The radar looked clear. Of course, it was REALLY gloomy, as most of the cars on the road had their lights turned on. But the radar did not indicate it was actually raining.
Slick roads started to appear shortly after heading out
So much for my faith in technology.
Within five minutes of leaving the house, a light mist started to envelop me and it eventually became heavy enough to be classified as true rain.
With yesterday’s ride in my legs and still fighting a nasty cold, it wasn’t the best of circumstances for a ride. Add the cold, wet weather to the mix and it turned into a ride where I wanted nothing more than to turn around and head back home. I seriously contemplated this notion about 5 miles into the ride. The wind was a little stronger than I thought, a heavy mist started to fall and get me increasingly wet, and my legs had no power due to lack of time in the saddle. This was the first time this year where I wanted to say “screw it” and just head back home and crawl under some covers to get warm. But, alas, I pedaled on to the full planned route that I envisioned upon leaving the house.
I was lucky I wore the clothes that I had chosen, because my wind breaker jacket (from Columbia) fortunately provides a nice, balanced moisture barrier. It is not a true raincoat as it is able to breath a little bit, but the amount of water it sheds is just right for a short term exposure. Although I was getting wet on the outside, it never penetrated beneath the coat for the hour that I was on the bike.
Wet jackets at 45 degrees are uncomfortable for even the harshest masochist
In terms of performance – this ride really sucked. I had no power and little interest to push beyond just getting to my destination and back. Thus, my lame numbers were:
- Sunday October 25, 2009
- start time: 3:00pm
- distance: 19.0 miles
- speed: 17.2 mph
- duration: 1:06
- odometer: 1273
I seriously thought I would enter into the 16 mph range for the ride average, but I just pulled out a enough speed to keep in the 17s. I’m really not concentrating on the speed anymore this year, but the numbers are starting to approach those I would yield when I first got on the bike this year. They are a reminder that, like it or not, I need to get on the trainer at least four times each week in order to maintain some dignity in my riding. Plus, it frustrates me to ride so slow.
Just wet enough to be annoying, but not enough to turn around and head home
The Song Of The Ride™ (SOTR™) comes from the Monty Python gang. The IFC channel has been running various specials all week – including interviews, movies, and airings of the original series. Today’s song came from the ending of the Life of Brian movie – Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. I stumbled across a recent version with Eric Idle on Jimmy Falons’ Late Night Show. Eric does a great version of it with the house band (The Roots) – here is a link to the video. Somehow having this song dance around inside my head was a perfect way to simply get through a rather miserable ride. It’s hard not smile while singing and whistling along to the famous chorus.
