seemed more and more unpalatable. Halfway down the avenue I knew I was headed to Mitchell. Inner IronBill will not be denied! He was right though... you can't kinda be a man. You are or you aren't.
It was a pleasure to ride south, so much so I was becoming alarmed. It meant of course the ride back would be no fun at all, and at this temperature, a headwind is brutal on hands and feet, however small it might be. My regular path would have been to get to Mitchell and come back on 37, but if the wind was strong, that would be suicidal. The backup plan was to come back on Rabbitsville Road. I went a little deeper into Mitchell just to have the extra miles to play with on my weekly distance, turned north, and knew it would be a long trip back.
That's the beauty of an out-and-back course. Once you're at the turn point, you have no choice but to return. I had 12 miles by the time I turned; the ride would be at least 24. The question remained whether or not I'd have toes when I got home.
It wasn't all that bad, at least not until the very end. By then the fronts of my feet did feel the bit. I'd forgotten to duct tape the air holes on the front of my shoes, and that caused me a bit of trouble. I would correct that for my next outdoor ride and it would be better.
I did ride out again on Sunday, and of the two rides, it was the colder. I was fortunate enough to get my Cannondale repaired on a Sunday, the intention being to test it out on a spin, but when I got home and the conditions were only marginally worse than the day before, I decided to get another outdoor ride.
It went well enough, but my feet got way colder than the day before. The wind was stronger, it was slightly colder, and I didn't have a run right before the ride. I made it, but the last 5 miles were no fun at all.
The up side was I did test the new Garmin sensor. It worked, though I noticed a couple of dropouts during the ride. Nothing significant, and it was cool to see the candence information later.
Running tonight. I doubt there will be a spin.
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