Too Cold...
It is a cold day in November. The lying meteorologists said it would be sunny and around 50° both days this weekend. Around these parts we did get a sunny afternoon yesterday, but it never did get much above 45, and today was gray as a battleship, and if it broke forty, it wasn't by much. Oh yeah, and it was windy. Again.
When the sun popped out yesterday I decided to go for a ride. It wasn't much fun. My legs were tired and sore for no good reason I can discern, and the wind was dead in my face on the inbound legs of the ride. And it was cold. I dressed warmly enough, but my toes started stinging from the cold midway through the second lap, and I still don't have a satisfactory way to keep my ears warm. The ear clamp keeps them warm, but it's uncomfortable. Yesterday I wore a headband, which is comfortable, but tends to creep up and off my ears as time goes on. Also, it's hard to wear a cap while wearing a headband, so there's no visor to keep the glare of the sun, now inconveniently low in the sky, out of my eyes. Harrumph.
The other thing is that the bike is tuned for temps around 75-80°. You drop the temperature 30° or so, and the metal contracts a little, and tolerances shift a little bit, and occasionally the gears don't change when you click the shifter. It's a minor annoyance to be sure, although the one time when the chain decided to slip a link was decidedly more than annoying, but add it to hurting toes and it makes for a lousy ride.
It's weird. I used to enjoy the challenge of riding in colder weather. Right now it's more annoying than challenging.
And as a measure of how annoying it was, today rather than heading to the bike path, I went down to the basement and did 20 minutes on my stationary bike instead. I mean, I actively dislike riding the stationary bike. It's boring, and saddle is uncomfortable. I can read a book whilst pedaling, something I can't very well do on a regular bike*, but it's sort of like trying to read while strap-hanging on a subway. Even so, that was my preferred option today.
* I may not be able to read on my bike, but when the path is empty I can amuse myself by pedaling along no-handed while mimicking Artie's hand movements from his "Dancing with Myself" number on Glee. Riding outdoors is rarely boring.
---
Not quite two hours later...
Sleet is bouncing off my front window. Kill me now...
When the sun popped out yesterday I decided to go for a ride. It wasn't much fun. My legs were tired and sore for no good reason I can discern, and the wind was dead in my face on the inbound legs of the ride. And it was cold. I dressed warmly enough, but my toes started stinging from the cold midway through the second lap, and I still don't have a satisfactory way to keep my ears warm. The ear clamp keeps them warm, but it's uncomfortable. Yesterday I wore a headband, which is comfortable, but tends to creep up and off my ears as time goes on. Also, it's hard to wear a cap while wearing a headband, so there's no visor to keep the glare of the sun, now inconveniently low in the sky, out of my eyes. Harrumph.
The other thing is that the bike is tuned for temps around 75-80°. You drop the temperature 30° or so, and the metal contracts a little, and tolerances shift a little bit, and occasionally the gears don't change when you click the shifter. It's a minor annoyance to be sure, although the one time when the chain decided to slip a link was decidedly more than annoying, but add it to hurting toes and it makes for a lousy ride.
It's weird. I used to enjoy the challenge of riding in colder weather. Right now it's more annoying than challenging.
And as a measure of how annoying it was, today rather than heading to the bike path, I went down to the basement and did 20 minutes on my stationary bike instead. I mean, I actively dislike riding the stationary bike. It's boring, and saddle is uncomfortable. I can read a book whilst pedaling, something I can't very well do on a regular bike*, but it's sort of like trying to read while strap-hanging on a subway. Even so, that was my preferred option today.
* I may not be able to read on my bike, but when the path is empty I can amuse myself by pedaling along no-handed while mimicking Artie's hand movements from his "Dancing with Myself" number on Glee. Riding outdoors is rarely boring.
---
Not quite two hours later...
Sleet is bouncing off my front window. Kill me now...