It was cold out this morning. Desperate times and all that had me strategically placing an armwarmer down my bib shorts to protect my junk from frostbite. Been there, done that, not doing it again!
Once completely suited up (thank you Craft!) I stepped into the freezer.
The trails were frozen solid and slick, especially the rocks.
I ran the tires as low as I could go and had a blast floating over frozen ruts and using body english to find traction on glazed rocks. I didn't go fast. It was all about keeping the bike upright and moving forward.
I'm not sure which froze up first, my bottle or my toes.
Aside from the feet I was pretty comfortable.
Once back home in the shower the pain from my toes thawing out was brutal. Hours later they're still not right. I need to invest in a better pair of winter riding shoes. The Sidi's are ok for temps down to the 20's, but lower than that and my feet turn to ice after an hour.
Get out there and enjoy the trails while they are still frozen. Just remember to dress for the weather.
Showing posts with label night ride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label night ride. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Making the most of days
Back in the day time on the beach was spent reading, chilling, and catching waves (on the rare occasions when there were waves worth catching).
Nowadays this photo shows what I see. And "Play DaDa" is what I hear. So I dig sand, chase seagulls, and splash in the surf. And it's really amazingly cool.
We just got back from a quick trip to Sarasota (Siesta Key) to visit family and hang out on the beach for a few days.
This meant a few days off the bike letting the legs recover. To balance that out I hit it hard last week, waking up early and riding the trails at 5am.
Getting out of bed for a pre-dawn patrol ride is rough, but once rolling it's a wondrous experience. The trails are devoid of human intrusion. It's just me, some rabbits, and the occasional fox on the prowl. Even Bambi is still asleep.
Lights are obligatory for the first half of the ride. Though the sky is dark, with each passing minute the horizon hints at the coming day. That deep, murky blue of first light is hypnotizing and somehow comforting as I connect with a small patch of lighted singletrack amid the dark and lonely woods.
With each pedalstroke I become more awake and tuned into my surroundings. It doesn't take long. Focus is critical when riding at night and with focus comes flow. Flow is a word that is perhaps overused when waxing on mountain biking, but that's ok. It captures the essence of that feeling of rider, bike, and trail becoming one. It's a sweet feeling. Sublime, blissful, orgasmic. Yup, those words all capture the spirit of the thing. Apologies to Reg Dunlop and Dickie Dunn.
By the second half of my loop there's enough light emerging from the sky to make the artificial illumination from my Nite Rider mostly redundant. In the denser sections of the woods that's debatable so I keep it on.
Rolling out of the singletrack and back into my neighborhood I notice that the day has begun. Runners are humping up the road and the early birds are already in their cars on the way to work. I can't help but feel that I know some secret code for happiness that all these other people are oblivious to. After a morning ride I'm ready to tackle the bullshit of the day with a smile.
I was looking forward to continuing the morning rides this week, but a bunch of rain has changed those plans. I've even considered riding the trainer, but I'm not that desperate yet! It looks like I'll be riding the pavement this evening, but the weather is looking decent through the weekend.
I'm hoping to resume the pre-dawn rides as soon as the trails dry out. What better way to start the day than with a mountain bike ride, followed by a triple-shot from the Gaggia.
Nowadays this photo shows what I see. And "Play DaDa" is what I hear. So I dig sand, chase seagulls, and splash in the surf. And it's really amazingly cool.
We just got back from a quick trip to Sarasota (Siesta Key) to visit family and hang out on the beach for a few days.
This meant a few days off the bike letting the legs recover. To balance that out I hit it hard last week, waking up early and riding the trails at 5am.
Getting out of bed for a pre-dawn patrol ride is rough, but once rolling it's a wondrous experience. The trails are devoid of human intrusion. It's just me, some rabbits, and the occasional fox on the prowl. Even Bambi is still asleep.
Lights are obligatory for the first half of the ride. Though the sky is dark, with each passing minute the horizon hints at the coming day. That deep, murky blue of first light is hypnotizing and somehow comforting as I connect with a small patch of lighted singletrack amid the dark and lonely woods.
With each pedalstroke I become more awake and tuned into my surroundings. It doesn't take long. Focus is critical when riding at night and with focus comes flow. Flow is a word that is perhaps overused when waxing on mountain biking, but that's ok. It captures the essence of that feeling of rider, bike, and trail becoming one. It's a sweet feeling. Sublime, blissful, orgasmic. Yup, those words all capture the spirit of the thing. Apologies to Reg Dunlop and Dickie Dunn.
By the second half of my loop there's enough light emerging from the sky to make the artificial illumination from my Nite Rider mostly redundant. In the denser sections of the woods that's debatable so I keep it on.
Rolling out of the singletrack and back into my neighborhood I notice that the day has begun. Runners are humping up the road and the early birds are already in their cars on the way to work. I can't help but feel that I know some secret code for happiness that all these other people are oblivious to. After a morning ride I'm ready to tackle the bullshit of the day with a smile.
I was looking forward to continuing the morning rides this week, but a bunch of rain has changed those plans. I've even considered riding the trainer, but I'm not that desperate yet! It looks like I'll be riding the pavement this evening, but the weather is looking decent through the weekend.
I'm hoping to resume the pre-dawn rides as soon as the trails dry out. What better way to start the day than with a mountain bike ride, followed by a triple-shot from the Gaggia.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Cold fingers
Last night I charged up the lights and got all my gear together in the basement. I figured this would make it harder to bail on riding this morning. When I opened my eyes at 4:50am I wavered for a moment before nutting up & crawling out of bed. Quietly.
I grabbed my contact lenses and headed to the basement to suit up. I couldn't find my heavy duty mittens so I wore my normal winter riding gloves. No big deal I told myself. Ha!
As I rolled down the street to the trailhead I got worried. It was colder than the proverbial witch's titty on a January night in Lapland. The benefit of the cold was that the trails were frozen solid and offering super-hero traction. The downside was that my fingers started to freeze 5 minutes into the ride.
The last 15 minutes of my hour ride were miserable. I couldn't feel my fingers and I was dreading the thawing out process. I've been there before and it sucks. Despite the issue of the cold, I was still out on my mountain bike on a weekday in January. I ignored the misery and enjoyed the ride.
Back at the house I had trouble getting the key to unlock the door. Gee. Zero feeling in the digits means very little coordination. Once inside my fingers eventually thawed out in a sink of warm water. I moaned a bit, but didn't shed any tears. 8-) No fun. It's after 9am now and my fingertips are still sore. Mittens next time! And perhaps a flask of hot espresso or brown liquor!
bloomberg.com - Michael Lewis on Davos.
npr.org - Juan Williams interviews our fearless leader. wtf. Is it 2008 yet? Snippet - “I’m not that good at pronouncing words.”
cyclocrossworld.com - Chris Milliman talks to the keeper of the Dugast flame.
fatmarc - Still on hiatus. Temporary I hope.
Jonathan Page - He's earned his spot on the top tier. Time for a new website. And perhaps a big RV.
cyclo-cross.info - My Flemish is rusty, but it sounds like Vervecken says...Of his 3 world titles he had to work hardest for this one (nice compliment to J. Page). When Erwin crashed and took Nys down the crowd was booing him, but the same fans booing were the ones cheering him along in the last lap. Wacky (drunk) Belgies. Wellens is done for the season. boo hoo.
www.wcsn.com - update: They have the Sporza feed from 'Cross Worlds and the picture quality is very good. It seems they have their own commentators from the U.S. and A. There are two links for the World Championships on the site. One of them is the Women's race. It's an on-demand streaming feed. I'm almost half-way through the Women's race and the quality is excellent! What a race! Katie is on the front of a big group pulling back Hanka. Check it out.
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