Ah, the return of good biking weather...
14 degrees out today. 14 degrees. In Canada. In March.
Lest the Americans on my flist think that my rhapsodizing over this is yet one more indication that we are all crazy up here, that is Celsius. Translates to somewhere around 60 Fahrenheit, I think. As in, seriously springlike.
Now, I have been riding my bike on and off this winter, so it's not like cycling has been totally on hold for the cold weather. But still... There is something glorious about the first ride of the year without having to keep one's face covered, wear heavy gloves, etc. Sunlight + exquisitely mild temperatures = cycling love.
I had been for the most part avoiding biking to my dad's place on my editing days during the winter - I did do it a few times, but it's a longish trek (6km each way), and while I happily did it twice a week during warmer weather, rides that long are not always fun in cold weather, as that is easily far enough to result in numb hands and feet (particularly with the whole Raynaud's thing). But today there was no way I was not going to - even though I also had to go downtown to go the bank first. So... all the way downtown, and then out to High Park. And back, later, though we'll see how well I do at that.
So now I am at my dad's, with muscle-sore legs and sweat-soaked hair and clothing, and yet still feeling massively exhilarated. I don't know, maybe it's endorphins. I am tad bit worried that when the time comes to go home, I will find that my quadruceps have dissolved into aching jelly, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I am absurdly pleased with myself for having just ridden something like 15km with just a short break in the middle at the bank...
Though I do have to add: Bike, I love you dearly, but WTF is it with you and the fifth gear on the middle range these days? Yes, it's a nice gear, and I ride in it a fair bit. BUT. That does not mean I want to be stuck in it FOREVER. I do not appreciate having to try at least half a dozen times to shift to fourth when riding into a headwind or trying to go uphill, and, even less, finally managing to downshift only to feel you clunk back into fifth two minutes later. Which happened at lest three times today. Methinks your derailleurs need looking at or something...
ETA: Back home. Ride home was surprisingly not too bad. A little soreness, had to go a little slower than usual, and ended up walking just the last couple of blocks, but otherwise, surprisingly painless. Total distance ridden today: a little over 20km. Not bad for having ridden only sporadically through most of the winter and not going the gym as regularly as I should this past while...
Mind you, I'm really feeling it now. I suspect tomorrow will involve absolutely nothing that puts any strain on my quads, and even walking up and down stairs will probably be be challenging. Ah well...
Lest the Americans on my flist think that my rhapsodizing over this is yet one more indication that we are all crazy up here, that is Celsius. Translates to somewhere around 60 Fahrenheit, I think. As in, seriously springlike.
Now, I have been riding my bike on and off this winter, so it's not like cycling has been totally on hold for the cold weather. But still... There is something glorious about the first ride of the year without having to keep one's face covered, wear heavy gloves, etc. Sunlight + exquisitely mild temperatures = cycling love.
I had been for the most part avoiding biking to my dad's place on my editing days during the winter - I did do it a few times, but it's a longish trek (6km each way), and while I happily did it twice a week during warmer weather, rides that long are not always fun in cold weather, as that is easily far enough to result in numb hands and feet (particularly with the whole Raynaud's thing). But today there was no way I was not going to - even though I also had to go downtown to go the bank first. So... all the way downtown, and then out to High Park. And back, later, though we'll see how well I do at that.
So now I am at my dad's, with muscle-sore legs and sweat-soaked hair and clothing, and yet still feeling massively exhilarated. I don't know, maybe it's endorphins. I am tad bit worried that when the time comes to go home, I will find that my quadruceps have dissolved into aching jelly, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I am absurdly pleased with myself for having just ridden something like 15km with just a short break in the middle at the bank...
Though I do have to add: Bike, I love you dearly, but WTF is it with you and the fifth gear on the middle range these days? Yes, it's a nice gear, and I ride in it a fair bit. BUT. That does not mean I want to be stuck in it FOREVER. I do not appreciate having to try at least half a dozen times to shift to fourth when riding into a headwind or trying to go uphill, and, even less, finally managing to downshift only to feel you clunk back into fifth two minutes later. Which happened at lest three times today. Methinks your derailleurs need looking at or something...
ETA: Back home. Ride home was surprisingly not too bad. A little soreness, had to go a little slower than usual, and ended up walking just the last couple of blocks, but otherwise, surprisingly painless. Total distance ridden today: a little over 20km. Not bad for having ridden only sporadically through most of the winter and not going the gym as regularly as I should this past while...
Mind you, I'm really feeling it now. I suspect tomorrow will involve absolutely nothing that puts any strain on my quads, and even walking up and down stairs will probably be be challenging. Ah well...