Saturday's ride can be summed up in one word: cold. Most of the ride was in 21-22F temperatures.
Despite that, I wanted to take advantage of having a little more time than usual to ride, so I started out with a slightly longer route than I've been doing, lately. I went down to Shirlington, as usual, but went all the way into the shopping district, then up the big hill behind there, and around. From there, I went my normal route up the W&OD towards Falls Church.
Twelve miles in, I looked down and realized that the reason my feet were getting a bit cold, already, was that I forgot to put my booties on before leaving. Not sure what happened; I've never forgotten them before.
Still, I pushed on, and even decided to tack a few more miles than usual on by taking the trail all the way to Idylwood Dr. That adds about three more miles to my normal route. And I took Idylwood all the way up to Powhatan, which meant that I had to deal with both hills on Powhatan, rather than just the second, as I've been doing recently.
Despite the chilled feet, it was a pretty good ride, and one in which I had little to no trouble keeping my heart rate down. I hit 129 briefly, and only spent 84 seconds above 125, so that's just about perfect (especially for a ride of 1:45).
And distance was pretty good, at 21.75 miles (1200' of elevation). Speed was 12.3mph; not bad for an easy ride.
Yesterday, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as cold at just below 40F, but it rained a bit. Because of the rain, I had my rain jacket on, which has a very tight collar (if I zip it up all the way). I did discover that having that collar zipped all the way definitely makes it hard to keep my heart rate down, although unzipping it a bit only helped a tiny bit (I still had trouble).
How bad was the heart rate trouble? I hit 144 (and cleared 140 more than once). I spent more than half an hour over 125. Geeze, I didn't realize it was that bad until now, writing this up (though I knew it wasn't good, of course). And I just saw that one of those times clearing 140 came when climbing a hill (ok, no surprise there) where there was a jogger on the sidewalk who was actually going faster than me. I definitely wasn't trying to push. Ouch.
I wish I knew why I had so much trouble with heart rate. I know part of it, earlier on, was the collar. And another early part was that I spent a little time in the drops. I can't believe how much the latter affects heart rate; just seems weird, to me, somehow. I'd expect some effect, of course, but nothing that pronounced.
Anyway, other than the heart rate, it was a pleasant ride. That's a very nice temperature for ride; maybe a few degrees below ideal, but not far.
This morning was a little... weird. I checked the temperature before leaving, and saw that it was supposed to be (currently, not forecast) 45F. That's generally the temperature at which I start thinking about cold-weather preparations, so I almost didn't question it, and put on lighter gear than I'd planned to take.
Thank goodness I didn't tone down (other than that I didn't wear my skullcap, I'll come back to this), because it was cold. It was mostly around 35F, getting all the way down to freezing over one stretch that's always a few degrees colder than the rest of my rides.
Despite that (or maybe because of it), I had no trouble keeping my heart rate down. I didn't do quite as well as Saturday, but I kept my max to 132, and had only 92 seconds above 125. That's not perfect, but it's pretty darned good. I was quite happy with it.
And that was with an average speed of 13.1mph (yesterday was 12.6).
The only real difference was that my cadence was a little lower today, but with more power pushed (99W vs 85). I'd really like to know how I pushed more power at a lower heart rate; the cadence is the only thing I can think of, although the difference was pretty tiny (54Hz vs 56). I'm surprised the difference is so small, though, because I was constantly aware of it while riding. I wouldn't've guessed I was anywhere near that sensitive.
And now I'm looking at Saturday, just for comparison. Saturday was 86W and 59Hz. No pattern there.
In any event, two days out of three were quite good, as far as reaching my goals. Tomorrow will be a hard ride, but I'll have to think about where I'm going. Maybe I'll try to get up fifteen minutes early, and do my big loop of Arlington (with bits of Falls Church and Alexandria).
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cold. Show all posts
20150320
Moving on
Yesterday, as I'd planned, I did a hard ride around one of the longer of my Arlington loops. This one was about 23 miles, and, as I indicated I was thinking, I went with just the jersey and a baselayer, rather than a jacket.
Clothing-wise, that worked out very well. It was very comfortable, and I was warm enough all the way. I went with the Assos glove tandem (bonka glove and shell), which was also a great fit for the day.
Being so comfortable, I started out riding hard, trying to get at least into second on the long segment on George Mason Dr on which I got fourth on my last hard ride. The first part of that, I was surprised to be eight full seconds behind my time the other day, but I was also feeling much better at the end. I also lost some time at the other end, but made up for it in the middle.
It was the first time I'd really set out to ride hard on a segment anywhere near that long, and it was rough. I was quite tired at the end. And I was semi-successful; I ended up tied for second, meaning that I only beat my time from the other day by a few seconds. And that's without the mechanical stop. So a bit disappointing all the way around, even if it looks better.
Overall, I only had three PRs, but I had a slew of second- and third-best segments. So I guess I'd chalk it up as being moderately successful, if a little less so than I'd hoped. There's a five-minute-ish segment covering four hills right around Ft Myer and Courthouse that I was really hoping to kill.
I felt really good, and did set a PR on the first hill, but the rest of it was second- and third-best times, ending up twelve seconds behind my record. Still, I kept on, and finished the route averaging 18.6mph over the hour and thirteen minutes. Nothing to set the world on fire, but nothing to be upset about, either.
I kept my heart rate solidly in zone four, with a good six minutes in zone five. Loving that last bit, especially.
My power-based zone distribution was not as good, although I think a significant part of that was not having as many hills (just under 900' total elevation) as my hillier hard-riding route. I got eighteen minutes at or above threshold, which isn't bad. Not as much as I hope for (I'd like to get closer to thirty), but again, not bad.
That left today as a recovery ride, with the caveat that snow was forecast to start just before I got on the bike. I was lucky not to see the snow, as I'd decided to not ride the hybrid, and got on the road only a little bit late.
It was raining, however, which was not fun, at a hair above freezing. Also, I wore my Assos jacket, thinking that it was more sealed than the North Face shell/fleece liner that I normally wear on cold recovery rides. That didn't work out well; the FuguJack is not completely sealed, it appears. I finished with damply wet arms. Not enough there to be worrisome, but it definitely didn't feel good.
Also, I went with the same gloves as yesterday. Today, it was not such a good decision; my hands were considerably chilly well before finishing. In fact, I wanted to do fifteen miles, but cut back to only twelve because of that chilliness. Given that the snow was just starting as I finished, anyway, it might have been a good thing regardless. Still, I don't like having that sort of thing forced on me.
I also might have gotten legs a little wet, somehow. I was wearing the PI AmFibs, so I'm not sure how that might have happened. I hope they haven't already lost their waterproofing; I guess we'll see, next time I wear them.
One good thing is that I mostly kept my heart rate down. I was a bit worried, over the long stretch where I couldn't see the meter, but I killed it through there. In that stretch, I kept it entirely between 114 and 123, which is basically perfect. Just after, though, I blew it on a hill where I got up to 140. Very annoying.
But I did keep it going right the rest of the way, so I think things will be fine for the group ride I'm expecting to do tomorrow.
The one thing that bothers me, a bit, is that my power was off, at that heart rate. That was only with an average right around 100, and I should be putting out more like 120W at that heart rate. I'm hoping that's just because I'm (still) not feeling well (although much better than a couple days ago).
Clothing-wise, that worked out very well. It was very comfortable, and I was warm enough all the way. I went with the Assos glove tandem (bonka glove and shell), which was also a great fit for the day.
Being so comfortable, I started out riding hard, trying to get at least into second on the long segment on George Mason Dr on which I got fourth on my last hard ride. The first part of that, I was surprised to be eight full seconds behind my time the other day, but I was also feeling much better at the end. I also lost some time at the other end, but made up for it in the middle.
It was the first time I'd really set out to ride hard on a segment anywhere near that long, and it was rough. I was quite tired at the end. And I was semi-successful; I ended up tied for second, meaning that I only beat my time from the other day by a few seconds. And that's without the mechanical stop. So a bit disappointing all the way around, even if it looks better.
Overall, I only had three PRs, but I had a slew of second- and third-best segments. So I guess I'd chalk it up as being moderately successful, if a little less so than I'd hoped. There's a five-minute-ish segment covering four hills right around Ft Myer and Courthouse that I was really hoping to kill.
I felt really good, and did set a PR on the first hill, but the rest of it was second- and third-best times, ending up twelve seconds behind my record. Still, I kept on, and finished the route averaging 18.6mph over the hour and thirteen minutes. Nothing to set the world on fire, but nothing to be upset about, either.
I kept my heart rate solidly in zone four, with a good six minutes in zone five. Loving that last bit, especially.
My power-based zone distribution was not as good, although I think a significant part of that was not having as many hills (just under 900' total elevation) as my hillier hard-riding route. I got eighteen minutes at or above threshold, which isn't bad. Not as much as I hope for (I'd like to get closer to thirty), but again, not bad.
That left today as a recovery ride, with the caveat that snow was forecast to start just before I got on the bike. I was lucky not to see the snow, as I'd decided to not ride the hybrid, and got on the road only a little bit late.
It was raining, however, which was not fun, at a hair above freezing. Also, I wore my Assos jacket, thinking that it was more sealed than the North Face shell/fleece liner that I normally wear on cold recovery rides. That didn't work out well; the FuguJack is not completely sealed, it appears. I finished with damply wet arms. Not enough there to be worrisome, but it definitely didn't feel good.
Also, I went with the same gloves as yesterday. Today, it was not such a good decision; my hands were considerably chilly well before finishing. In fact, I wanted to do fifteen miles, but cut back to only twelve because of that chilliness. Given that the snow was just starting as I finished, anyway, it might have been a good thing regardless. Still, I don't like having that sort of thing forced on me.
I also might have gotten legs a little wet, somehow. I was wearing the PI AmFibs, so I'm not sure how that might have happened. I hope they haven't already lost their waterproofing; I guess we'll see, next time I wear them.
One good thing is that I mostly kept my heart rate down. I was a bit worried, over the long stretch where I couldn't see the meter, but I killed it through there. In that stretch, I kept it entirely between 114 and 123, which is basically perfect. Just after, though, I blew it on a hill where I got up to 140. Very annoying.
But I did keep it going right the rest of the way, so I think things will be fine for the group ride I'm expecting to do tomorrow.
The one thing that bothers me, a bit, is that my power was off, at that heart rate. That was only with an average right around 100, and I should be putting out more like 120W at that heart rate. I'm hoping that's just because I'm (still) not feeling well (although much better than a couple days ago).
20150310
Or not sprung
This morning's ride was supposed to be fairly warm (40-ish F), but turned out to be a little chillier (34-37F). My first hint at that came before I'd even closed the door to the house, but I decided that it would be fine once I got moving (even though this was going to be an easy ride).
Well, my rain jacket (it was supposed to rain, if not right away, then soon) was not quite warm enough. I managed, but a long-sleeve base layer would have done much better than the light jersey I was wearing. And I should have worn the shell gloves over the gloves I wore. They're supposed to be fine down to 20F, and they weren't. The irony there is that I wore them yesterday, with the shells, when it was a few degrees colder, and that was fine (but also on a more vigorous ride). I'll have to see how they do in that temp on an easy ride, with the shells.
Other than that... well, I only wore knee warmers on my legs, and those were fine. I had the rain covers on my shoes, which turned out to be unnecessary (and possibly silly, since I eschewed my rain pants).
For the ride itself, though, I got out a little early and did most of the trail loop around Arlington (I cut off a couple miles by taking George Mason Dr all the way to Shirlington instead of detouring at I66). It ended up at 19 miles, which worked out perfectly, timing-wise, so I'm glad I did (although the temperature did factor into the decision, as that section of trail tends to be several degrees colder than anywhere else around).
Somehow, the rain still hasn't arrived, but is still projected as imminent. Tomorrow is currently forecast for mid- to high-forties, with rain. Rain doesn't sound too bad, with that temperature. I might well do the trail loop again, maybe with those extra miles.
Well, my rain jacket (it was supposed to rain, if not right away, then soon) was not quite warm enough. I managed, but a long-sleeve base layer would have done much better than the light jersey I was wearing. And I should have worn the shell gloves over the gloves I wore. They're supposed to be fine down to 20F, and they weren't. The irony there is that I wore them yesterday, with the shells, when it was a few degrees colder, and that was fine (but also on a more vigorous ride). I'll have to see how they do in that temp on an easy ride, with the shells.
Other than that... well, I only wore knee warmers on my legs, and those were fine. I had the rain covers on my shoes, which turned out to be unnecessary (and possibly silly, since I eschewed my rain pants).
For the ride itself, though, I got out a little early and did most of the trail loop around Arlington (I cut off a couple miles by taking George Mason Dr all the way to Shirlington instead of detouring at I66). It ended up at 19 miles, which worked out perfectly, timing-wise, so I'm glad I did (although the temperature did factor into the decision, as that section of trail tends to be several degrees colder than anywhere else around).
Somehow, the rain still hasn't arrived, but is still projected as imminent. Tomorrow is currently forecast for mid- to high-forties, with rain. Rain doesn't sound too bad, with that temperature. I might well do the trail loop again, maybe with those extra miles.
20150306
Further challenges
I got up a little early the last two mornings. Yesterday, it was to try to get out before the snow started. The snow was supposed to start right about the time I was going to leave, so I thought I'd get out a little bit early.
When I got up, I looked and saw no snow on the ground, and thought about riding the road bike (temperature was right around freezing, to boot). But I was worried about ice on the road, and decided to play it safe.
It turns out I'd've been fine if I'd gone out on the road bike, but I was worried about finding ice the hard way again. What did surprise me was seeing a couple other cyclists going the other way; I haven't seen hardly any over the last couple of weeks. Something about the snow and cold, I imagine. And the hour doesn't help, for that matter.
The one interesting thing is that one of my mittens, in particular, got a lot of water in it (my fault; I could have certainly avoided much, if not all, of that). That necessitated finally using my boot/glove dryer that I bought a month or so ago. Glad to see that it seems to've worked well without ruining the equipment; I was a little worried. We'll see how it works if I need to use it for, say, the Assos gloves.
Today was much more challenging. That snow that I'd worried about was falling for most of the day yesterday, and it mostly hadn't been cleared. And I was staying, as much as I could, on the main roads. It was downright ugly.
And, to add insult to injury, the temperature was down around ten degrees (9-12F). So it was pretty tough. I got almost nine miles in, and was thwarted from going further by the tough time I was having keeping my heart rate down.
Essentially, to go further, I'd've needed to go up one or more very steep hills, and there's no way I'd've kept it down on those. I still got up to 141bpm as it was (target max: 125).
I'd like to say that I conquered the challenge, because I did get out and get miles in, but it's probably more fair to call it a draw, since I did a fair bit less than I really wanted to do.
Tomorrow, I'm not sure. I might be doing a group ride early, which would require the road bike. But if not, I think I'll just ride the hybrid again. I'm not sure I'll find anything except the main roads passable tomorrow (and even those might have some ice on them), so I'm leaning towards playing it safe again. But if they're doing the group ride, I'll give it a go.
When I got up, I looked and saw no snow on the ground, and thought about riding the road bike (temperature was right around freezing, to boot). But I was worried about ice on the road, and decided to play it safe.
It turns out I'd've been fine if I'd gone out on the road bike, but I was worried about finding ice the hard way again. What did surprise me was seeing a couple other cyclists going the other way; I haven't seen hardly any over the last couple of weeks. Something about the snow and cold, I imagine. And the hour doesn't help, for that matter.
The one interesting thing is that one of my mittens, in particular, got a lot of water in it (my fault; I could have certainly avoided much, if not all, of that). That necessitated finally using my boot/glove dryer that I bought a month or so ago. Glad to see that it seems to've worked well without ruining the equipment; I was a little worried. We'll see how it works if I need to use it for, say, the Assos gloves.
Today was much more challenging. That snow that I'd worried about was falling for most of the day yesterday, and it mostly hadn't been cleared. And I was staying, as much as I could, on the main roads. It was downright ugly.
And, to add insult to injury, the temperature was down around ten degrees (9-12F). So it was pretty tough. I got almost nine miles in, and was thwarted from going further by the tough time I was having keeping my heart rate down.
Essentially, to go further, I'd've needed to go up one or more very steep hills, and there's no way I'd've kept it down on those. I still got up to 141bpm as it was (target max: 125).
I'd like to say that I conquered the challenge, because I did get out and get miles in, but it's probably more fair to call it a draw, since I did a fair bit less than I really wanted to do.
Tomorrow, I'm not sure. I might be doing a group ride early, which would require the road bike. But if not, I think I'll just ride the hybrid again. I'm not sure I'll find anything except the main roads passable tomorrow (and even those might have some ice on them), so I'm leaning towards playing it safe again. But if they're doing the group ride, I'll give it a go.
20150302
Building miles
Thought things might be improving after writing the other day. But time, it has not been more present.
Riding has been interesting since my last missive, though not as much so as that update.
It started last Thursday, although that was an uneventful 15-mile ride. There was snow, but it was pretty warm, so I was able to stretch the ride out a bit longer than I'd initially planned. The only real excitement was the battery on my RFLKT+ dying before I started. Really annoying. Consecutive batteries from the same pack (and Panasonics, so not unbranded, cheap ones): one lasted over two months, while the next one lasted less than two weeks. Dunno what's going on with that.
Friday, I took off from work, so things were a bit more interesting. My plan had been a sixty-mile ride, meeting my dad for lunch halfway through. The first difficulty was when my daughter needed me to be at school in the morning, delaying my start by close to an hour. Then my dad had to take my uncle to a doctor, though, so lunch fell through. So I finally rode down to Mt Vernon (it had been on my list of destinations for quite a while, but it's too far for a morning ride and too close for a really long ride).
I did some checking on Google maps to figure out how to get there (I was unsure about a small stretch of Alexandria), and headed on my way. It gave an alternate route for the southern stretch (south of Alexandria, that is), that was a little shorter than just taking the Mt Vernon trail all the way. I decided I'd take the MV trail anyway, and set off.
My plan was just fine, and I was feeling really good, until I got a few hundred yards south of Alexandria. The trail, there, was impassible on my road bike (lots of snow and ice), so I headed onto the road and kept going. I did a mile or two like that (and I wasn't loving it), then saw the turnoff from where Google Maps directed me, and took that route.
That road, Ft Hunt Rd, ended up being pretty interesting. I think the reason I was directed there was that it was a little more direct than the Mt Vernon trail, and that it seems to've had a bike path (I say "seems to" because the bits I saw were totally covered, and because I didn't even see the covered parts until I was on the way back).
Regardless, I went that way, and I was killing it. I managed (without specifically trying) a top-10 on a five-minute segment I didn't even know about. One interesting bit about the road was that there was a really neat-looking library right after I turned on it (Martha Washington, I believe). I need to go back and take some pictures, there. I also noticed lots of churches along the way. Some of them were big, and some were pretty (and a couple were neither), and I liked seeing them.
I would have assumed, though, that having so many around would mean people would be nicer than usual. Well, if so, they certainly weren't any more willing to share the road. I got honked at a few times (I was on the road, since I didn't even see the trail), and a few people drove by (very close) at quite high speeds (for the road). One elderly lady (seventy if she was a day) even gunned her engine as she passed. Not so nice, especially since I saw, as I said, going quite fast (in fact, in Alexandria I got passed by a lady (very closely) when I was doing the speed limit. Really annoying).
Still, the road itself was nice, and I was able to navigate the last mile or so between Ft Hunt and the GW Parkway without incident. I then rode the last couple miles to Mt Vernon, going pretty hard. When I got there, I found that I'd managed 18.9mph over the twenty miles to get there. I was pretty proud of that.
I took a small break to drink a little bit and take a picture, then headed back. I took a slightly different route, taking Ft Hunt all the way back to Alexandria. It worried me a little, when I got to Rt 1, but there was a flyover that worked out just fine (without putting me on the Beltway or Rt 1, neither of which is a nice route).
I got another couple miles when I noticed I that my power meter had cut out. It seems that the battery had died (this sounds familiar), and I don't carry extra batteries with me. So I had to deal without getting feedback for the rest of the ride.
Once I established that that was probably the problem, I got going again, riding hard up to, and through, Crystal City. I got to Columbia Pike (although it was a nice day, the trails, as noted, were not in good shape, and this is the only route I know (around there) that completely avoids the trails.
And I pretty much blew up going up the big hill where the Air Force Memorial is. I kept going, but stopped trying to push hard (mostly; I did push hard up a couple more hills).
Anyway, that was about it for the interesting portion of the ride. It ended up being just under fifty miles, and I was very sore at the end.
Saturday, of course, was a recovery ride. It was pretty cold (12-16F), but it went well. Despite the sore muscles, I had no problem getting almost fifteen miles in. In fact, if not for the cold, I'd've probably done another five.
Sunday, I ended up getting up an hour earlier (not planned ahead, it just worked out that way) and riding then, thinking it'd make sure I didn't get caught up in the snow that was supposed to start pretty early (that meant I could ride the road bike). And this time, I did get those extra miles in (it was about 23F).
Other than that, the only real interesting thing was my heart rate meter giving me a bit of a scare. For the first couple minutes, it was showing 54bpm, which is lower than my resting rate (usually). I figured on a battery problem, and went to disable it, but wasn't able to do it without stopping. I decided it wasn't worth stopping for, and kept on. A minute or two later, I noticed that the data looked reasonable again. Not sure what happened.
And that snow? Well, I finished the ride about six, and the snow didn't start until nine. So starting early didn't end up accomplishing anything at all.
Which leads to this morning. I knew that I'd be riding the hybrid this morning, as the snow yesterday morning had turned into sleet and freezing rain later in the day. Then it melted, then it froze. So I knew it'd be a mess this morning. In fact, yesterday afternoon I told my wife school was going to be canceled today (it was). And then I overslept.
I thought maybe I could ride sometime in the middle of the day, until my wife told me school was, indeed, canceled. So I asked her, and then got on the bike. Not a long ride: 10.8 miles in almost exactly an hour.
I stayed entirely on roads, and they were just fine, although sidewalks and driveways were a mess (I saw one man fall down in his driveway as I was riding by. Thankfully, he was fine).
It did warm up, so tomorrow should be fine, although, with my wife home, I'm not sure how I'm going to get my chain cleaned (it needs it badly). I'll have to figure out a way. At least I'm getting laundry done (it's needed it since Friday).
Tomorrow should be a decent day for riding; clear and cold (20-ish). But shortly after my ride, the weather promises to turn foul, raining or snowing for two days straight. The day after that should be very cold, the following not quite as cold, but things should turn nice after that. We can hope.
Riding has been interesting since my last missive, though not as much so as that update.
It started last Thursday, although that was an uneventful 15-mile ride. There was snow, but it was pretty warm, so I was able to stretch the ride out a bit longer than I'd initially planned. The only real excitement was the battery on my RFLKT+ dying before I started. Really annoying. Consecutive batteries from the same pack (and Panasonics, so not unbranded, cheap ones): one lasted over two months, while the next one lasted less than two weeks. Dunno what's going on with that.
Friday, I took off from work, so things were a bit more interesting. My plan had been a sixty-mile ride, meeting my dad for lunch halfway through. The first difficulty was when my daughter needed me to be at school in the morning, delaying my start by close to an hour. Then my dad had to take my uncle to a doctor, though, so lunch fell through. So I finally rode down to Mt Vernon (it had been on my list of destinations for quite a while, but it's too far for a morning ride and too close for a really long ride).
I did some checking on Google maps to figure out how to get there (I was unsure about a small stretch of Alexandria), and headed on my way. It gave an alternate route for the southern stretch (south of Alexandria, that is), that was a little shorter than just taking the Mt Vernon trail all the way. I decided I'd take the MV trail anyway, and set off.
My plan was just fine, and I was feeling really good, until I got a few hundred yards south of Alexandria. The trail, there, was impassible on my road bike (lots of snow and ice), so I headed onto the road and kept going. I did a mile or two like that (and I wasn't loving it), then saw the turnoff from where Google Maps directed me, and took that route.
That road, Ft Hunt Rd, ended up being pretty interesting. I think the reason I was directed there was that it was a little more direct than the Mt Vernon trail, and that it seems to've had a bike path (I say "seems to" because the bits I saw were totally covered, and because I didn't even see the covered parts until I was on the way back).
Regardless, I went that way, and I was killing it. I managed (without specifically trying) a top-10 on a five-minute segment I didn't even know about. One interesting bit about the road was that there was a really neat-looking library right after I turned on it (Martha Washington, I believe). I need to go back and take some pictures, there. I also noticed lots of churches along the way. Some of them were big, and some were pretty (and a couple were neither), and I liked seeing them.
I would have assumed, though, that having so many around would mean people would be nicer than usual. Well, if so, they certainly weren't any more willing to share the road. I got honked at a few times (I was on the road, since I didn't even see the trail), and a few people drove by (very close) at quite high speeds (for the road). One elderly lady (seventy if she was a day) even gunned her engine as she passed. Not so nice, especially since I saw, as I said, going quite fast (in fact, in Alexandria I got passed by a lady (very closely) when I was doing the speed limit. Really annoying).
Still, the road itself was nice, and I was able to navigate the last mile or so between Ft Hunt and the GW Parkway without incident. I then rode the last couple miles to Mt Vernon, going pretty hard. When I got there, I found that I'd managed 18.9mph over the twenty miles to get there. I was pretty proud of that.
I took a small break to drink a little bit and take a picture, then headed back. I took a slightly different route, taking Ft Hunt all the way back to Alexandria. It worried me a little, when I got to Rt 1, but there was a flyover that worked out just fine (without putting me on the Beltway or Rt 1, neither of which is a nice route).
I got another couple miles when I noticed I that my power meter had cut out. It seems that the battery had died (this sounds familiar), and I don't carry extra batteries with me. So I had to deal without getting feedback for the rest of the ride.
Once I established that that was probably the problem, I got going again, riding hard up to, and through, Crystal City. I got to Columbia Pike (although it was a nice day, the trails, as noted, were not in good shape, and this is the only route I know (around there) that completely avoids the trails.
And I pretty much blew up going up the big hill where the Air Force Memorial is. I kept going, but stopped trying to push hard (mostly; I did push hard up a couple more hills).
Anyway, that was about it for the interesting portion of the ride. It ended up being just under fifty miles, and I was very sore at the end.
Saturday, of course, was a recovery ride. It was pretty cold (12-16F), but it went well. Despite the sore muscles, I had no problem getting almost fifteen miles in. In fact, if not for the cold, I'd've probably done another five.
Sunday, I ended up getting up an hour earlier (not planned ahead, it just worked out that way) and riding then, thinking it'd make sure I didn't get caught up in the snow that was supposed to start pretty early (that meant I could ride the road bike). And this time, I did get those extra miles in (it was about 23F).
Other than that, the only real interesting thing was my heart rate meter giving me a bit of a scare. For the first couple minutes, it was showing 54bpm, which is lower than my resting rate (usually). I figured on a battery problem, and went to disable it, but wasn't able to do it without stopping. I decided it wasn't worth stopping for, and kept on. A minute or two later, I noticed that the data looked reasonable again. Not sure what happened.
And that snow? Well, I finished the ride about six, and the snow didn't start until nine. So starting early didn't end up accomplishing anything at all.
Which leads to this morning. I knew that I'd be riding the hybrid this morning, as the snow yesterday morning had turned into sleet and freezing rain later in the day. Then it melted, then it froze. So I knew it'd be a mess this morning. In fact, yesterday afternoon I told my wife school was going to be canceled today (it was). And then I overslept.
I thought maybe I could ride sometime in the middle of the day, until my wife told me school was, indeed, canceled. So I asked her, and then got on the bike. Not a long ride: 10.8 miles in almost exactly an hour.
I stayed entirely on roads, and they were just fine, although sidewalks and driveways were a mess (I saw one man fall down in his driveway as I was riding by. Thankfully, he was fine).
It did warm up, so tomorrow should be fine, although, with my wife home, I'm not sure how I'm going to get my chain cleaned (it needs it badly). I'll have to figure out a way. At least I'm getting laundry done (it's needed it since Friday).
Tomorrow should be a decent day for riding; clear and cold (20-ish). But shortly after my ride, the weather promises to turn foul, raining or snowing for two days straight. The day after that should be very cold, the following not quite as cold, but things should turn nice after that. We can hope.
20150223
Challenges met
I haven't been writing lately for the simple reason that I've been really tired at night. Last night, I turned on the Caps game right after putting the kids to bed (I didn't, earlier, because I thought I'd missed recording it, but was pleasantly surprised to find that I had when I checked). Part of it was that they looked terrible (to be fair, some of it was that Philly looked quite good), but I couldn't even watch past the end of the first period.
In any event, there were two days I was especially worried about. One was last Wednesday, when we were scheduled to get 8-12 inches of snow. It turned out to only be four or five, which helped a lot. Regardless, it turned out that the only real challenge was getting going fast enough to get my second foot clipped on to the pedal. Once I did that, which required going the opposite direction out of my driveway from my usual, it was pretty smooth sailing. I didn't do a lot of miles (partially because it was still really cold), but the ride had very little drama. And the only drama it had came from my concern about stopping fully, and having to deal with clipping in again.
The route was, perhaps, a little interesting. I went down George Mason Dr, as usual, but then turned right on Wilson (which I occasionally do, to get to the trail at Bluemont Park). But from there, I went all the way to Seven Corners (not something I would normally do on a bike), and turned right on Rt 7 (something I generally avoid, even in a car). In any event, I took Rt 7 all the way down to Haycock, followed that over to Westmoreland, then turned up Williamsburg towards home. All in all, a good eleven miles.
One thing I did discover, before the end of the ride, was that being in a very low gear helps a lot on snow. And that's kind of interesting, because it's exactly the opposite in a car. Driving, you want to be in a higher gear so you don't over-spin the tires (sometimes I'll start the car moving in second gear, for instance).
Thursday wasn't terribly interesting. It was nine degrees, and I just rode down into Shirlington, turned around, and came home. It being that cold, I did have to speed up a bit over the last mile and a half or so, just to keep warm. But that did work out to a bit over twelve miles, so it wasn't bad.
Friday was the second challenge, when it was supposed to go below zero on my ride. And it did, although barely; the forecast had called for -4F, but it only got to -1F. I did roughly the same ride as Thursday, and again had to crank it up a little bit at the end. But I did manage to keep my heart rate within my target zone for all but three minutes, so that wasn't too bad.
What was kind of funny was, later in the day, I needed to do laundry because I was out of my warm base layers and of my liner socks. I didn't expect that to happen; quite a statement on the recent cold snap, I think. I was also close to the end of my tights, but that's a bit less weird.
Saturday the roads were clear enough that I finally got to ride my road bike again. And I was happy to do that, as I wanted to do a much harder ride. It was 10F, and I went into the hills. I actually couldn't wear my Assos jacket, because I knew that the phone would shut down from cold, within it (no jersey with pockets). But I was riding hard enough that I knew that my PI PRO Softshell jacket would be warm enough (with my heaviest base layer), and would keep the phone warm enough as well.
My average power on the ride wasn't quite as good as I was hoping (193W), but the weighted average was excellent (233W, per Strava, 255 according to Cyclemeter). I'm not sure if I set any records on my power curve, but I was close to the top for everything longer than about half a minute. And my power zone distribution wasn't too bad; 7:34 anaerobic and four minutes and change neuromuscular. I think I could have done better, but that wasn't bad.
It ended up with fourteen miles, 1440' elevation rise, and 15.1mph avg speed. Nothing to set the world on fire, but numbers I was fairly happy with.
Sunday was a bit warmer (finally), right around freezing, so I was thinking of doing a longer loop. And technically, I suppose, I did, but the roads were pretty treacherous. I actually put my platform pedals back on my hybrid, to kill two birds with one stone: warmer feet and insurance if my chain decided to give up the ghost. I'd cleaned and lubed the chain again Friday, but I saw, doing so, that it was in really terrible shape (the rust particularly worries me). I'll replace the chain soon, but I'm going to try to use the old one until the snow stops.
Anyway, the loop I did Sunday ended up being only eighteen and a half miles. I had to stay away from the trails, and some of the roads had me pretty worried as well. Also, I knew my speed was pretty bad, thanks to being on the hybrid with hiking boots. I knew I wouldn't have the clip-in problem with the boots, but the traction in parts of the ride was made worse when my feet slipped off the pedals. Definitely some mixed blessings, going to hiking boots and platforms.
But I got through it without major problems, so I'll definitely call that victory. And I did a good job keeping my heart rate down, as well, averaging 106 and keeping it under 125, except for the last hill before home (oops... should have gone around it).
So those were the challenges, and I'm proud to say that I beat them into the ground.
This morning, I went out and only did ten miles (on the hybrid again; I was worried about ice). But it was a nice ride; the first time in a couple weeks where I wasn't cold. I didn't have to ball up my fists in my mittens a single time (though I did still wear the mittens). But the route was very weird, as I again had to completely avoid the trails (I thought about changing that, but didn't like the looks of things when I got to one). I went through Falls Church again, but this time on Sycamore and Washington/Westmoreland. And I went through to Powhatan, where I took the hills (slowly; trying to keep heart rate down).
Physically, in fact, I felt great this morning. Better than I have in a while. I hope that's a harbinger of things to come.
In any event, there were two days I was especially worried about. One was last Wednesday, when we were scheduled to get 8-12 inches of snow. It turned out to only be four or five, which helped a lot. Regardless, it turned out that the only real challenge was getting going fast enough to get my second foot clipped on to the pedal. Once I did that, which required going the opposite direction out of my driveway from my usual, it was pretty smooth sailing. I didn't do a lot of miles (partially because it was still really cold), but the ride had very little drama. And the only drama it had came from my concern about stopping fully, and having to deal with clipping in again.
The route was, perhaps, a little interesting. I went down George Mason Dr, as usual, but then turned right on Wilson (which I occasionally do, to get to the trail at Bluemont Park). But from there, I went all the way to Seven Corners (not something I would normally do on a bike), and turned right on Rt 7 (something I generally avoid, even in a car). In any event, I took Rt 7 all the way down to Haycock, followed that over to Westmoreland, then turned up Williamsburg towards home. All in all, a good eleven miles.
One thing I did discover, before the end of the ride, was that being in a very low gear helps a lot on snow. And that's kind of interesting, because it's exactly the opposite in a car. Driving, you want to be in a higher gear so you don't over-spin the tires (sometimes I'll start the car moving in second gear, for instance).
Thursday wasn't terribly interesting. It was nine degrees, and I just rode down into Shirlington, turned around, and came home. It being that cold, I did have to speed up a bit over the last mile and a half or so, just to keep warm. But that did work out to a bit over twelve miles, so it wasn't bad.
Friday was the second challenge, when it was supposed to go below zero on my ride. And it did, although barely; the forecast had called for -4F, but it only got to -1F. I did roughly the same ride as Thursday, and again had to crank it up a little bit at the end. But I did manage to keep my heart rate within my target zone for all but three minutes, so that wasn't too bad.
What was kind of funny was, later in the day, I needed to do laundry because I was out of my warm base layers and of my liner socks. I didn't expect that to happen; quite a statement on the recent cold snap, I think. I was also close to the end of my tights, but that's a bit less weird.
Saturday the roads were clear enough that I finally got to ride my road bike again. And I was happy to do that, as I wanted to do a much harder ride. It was 10F, and I went into the hills. I actually couldn't wear my Assos jacket, because I knew that the phone would shut down from cold, within it (no jersey with pockets). But I was riding hard enough that I knew that my PI PRO Softshell jacket would be warm enough (with my heaviest base layer), and would keep the phone warm enough as well.
My average power on the ride wasn't quite as good as I was hoping (193W), but the weighted average was excellent (233W, per Strava, 255 according to Cyclemeter). I'm not sure if I set any records on my power curve, but I was close to the top for everything longer than about half a minute. And my power zone distribution wasn't too bad; 7:34 anaerobic and four minutes and change neuromuscular. I think I could have done better, but that wasn't bad.
It ended up with fourteen miles, 1440' elevation rise, and 15.1mph avg speed. Nothing to set the world on fire, but numbers I was fairly happy with.
Sunday was a bit warmer (finally), right around freezing, so I was thinking of doing a longer loop. And technically, I suppose, I did, but the roads were pretty treacherous. I actually put my platform pedals back on my hybrid, to kill two birds with one stone: warmer feet and insurance if my chain decided to give up the ghost. I'd cleaned and lubed the chain again Friday, but I saw, doing so, that it was in really terrible shape (the rust particularly worries me). I'll replace the chain soon, but I'm going to try to use the old one until the snow stops.
Anyway, the loop I did Sunday ended up being only eighteen and a half miles. I had to stay away from the trails, and some of the roads had me pretty worried as well. Also, I knew my speed was pretty bad, thanks to being on the hybrid with hiking boots. I knew I wouldn't have the clip-in problem with the boots, but the traction in parts of the ride was made worse when my feet slipped off the pedals. Definitely some mixed blessings, going to hiking boots and platforms.
But I got through it without major problems, so I'll definitely call that victory. And I did a good job keeping my heart rate down, as well, averaging 106 and keeping it under 125, except for the last hill before home (oops... should have gone around it).
So those were the challenges, and I'm proud to say that I beat them into the ground.
This morning, I went out and only did ten miles (on the hybrid again; I was worried about ice). But it was a nice ride; the first time in a couple weeks where I wasn't cold. I didn't have to ball up my fists in my mittens a single time (though I did still wear the mittens). But the route was very weird, as I again had to completely avoid the trails (I thought about changing that, but didn't like the looks of things when I got to one). I went through Falls Church again, but this time on Sycamore and Washington/Westmoreland. And I went through to Powhatan, where I took the hills (slowly; trying to keep heart rate down).
Physically, in fact, I felt great this morning. Better than I have in a while. I hope that's a harbinger of things to come.
20150216
Challenges coming
The last two days seemed a little bit challenging, for biking.
Sunday came in at 4F, on the heels of some light snow the night before. Since I really didn't have any idea what the snow did to the roads, I had to ride the hybrid out of caution. Oh, and on top of that temperature, there was a wind chill warning, saying that it was -20 - -25F with wind chill.
I'm not a huge believer in usage of wind chill, but that was enough wind to make me a little bit cautious. Plus, I didn't want to do a hard ride.
So I wore my amfib tights, with leg warmers under them (that was a new tactic), my under armour hood, my warmest base layer, my fleece coat and hardshell (with pit zips closed, for the first time ever), liner gloves under my heavy mittens, and liner socks with heavy socks.
All in all, I was more ready for cold than I've ever been before. The one mistake I made was that I forgot that I was going to wear my ski goggles (just for the wind), and was only reminded after I locked the door. I didn't want to wake anyone up, so I just went without.
While I wish I'd had the goggles on, it was bearable without them. My cheeks were a little chilled, but that was plenty manageable.
While my fingers weren't horribly cold, my toes did start getting cold, with the result that I shortened my (planned) 14-mile ride down to what ended up being only ten. And yeah, that wind was brutal, when I was riding into it.
But on the hybrid, that was all an hour's ride, so I was still out there a pretty good length of time.
Thankfully, the snow didn't end up being much of an issue (though I have no regrets opting for the spiked tires).
Really, though, other than the cold, it wasn't bad. There weren't any joggers, or any other bikers, and damned few cars. So long stretches of the ride were almost completely quiet, which was really nice. My one regret is that I didn't use my (off-brand, and unused) Bar-Mitts to try to keep my hands warm. I wonder if I could have gone further with them. I don't know if there's anything else I can do for my feet, however. Will have to give that some further thought.
Today was a much harder ride, which mostly went well. I did the huge hill on Walter Reed, above Shirlington, for the first time in a while. I did well, but not as well as I'd hoped. The hill up S 31st went a little bit worse, as well. Couldn't maintain my cadence all the way up. But I did have some very good stretches.
The one bit that was weird, and which I was a bit reluctant to try, was wearing the fleece and hardshell on a hard ride. As expected, I got a bit sweaty from that, but not as much as I thought likely (it was only a degree or two warmer than yesterday, but didn't have as much wind).
The next two days, things get really challenging. We're expecting 8-12 inches of snow tonight, with the temperature expected to be just below 20F when I'm riding. I don't know if riding is even feasible in that much snow, but it's a certainty that almost none is melting (and the only reason even a little is likely to is that there's so much salt on the ground).
Anyway, I'll get the hybrid out and give it the old college try. And I'll hopefully remember to try the Bar-Mitts. And hopefully there will have been at least a tiny bit of plowing by the time I try. It'll definitely be a hard ride, regardless of the plan.
And then there'll be another challenge the two days after. First, we get single-digit temperatures again, and then we get negative single digits. Not looking forward to that at all. If the Bar-Mitts do well tomorrow, I'll use them in the super-cold temps, even if it means using the hybrid on cleared roads. There's tough, and then there's stupid, and I know on which side of that line I want to be.
Sunday came in at 4F, on the heels of some light snow the night before. Since I really didn't have any idea what the snow did to the roads, I had to ride the hybrid out of caution. Oh, and on top of that temperature, there was a wind chill warning, saying that it was -20 - -25F with wind chill.
I'm not a huge believer in usage of wind chill, but that was enough wind to make me a little bit cautious. Plus, I didn't want to do a hard ride.
So I wore my amfib tights, with leg warmers under them (that was a new tactic), my under armour hood, my warmest base layer, my fleece coat and hardshell (with pit zips closed, for the first time ever), liner gloves under my heavy mittens, and liner socks with heavy socks.
All in all, I was more ready for cold than I've ever been before. The one mistake I made was that I forgot that I was going to wear my ski goggles (just for the wind), and was only reminded after I locked the door. I didn't want to wake anyone up, so I just went without.
While I wish I'd had the goggles on, it was bearable without them. My cheeks were a little chilled, but that was plenty manageable.
While my fingers weren't horribly cold, my toes did start getting cold, with the result that I shortened my (planned) 14-mile ride down to what ended up being only ten. And yeah, that wind was brutal, when I was riding into it.
But on the hybrid, that was all an hour's ride, so I was still out there a pretty good length of time.
Thankfully, the snow didn't end up being much of an issue (though I have no regrets opting for the spiked tires).
Really, though, other than the cold, it wasn't bad. There weren't any joggers, or any other bikers, and damned few cars. So long stretches of the ride were almost completely quiet, which was really nice. My one regret is that I didn't use my (off-brand, and unused) Bar-Mitts to try to keep my hands warm. I wonder if I could have gone further with them. I don't know if there's anything else I can do for my feet, however. Will have to give that some further thought.
Today was a much harder ride, which mostly went well. I did the huge hill on Walter Reed, above Shirlington, for the first time in a while. I did well, but not as well as I'd hoped. The hill up S 31st went a little bit worse, as well. Couldn't maintain my cadence all the way up. But I did have some very good stretches.
The one bit that was weird, and which I was a bit reluctant to try, was wearing the fleece and hardshell on a hard ride. As expected, I got a bit sweaty from that, but not as much as I thought likely (it was only a degree or two warmer than yesterday, but didn't have as much wind).
The next two days, things get really challenging. We're expecting 8-12 inches of snow tonight, with the temperature expected to be just below 20F when I'm riding. I don't know if riding is even feasible in that much snow, but it's a certainty that almost none is melting (and the only reason even a little is likely to is that there's so much salt on the ground).
Anyway, I'll get the hybrid out and give it the old college try. And I'll hopefully remember to try the Bar-Mitts. And hopefully there will have been at least a tiny bit of plowing by the time I try. It'll definitely be a hard ride, regardless of the plan.
And then there'll be another challenge the two days after. First, we get single-digit temperatures again, and then we get negative single digits. Not looking forward to that at all. If the Bar-Mitts do well tomorrow, I'll use them in the super-cold temps, even if it means using the hybrid on cleared roads. There's tough, and then there's stupid, and I know on which side of that line I want to be.
20150213
Riding through it all
The last three days have been something else, when it comes to riding.
Wednesday seemed great. I went out and did my hill route again, and that largely went very well. I ended up cutting it a little shorter than I'd planned, as my legs were starting to cramp up (calf cramps from exercise are an old and familiar problem for me, although this is the first time I've had it happen from biking). I kind of wish I'd had a banana with me, for potassium, but as cold as it was (23-25F), the banana might well've been inedible by that point.
So I got home, parked the bike, and got the kids ready for school. Just before getting the little ones into the car, I pulled my bike inside, and noticed two inward-pointing notches (for lack of a better term) in the front tire. The completely deflated front tire.
Anyway, got the kids packed up, did some other things, finally got a chance to look at it again, a few hours later. Took the tire half off, and looked at the tube. Not terribly surprised to see a hole, except that I have no idea when it might have happened (especially as it was a big enough hole that I'd expect deflation to take less than a minute).
So I patched the hole and put the tire back on (I also checked the middle of the tire, and found a small hole there, although I didn't expect that to cause further issues). I put the wheel back on, and inflated the tire. Before I'd even gotten to the normal pressure, there was a loud pop. Ugh. Took it all off again and looked at the tube. Now I had a new hole, opposite the first. Patched that one. Note to self: when patching a hole caused by a tire puncture, make sure not to flip the tube when re-installing (will have to think of how).
Fixed the other hole, reinstalled, reinflated. Got to full pressure, but decided to re-inspect tire with everything installed. Found another cut in the tire; this one on the side, and pretty big. In fact, it looked like the tube was trying to bulge out of the hole.
Well, that was never going to work. First serious bump, I'd pop the tube right at that spot.
So I took everything off, and put the Gatorskin tire back on (I'd been using Grand Prix 4000S II's for the last several weeks). Second note to self: only use Gatorskins in winter, when cutting stuff can be hidden.
After all that, I was able to get ready for the next morning. And it was relatively warm, being right at the freezing point. The ride itself went smoothly, although I think something might've been wrong with the heart rate meter. It was showing 10-20 bpm higher than usual for a given exertion level, and when I realized that I wasn't feeling anything like I normally do when I get above 125 or so, I decided to ignore it (two reasons to consider that: I knew I'd put it on upside down, which doesn't seem like it should matter, but who knows? And I know the battery must be getting low).
Well, that all felt fine, even after I finished. The heart rate indicator stayed very high, but my breathing was still easy, so I'm still not sure about the data. The one factor I've figured out, since, is that I'm coming down with something, which might have pushed things higher. No idea what other effects, if any, that would have.
Feeling sick, I went to bed very early (basically, right after the kids went to bed), and got up at the normal time. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do anything, but I felt kind of decent. And since I knew I wouldn't be going as far (not only was I not feeling well, but it was 10F outside), I took my time getting ready.
My Singing Monsters ads are double-effect this weekend, so that also slowed me down a bit (one of the sponsors is allowing almost-unlimited play of their ad. I'd already been taking advantage of that).
But I did get out there, and actually felt pretty decent after the first minute or so. So much so that I ended up riding quite a bit further than I'd planned. In fact, I went as far as I've been going, recently, before turning around. I knew I wouldn't take any of the detours that I normally take on the way back, but I still went six miles outbound.
Boy, did I get an eye-opener when I turned around. I hadn't realized how much the wind had been pushing me. Man, was it brutal on the way back. I had my thumbs inside my mittens for most of the return trip, and was even making fists to warm my fingertips some of the time.
But other than my hands and my cheeks, a little, I was actually doing pretty well most of the way. Being sick wasn't bothering me, and the cold was causing minimal problems.
Until I was a mile and a half, or so, from home. Then I started feeling cold around my torso, so I hurried up, from there, to get home. Timing-wise, that worked out fairly well, though it did make one hell of a (completely predictable) spike in my heart rate. I hope that spike didn't ruin the efficacy of the ride, but I have no way of knowing.
All in all, though, I think it worked out about as well as it could have. The Under Armour hood that I mentioned a few days ago arrived yesterday, so I was happy to wear it today. And, as planned, I left the face-cover on it down. It was great, although I might have welcomed wearing my ski goggles as well. Anyway, I probably won't wear that all that often, but I am glad to have it. Tomorrow's supposed to be around 20F, so I'll skip it, but the days after are supposed to be down to single digits. I'll wear it then, possibly with the goggles. I just hope the prediction of snow for tomorrow evening is off; I do not want to deal with snow at that temperature range. Perhaps more to the point, I don't want to be riding my hybrid at that temperature. We'll see.
Wednesday seemed great. I went out and did my hill route again, and that largely went very well. I ended up cutting it a little shorter than I'd planned, as my legs were starting to cramp up (calf cramps from exercise are an old and familiar problem for me, although this is the first time I've had it happen from biking). I kind of wish I'd had a banana with me, for potassium, but as cold as it was (23-25F), the banana might well've been inedible by that point.
So I got home, parked the bike, and got the kids ready for school. Just before getting the little ones into the car, I pulled my bike inside, and noticed two inward-pointing notches (for lack of a better term) in the front tire. The completely deflated front tire.
Anyway, got the kids packed up, did some other things, finally got a chance to look at it again, a few hours later. Took the tire half off, and looked at the tube. Not terribly surprised to see a hole, except that I have no idea when it might have happened (especially as it was a big enough hole that I'd expect deflation to take less than a minute).
So I patched the hole and put the tire back on (I also checked the middle of the tire, and found a small hole there, although I didn't expect that to cause further issues). I put the wheel back on, and inflated the tire. Before I'd even gotten to the normal pressure, there was a loud pop. Ugh. Took it all off again and looked at the tube. Now I had a new hole, opposite the first. Patched that one. Note to self: when patching a hole caused by a tire puncture, make sure not to flip the tube when re-installing (will have to think of how).
Fixed the other hole, reinstalled, reinflated. Got to full pressure, but decided to re-inspect tire with everything installed. Found another cut in the tire; this one on the side, and pretty big. In fact, it looked like the tube was trying to bulge out of the hole.
Well, that was never going to work. First serious bump, I'd pop the tube right at that spot.
So I took everything off, and put the Gatorskin tire back on (I'd been using Grand Prix 4000S II's for the last several weeks). Second note to self: only use Gatorskins in winter, when cutting stuff can be hidden.
After all that, I was able to get ready for the next morning. And it was relatively warm, being right at the freezing point. The ride itself went smoothly, although I think something might've been wrong with the heart rate meter. It was showing 10-20 bpm higher than usual for a given exertion level, and when I realized that I wasn't feeling anything like I normally do when I get above 125 or so, I decided to ignore it (two reasons to consider that: I knew I'd put it on upside down, which doesn't seem like it should matter, but who knows? And I know the battery must be getting low).
Well, that all felt fine, even after I finished. The heart rate indicator stayed very high, but my breathing was still easy, so I'm still not sure about the data. The one factor I've figured out, since, is that I'm coming down with something, which might have pushed things higher. No idea what other effects, if any, that would have.
Feeling sick, I went to bed very early (basically, right after the kids went to bed), and got up at the normal time. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do anything, but I felt kind of decent. And since I knew I wouldn't be going as far (not only was I not feeling well, but it was 10F outside), I took my time getting ready.
My Singing Monsters ads are double-effect this weekend, so that also slowed me down a bit (one of the sponsors is allowing almost-unlimited play of their ad. I'd already been taking advantage of that).
But I did get out there, and actually felt pretty decent after the first minute or so. So much so that I ended up riding quite a bit further than I'd planned. In fact, I went as far as I've been going, recently, before turning around. I knew I wouldn't take any of the detours that I normally take on the way back, but I still went six miles outbound.
Boy, did I get an eye-opener when I turned around. I hadn't realized how much the wind had been pushing me. Man, was it brutal on the way back. I had my thumbs inside my mittens for most of the return trip, and was even making fists to warm my fingertips some of the time.
But other than my hands and my cheeks, a little, I was actually doing pretty well most of the way. Being sick wasn't bothering me, and the cold was causing minimal problems.
Until I was a mile and a half, or so, from home. Then I started feeling cold around my torso, so I hurried up, from there, to get home. Timing-wise, that worked out fairly well, though it did make one hell of a (completely predictable) spike in my heart rate. I hope that spike didn't ruin the efficacy of the ride, but I have no way of knowing.
All in all, though, I think it worked out about as well as it could have. The Under Armour hood that I mentioned a few days ago arrived yesterday, so I was happy to wear it today. And, as planned, I left the face-cover on it down. It was great, although I might have welcomed wearing my ski goggles as well. Anyway, I probably won't wear that all that often, but I am glad to have it. Tomorrow's supposed to be around 20F, so I'll skip it, but the days after are supposed to be down to single digits. I'll wear it then, possibly with the goggles. I just hope the prediction of snow for tomorrow evening is off; I do not want to deal with snow at that temperature range. Perhaps more to the point, I don't want to be riding my hybrid at that temperature. We'll see.
20150206
Do not go gently, into that good [morning]
I haven't talked about riding in quite a while. Last Saturday was very cold (19F), and I decided to carry water for the first time in a while. Well, I didn't drink the water, and it ended up freezing (at least, the hose from the reservoir) before I'd even gotten halfway through.
Other than that, the ride out to Potomac was quite nice, and I had a good time. My fingers were a bit chilled, but nothing overwhelming. I'm certainly glad that, despite the hard ride, I chose the mittens.
My only disappointment with the ride was that I didn't manage to set hardly any PRs. I'd felt like I was doing very well, but apparently only ok. The long hill at the end of MacArthur, I'd felt like I'd done very well. Not that I managed to push my hardest, but I felt like I'd maintained my power quite a long while. But that wasn't quite what happened: I set a PR for the bottom half, but not for the whole hill.
Not a big deal, but I was certainly hoping for better.
Sunday wasn't all that interesting. I did a long, but slow, ride that was chilly but mostly pleasant. The one oddity was that I was wearing my balaclava, and was feeling the cold (for a while, anyway) through the top of it. It also kept trying to ride up around the left edge of my mouth. Nothing disastrous, but it was fairly annoying. I might need to find a nicer balaclava (I need to look it up again, but I remember seeing an Under Armour one that looked really nice).
Monday was gentle on the road, though a decent distance, which I supplemented with half an hour or so on the trainer (mostly to do some intervals). The only really interesting thing about it was that I tacked on a couple miles (unplanned) at the end that went over a new route through Falls Church. That stretch also ended up adding a lot of hills (which was good, I guess). And I should mention that the temperature was relatively balmy, being just above freezing.
Tuesday was pretty cold, getting down to 19F, but I stayed on the same route as Monday. Again, since I did intervals later Monday, it was a gentle ride. And again, I got home right when I wanted to (both days, I was a bit worried).
On Wednesday, I started out on the same route as Monday, taking George Mason Dr into Shirlington, but I decided to come back a different way, taking the W&OD trail back all the way to the Metro station. From there, I turned the same way towards home, ending up with a slightly shorter, and less vertical (and colder), route. But I stayed warm and got through it.
Thursday, I'd planned on a much harder ride. When I woke up fifteen minutes early, I was going to do my long trail ride, but at the last minute decided to do hills instead. And thank goodness I did. I went on a new route of my own devising, and I liked what I ended up with. I took 26th down to Military, took Military to Nelly Custis to Lorcom, back up Military, all the way to Glebe. I turned around there, but decided that I wouldn't do all of Military again. I went back over two hills, then turned around, came back over one of them, then turned off onto 35th to Dittmar to Glebe. From there, I went over to Williamsburg, and turned somewhat towards home there.
But I took Williamsburg past Old Dominion, and was going to do a lap or two around Kirby and Powhatan when my chain came off at the bottom of a hill. I got off to put it back, and saw that it had actually snapped, with a link coming apart. I did have my tools with me (not a given, as I had forgotten them the couple days before), but don't carry a spare chain pin. So I had to walk home (well, I could coast down the couple of hills along the way). Not fun.
In a way, I was still lucky, though, as that could have happened at several worse places (the foot of Powhatan, for instance, would have been a nightmare). And, while eight miles wasn't a lot, it was enough to be a pretty decent workout, as I was riding quite hard.
And, getting back to my route selection, if it had broken on the trail route instead of the hill route, I'd've had to have called a cab to get home. And that would have made me quite late. That would not have gone over well, to put it mildly.
I got the chain changed that night (I did have a spare), although that was a close call. And I had forgotten the trick to getting the chain on, but reminded myself after a few minutes of frustration. Hopefully, next time I'll remember right away.
Today was a gentle ride, and when I woke up early again, I decided to do the shortest of my various trail routes (nineteen miles). It was going well, despite the cold (12F instead of the 17 forecasted), until I got to about 13.5 miles in. At that point, my torso started feeling cold, despite the heavy layers, so I decided that I needed to start biking much harder.
I didn't set any records, the rest of the way, but I was close a few times. And I was pushing pretty hard. In fact, on George Mason, I pushed about the hardest I'd yet done, but was quite a ways from my fastest attempt. That's happened several times lately, and I wish I knew why.
Anyway, most importantly, I made it home safely, and without hypothermic issues (beyond mild discomfort).
What was weird was that the new chain seems to've solved my front shifting issues, but introduced rear-shifting ones. Not too bad, but slightly annoying. The front issues from earlier were more serious.
I wondered, too, about trying to fix the old chain. I realized I was close to 3000 miles on it, and that's what decided me against it - I've heard that chains generally last about that long, although I think that was an unusual failure mode, even with that. This morning, though, I finally figured out how many miles I had on the old one. It was 2985, so I really felt good about my decision to not try to resuscitate it after that.
Anyway, after rough (if shortened a bit) rides the last two days, tomorrow will definitely be a "take it easy" day. And the weather looks like it'll cooperate, as it's forecast to be in the high 20's. That certainly isn't warm, but it should be warm enough.
Other than that, the ride out to Potomac was quite nice, and I had a good time. My fingers were a bit chilled, but nothing overwhelming. I'm certainly glad that, despite the hard ride, I chose the mittens.
My only disappointment with the ride was that I didn't manage to set hardly any PRs. I'd felt like I was doing very well, but apparently only ok. The long hill at the end of MacArthur, I'd felt like I'd done very well. Not that I managed to push my hardest, but I felt like I'd maintained my power quite a long while. But that wasn't quite what happened: I set a PR for the bottom half, but not for the whole hill.
Not a big deal, but I was certainly hoping for better.
Sunday wasn't all that interesting. I did a long, but slow, ride that was chilly but mostly pleasant. The one oddity was that I was wearing my balaclava, and was feeling the cold (for a while, anyway) through the top of it. It also kept trying to ride up around the left edge of my mouth. Nothing disastrous, but it was fairly annoying. I might need to find a nicer balaclava (I need to look it up again, but I remember seeing an Under Armour one that looked really nice).
Monday was gentle on the road, though a decent distance, which I supplemented with half an hour or so on the trainer (mostly to do some intervals). The only really interesting thing about it was that I tacked on a couple miles (unplanned) at the end that went over a new route through Falls Church. That stretch also ended up adding a lot of hills (which was good, I guess). And I should mention that the temperature was relatively balmy, being just above freezing.
Tuesday was pretty cold, getting down to 19F, but I stayed on the same route as Monday. Again, since I did intervals later Monday, it was a gentle ride. And again, I got home right when I wanted to (both days, I was a bit worried).
On Wednesday, I started out on the same route as Monday, taking George Mason Dr into Shirlington, but I decided to come back a different way, taking the W&OD trail back all the way to the Metro station. From there, I turned the same way towards home, ending up with a slightly shorter, and less vertical (and colder), route. But I stayed warm and got through it.
Thursday, I'd planned on a much harder ride. When I woke up fifteen minutes early, I was going to do my long trail ride, but at the last minute decided to do hills instead. And thank goodness I did. I went on a new route of my own devising, and I liked what I ended up with. I took 26th down to Military, took Military to Nelly Custis to Lorcom, back up Military, all the way to Glebe. I turned around there, but decided that I wouldn't do all of Military again. I went back over two hills, then turned around, came back over one of them, then turned off onto 35th to Dittmar to Glebe. From there, I went over to Williamsburg, and turned somewhat towards home there.
But I took Williamsburg past Old Dominion, and was going to do a lap or two around Kirby and Powhatan when my chain came off at the bottom of a hill. I got off to put it back, and saw that it had actually snapped, with a link coming apart. I did have my tools with me (not a given, as I had forgotten them the couple days before), but don't carry a spare chain pin. So I had to walk home (well, I could coast down the couple of hills along the way). Not fun.
In a way, I was still lucky, though, as that could have happened at several worse places (the foot of Powhatan, for instance, would have been a nightmare). And, while eight miles wasn't a lot, it was enough to be a pretty decent workout, as I was riding quite hard.
And, getting back to my route selection, if it had broken on the trail route instead of the hill route, I'd've had to have called a cab to get home. And that would have made me quite late. That would not have gone over well, to put it mildly.
I got the chain changed that night (I did have a spare), although that was a close call. And I had forgotten the trick to getting the chain on, but reminded myself after a few minutes of frustration. Hopefully, next time I'll remember right away.
Today was a gentle ride, and when I woke up early again, I decided to do the shortest of my various trail routes (nineteen miles). It was going well, despite the cold (12F instead of the 17 forecasted), until I got to about 13.5 miles in. At that point, my torso started feeling cold, despite the heavy layers, so I decided that I needed to start biking much harder.
I didn't set any records, the rest of the way, but I was close a few times. And I was pushing pretty hard. In fact, on George Mason, I pushed about the hardest I'd yet done, but was quite a ways from my fastest attempt. That's happened several times lately, and I wish I knew why.
Anyway, most importantly, I made it home safely, and without hypothermic issues (beyond mild discomfort).
What was weird was that the new chain seems to've solved my front shifting issues, but introduced rear-shifting ones. Not too bad, but slightly annoying. The front issues from earlier were more serious.
I wondered, too, about trying to fix the old chain. I realized I was close to 3000 miles on it, and that's what decided me against it - I've heard that chains generally last about that long, although I think that was an unusual failure mode, even with that. This morning, though, I finally figured out how many miles I had on the old one. It was 2985, so I really felt good about my decision to not try to resuscitate it after that.
Anyway, after rough (if shortened a bit) rides the last two days, tomorrow will definitely be a "take it easy" day. And the weather looks like it'll cooperate, as it's forecast to be in the high 20's. That certainly isn't warm, but it should be warm enough.
20150129
Forcing through frost
For this morning's ride, I went back to my road bike. And that felt like a good decision for a while, despite the temperature being in the teens (it was supposed to be 3-4 degrees warmer). And then I got past the Metro at East Falls Church, and saw a bit of ice. The first bit wasn't bad, and I went another half mile or so until I saw a second.
And that one wasn't good, but at least it was short. Then there was a longer stretch, but the ice was mostly covered in snow (never would have guessed that I would preferentially choose snow for riding, but it was worlds better than the bits of exposed ice). Then there was more. By the time I got to the third street after Rt 29, I gave up and went to a nearly parallel road. I went on the road for several blocks, then looked at taking the bridge across Rt 7.
The path to the bridge was clear, but the bridge was completely covered in snow (and maybe ice under that), so I turned around, and went back to the road. Then down Rt 7 to Idylwood, where I turned right (my original path would have taken the bike trail to Virginia Ave, then a block on a road whose name I forget, and then turning right onto Idylwood. Essentially, I cut out a couple of miles by turning there.
And that was probably a good decision, even if my snow/ice concerns were unfounded (which would surprise me), because going down Idylwood was when the cold started bothering me. And man, did it ever.
I was balling my hands up, and still feeling it. In fact, my face was even feeling cold, and I think that's the first time that was bothering me (I've only occasionally covered as much as my chin; usually, I have nothing covered there. The one time I covered more than that, at the end of a ride, the minute or two that I did it was enough to convince me that doing so is a terrible idea).
But I soldiered on, and made it home. I do think that the mittens I was extolling so much yesterday (forgot to mention: Burton AK 3L Hover Mitts) are just better for the hybrid (because of the flat bar and shifter mechanism). I have to hold my hands a little differently, which exposes them (especially the thumbs) slightly more (or a lot more, depending on my grip). Also, while I can do all my shifting that way, going down the cassette or down the chainring is tough.
Plus, I just got the bike back from the shop, where the brifter got replaced. The brifter itself is fine, but I also asked them to look at the front derailleur, because I was having occasional problems with that. Well, I'm still having the same problems. Maybe it worked a little better the first time or two, but then it was right back where it'd been a week ago. Not sure what to do about that.
Regardless, another recovery tomorrow, then riding hard on Saturday.
And that one wasn't good, but at least it was short. Then there was a longer stretch, but the ice was mostly covered in snow (never would have guessed that I would preferentially choose snow for riding, but it was worlds better than the bits of exposed ice). Then there was more. By the time I got to the third street after Rt 29, I gave up and went to a nearly parallel road. I went on the road for several blocks, then looked at taking the bridge across Rt 7.
The path to the bridge was clear, but the bridge was completely covered in snow (and maybe ice under that), so I turned around, and went back to the road. Then down Rt 7 to Idylwood, where I turned right (my original path would have taken the bike trail to Virginia Ave, then a block on a road whose name I forget, and then turning right onto Idylwood. Essentially, I cut out a couple of miles by turning there.
And that was probably a good decision, even if my snow/ice concerns were unfounded (which would surprise me), because going down Idylwood was when the cold started bothering me. And man, did it ever.
I was balling my hands up, and still feeling it. In fact, my face was even feeling cold, and I think that's the first time that was bothering me (I've only occasionally covered as much as my chin; usually, I have nothing covered there. The one time I covered more than that, at the end of a ride, the minute or two that I did it was enough to convince me that doing so is a terrible idea).
But I soldiered on, and made it home. I do think that the mittens I was extolling so much yesterday (forgot to mention: Burton AK 3L Hover Mitts) are just better for the hybrid (because of the flat bar and shifter mechanism). I have to hold my hands a little differently, which exposes them (especially the thumbs) slightly more (or a lot more, depending on my grip). Also, while I can do all my shifting that way, going down the cassette or down the chainring is tough.
Plus, I just got the bike back from the shop, where the brifter got replaced. The brifter itself is fine, but I also asked them to look at the front derailleur, because I was having occasional problems with that. Well, I'm still having the same problems. Maybe it worked a little better the first time or two, but then it was right back where it'd been a week ago. Not sure what to do about that.
Regardless, another recovery tomorrow, then riding hard on Saturday.
20150122
Get your sh!t together
This morning did not start out well. I got up on time, but immediately remembered that I hadn't charged my phone last night. I found it, put it on the charger, then got dressed to ride.
I got out the door, and immediately realized I'd also forgotten to put the lights on the bike last night, and therefore left them inside. Walked around the house, inside, walked through to get them, then got started again. Three-tenths of a mile later, I realized I'd also forgotten my helmet due to changing my mind at the last minute about which jacket I was going to use (the FuguJack I put on has an integrated hood/balaclava).
Went back to the house, walked through again, got the helmet and got out the door. When I got home, I was informed that that trip through the house had woken the little one. Ugh.
Finally got on the road, and realized that I wasn't going to have time to do my planned ride, despite it not being a recovery day. But once I was on the road, things went just fine. I ended up getting back a little earlier than I'd planned, but that might have been a good thing, given that I'd woken the little one up.
I did manage to get a little ride in, in the afternoon, as well. That wasn't bad, even with the snow that was coming down at the time. I experimented with a new route, mostly just for the hybrid, and that worked out pretty well.
I got out the door, and immediately realized I'd also forgotten to put the lights on the bike last night, and therefore left them inside. Walked around the house, inside, walked through to get them, then got started again. Three-tenths of a mile later, I realized I'd also forgotten my helmet due to changing my mind at the last minute about which jacket I was going to use (the FuguJack I put on has an integrated hood/balaclava).
Went back to the house, walked through again, got the helmet and got out the door. When I got home, I was informed that that trip through the house had woken the little one. Ugh.
Finally got on the road, and realized that I wasn't going to have time to do my planned ride, despite it not being a recovery day. But once I was on the road, things went just fine. I ended up getting back a little earlier than I'd planned, but that might have been a good thing, given that I'd woken the little one up.
I did manage to get a little ride in, in the afternoon, as well. That wasn't bad, even with the snow that was coming down at the time. I experimented with a new route, mostly just for the hybrid, and that worked out pretty well.
20150116
It was the best of times, it was...
Yeah, not the best, Wednesday morning. First, I woke up, and it sounded like the cars on the road were driving on very wet pavement.
I'd checked the weather the afternoon or evening (I forget exactly when) before, and it was promising very cold (20F) but dry. Well, it turned out to be snowing.
Then I got to my bikes. The pedals were on the road bike (I probably need to buy a second pair), plus I had forgotten to charge the phone. On my first glance, I thought it said 10%, which was probably enough for the ride. When I went to turn the computer on, I saw that the phone was actually saying 1%; not even enough to stay alive for the ride without recording for Strava. Double ugh.
I still wasn't sure about the snow, so I went out with the road bike once I'd gotten dressed. I decided, because of the salt on the roads, to take a bit of a chance with it.
But because the road conditions had me worried, I stayed on a big street, and basically went five miles down that street, then turned around and came straight back.
Aside from the worry, and the snow blowing into my eyes (especially at the beginning), it wasn't a bad ride, but I'm still glad I didn't push it any further.
Insult was added to injury, on the snow front, when I went to take my daughter to the bus, and I found the ski goggles I'd ordered eight days earlier had finally arrived (I'd ordered them via Prime, so I'm not sure what happened. Very irritating, regardless of why).
The rest of the day went pretty well, except that I forgot to set the DVR to record the Caps game (had forgotten they were playing, and I only record automatically on CSN/+). But my wife took me out for a very tasty (if extremely sinful, especially after I downed the extra-large slice of cheesecake).
That cheesecake came back to bite me a bit the next morning, when I woke up with a slightly upset stomach. But I plowed into my normal ride (on clear roads and paths, this time), and felt pretty decent by the end of it.
This morning, my legs felt a little tired (which seems to be happening a lot recently, and I still don't know why; aside from doing four minutes of intervals each of Tuesday and Wednesday, I haven't pushed it in about a week), but otherwise things went well. Although it was a bit colder than forecast (said 28F, but was mostly 25-27F, and got as low as 23F for a bit).
The one thing that I wonder about is that I saw quite a few more bikers this morning than I had in a week or more. No idea why.
One thing I have decided. I need to find a way to increase my output by a bit when I'm not paying full attention. I tend to slide back to 70-80W, and I need to keep it up at 120-ish. That'll get me done quite a bit faster without pushing me into Zone 3. I also think I need to start doing some form of exercise that will work on pulling my legs upwards. I think that'll help quite a bit when I'm looking to push hard (and maybe a little even when I'm not).
I'd checked the weather the afternoon or evening (I forget exactly when) before, and it was promising very cold (20F) but dry. Well, it turned out to be snowing.
Then I got to my bikes. The pedals were on the road bike (I probably need to buy a second pair), plus I had forgotten to charge the phone. On my first glance, I thought it said 10%, which was probably enough for the ride. When I went to turn the computer on, I saw that the phone was actually saying 1%; not even enough to stay alive for the ride without recording for Strava. Double ugh.
I still wasn't sure about the snow, so I went out with the road bike once I'd gotten dressed. I decided, because of the salt on the roads, to take a bit of a chance with it.
But because the road conditions had me worried, I stayed on a big street, and basically went five miles down that street, then turned around and came straight back.
Aside from the worry, and the snow blowing into my eyes (especially at the beginning), it wasn't a bad ride, but I'm still glad I didn't push it any further.
Insult was added to injury, on the snow front, when I went to take my daughter to the bus, and I found the ski goggles I'd ordered eight days earlier had finally arrived (I'd ordered them via Prime, so I'm not sure what happened. Very irritating, regardless of why).
The rest of the day went pretty well, except that I forgot to set the DVR to record the Caps game (had forgotten they were playing, and I only record automatically on CSN/+). But my wife took me out for a very tasty (if extremely sinful, especially after I downed the extra-large slice of cheesecake).
That cheesecake came back to bite me a bit the next morning, when I woke up with a slightly upset stomach. But I plowed into my normal ride (on clear roads and paths, this time), and felt pretty decent by the end of it.
This morning, my legs felt a little tired (which seems to be happening a lot recently, and I still don't know why; aside from doing four minutes of intervals each of Tuesday and Wednesday, I haven't pushed it in about a week), but otherwise things went well. Although it was a bit colder than forecast (said 28F, but was mostly 25-27F, and got as low as 23F for a bit).
The one thing that I wonder about is that I saw quite a few more bikers this morning than I had in a week or more. No idea why.
One thing I have decided. I need to find a way to increase my output by a bit when I'm not paying full attention. I tend to slide back to 70-80W, and I need to keep it up at 120-ish. That'll get me done quite a bit faster without pushing me into Zone 3. I also think I need to start doing some form of exercise that will work on pulling my legs upwards. I think that'll help quite a bit when I'm looking to push hard (and maybe a little even when I'm not).
20150108
And a cold day for all
I knew today was going to be cold; it was projected at 9F, as of last night. So I got out lots of clothes. Two pairs of socks for my feet. Shorts and tights for my legs (although not the thermal shorts, as they were already dirty). Base layer and jersey for my torso. Ski gloves and liners for my hands. FuguJack for the outer shell.
The only thing I didn't do, that I would have, is to wear a helmet cover for my head, but I don't have one of those. Well, and the gloves that I was expecting to arrive yesterday did not; I was pretty pissed about that. Somehow (assuming they arrive today), they will have taken two days to go fifteen miles or so. A handoff to the post office (from UPS) had something to do with it; the irony there being that UPS still had to deliver some other packages today. Regardless of the reason, it pissed me off to be missing cold-weather gloves on the coldest day of the year.
In any event, I got out on the road at the normal time, riding the hybrid. I skipped any trails, so I might have been ok on the road bike, but didn't want to chance it (plus, the avoiding of the trails was not really a planned decision; more of one made while riding).
I got down to Shirlington, still feeling pretty well. I only had the tiniest bit of chilliness in my fingers, and felt fine everywhere else. But when I circled around Shirlington, I noticed that my phone or RFLKT+ had died, and after a couple minutes I figured out how to tell that it was the phone that had gotten too cold. Ugh.
Since I was feeling a little bit in my fingers, I was already starting to think about turning around. Seeing the phone dead confirmed that decision, and I felt really good about the decision once I realized that the phone being dead meant that I could end up in real danger if I had some sort of mechanical problem with the (sixteen or seventeen year old) bike.
So I ended up going straight home; I thought about the same side trip to East Falls Church I'd taken the last couple of days, but decided that my fingers weren't going to handle it. Plus, I was even more likely to have trouble with mechanical issues.
My timing ended up being pretty good, as I got home right as my wife was outside to get the newspaper. That meant I could take the bike straight inside, rather than leaving it in the garage for a while as I normally do. Plus, I didn't need to take my hands out of my gloves to get the garage open. Win, win.
One thing that occurred to me, that I didn't test, is that I might be able to wear my new middle-layer jacket under my FuguJack. When I got home, I tested that, and it fits ok (not perfect, of course, but workable, I think). So instead of a heavy base layer and jersey, I think I'll wear that jacket under the fugujack, next time I find temperatures in the single digits. Or maybe a heavy base layer and the smartwool midlayer that I just remembered that I have (and that I got for just such days). I guess we'll see. The limiting factor will still be the gloves, though, I'm pretty sure.
Well, tomorrow will feel balmy, with temperatures in the mid to low 20s projected. Recovery day. And I think I'll ride the road bike.
The only thing I didn't do, that I would have, is to wear a helmet cover for my head, but I don't have one of those. Well, and the gloves that I was expecting to arrive yesterday did not; I was pretty pissed about that. Somehow (assuming they arrive today), they will have taken two days to go fifteen miles or so. A handoff to the post office (from UPS) had something to do with it; the irony there being that UPS still had to deliver some other packages today. Regardless of the reason, it pissed me off to be missing cold-weather gloves on the coldest day of the year.
In any event, I got out on the road at the normal time, riding the hybrid. I skipped any trails, so I might have been ok on the road bike, but didn't want to chance it (plus, the avoiding of the trails was not really a planned decision; more of one made while riding).
I got down to Shirlington, still feeling pretty well. I only had the tiniest bit of chilliness in my fingers, and felt fine everywhere else. But when I circled around Shirlington, I noticed that my phone or RFLKT+ had died, and after a couple minutes I figured out how to tell that it was the phone that had gotten too cold. Ugh.
Since I was feeling a little bit in my fingers, I was already starting to think about turning around. Seeing the phone dead confirmed that decision, and I felt really good about the decision once I realized that the phone being dead meant that I could end up in real danger if I had some sort of mechanical problem with the (sixteen or seventeen year old) bike.
So I ended up going straight home; I thought about the same side trip to East Falls Church I'd taken the last couple of days, but decided that my fingers weren't going to handle it. Plus, I was even more likely to have trouble with mechanical issues.
My timing ended up being pretty good, as I got home right as my wife was outside to get the newspaper. That meant I could take the bike straight inside, rather than leaving it in the garage for a while as I normally do. Plus, I didn't need to take my hands out of my gloves to get the garage open. Win, win.
One thing that occurred to me, that I didn't test, is that I might be able to wear my new middle-layer jacket under my FuguJack. When I got home, I tested that, and it fits ok (not perfect, of course, but workable, I think). So instead of a heavy base layer and jersey, I think I'll wear that jacket under the fugujack, next time I find temperatures in the single digits. Or maybe a heavy base layer and the smartwool midlayer that I just remembered that I have (and that I got for just such days). I guess we'll see. The limiting factor will still be the gloves, though, I'm pretty sure.
Well, tomorrow will feel balmy, with temperatures in the mid to low 20s projected. Recovery day. And I think I'll ride the road bike.
20150102
Still recovering
Recovery rides the last two days that have both ended up being more exciting than I would have wished.
Two days ago, it was 23F when I left the house. I was bundled pretty warmly (almost as warmly as I can, actually), but still found my fingers to be cold pretty soon. I debated turning around right away (well, four or so miles out), but decided to stretch things a little longer, since it was just my fingers.
So I took a different route into Shirlington (though I did get there; my turnaround from last time would have kept me just short of it) than my usual. As I was going in, I noticed that there was nothing on my RFLKT+ computer; I figured that the battery on that had died. Annoying, but not entirely unexpected (though more impactful than usual, since my power meter is hooked up via ANT+, not BTLE), since the battery indicator on it has looked dead since the ride out to Purcellville.
Anyway, while meandering through there, I decided that I really should turn around, so I did. Shortly after I'd turned back, desperation gave rise to invention, and I curled my fingers up inside my glove, one hand at a time. It didn't restore them to warmth, but did get them back to "not painful".
So on the way back, I decided to extend the ride a bit more, eventually turning off of George Mason Drive back onto the Custis Trail, and heading back towards the East Falls Church Metro, whence it is easy to return home. Despite my best efforts, though, my fingers were still getting very cold, so I didn't extend things beyond that point.
When I reached home, I found that my fingers, while painful, weren't nearly as uncomfortable as they'd been a couple of times in the past. So that was good news. But when I pulled my phone out to hit 'Stop', I found that the reason the RFLKT+ had turned off was that the iPhone had shut itself off due to the cold (once again, helpfully explaining that it needed to cool down).
So my recorded ride was less than five miles, even though the total trip was more like seventeen. A bit irritating, to be sure.
What was amusing was that I was credited with 2015 KOM (King Of the Mountain) for two segments that were on the recorded part of the ride. Doubtless due to being the first Strava user going over them, though, as I wasn't going quickly (something like twice my PR on each of them).
Today's ride, it was a little warmer (freezing to a few degrees colder), so I went with my new Assos FuguJack (bought only when I found a new one at half price), to see how it would do. The good part was that my iPhone, in the pocket, stayed on throughout. The bad part was that I was chilly through much of the ride (and definitely taking advantage of moving my fingers into the palms of the gloves regularly), occasionally getting to the point of shivering. And that was with my warmest base layer (though only those two layers, overall).
So that jacket is definitely not enough when the temperatures get below freezing, for recovery rides. I suspect, though, that it'll be fine even down colder than the 21F that it is advertised as being for, when riding hard.
But now I realize that I still don't have an answer for gloves in the cold. Not for right around freezing, and wet, or for below that and dry (for recovery rides, at least; my Black Diamond gloves are fine for hard rides). I think the only things better, for straight gloves, are Arcteryx, but they're crazy-expensive. And while lobsters sound intriguing, I'm reluctant to get more Pearl Izumi gloves (their cuffs don't handle water satisfactorily).
Oh, and I got a ton more trophies this morning on Strava, for 2015 KOMs or top-10s. One of them was second along Potomac Avenue, which amused me, as the person who had first passed me. I do wonder if they'd've been able to pass me if I was riding hard (they were going along pretty good). Again, though, the times were way off my best. The Potomac Ave one in question, in particular, I did in 7:18, and my best is 4:46.
Anyway, looks like tomorrow will be the acid test of a lot of things; it's going to be right around freezing, and raining or snowing. So I'll have to get the hybrid (with the snow tires) out for the first time in a while. Which means it'll really need to be another recovery ride, as I don't want to push things with that bike. We'll see how it goes (it'll also be my first time on those tires).
Two days ago, it was 23F when I left the house. I was bundled pretty warmly (almost as warmly as I can, actually), but still found my fingers to be cold pretty soon. I debated turning around right away (well, four or so miles out), but decided to stretch things a little longer, since it was just my fingers.
So I took a different route into Shirlington (though I did get there; my turnaround from last time would have kept me just short of it) than my usual. As I was going in, I noticed that there was nothing on my RFLKT+ computer; I figured that the battery on that had died. Annoying, but not entirely unexpected (though more impactful than usual, since my power meter is hooked up via ANT+, not BTLE), since the battery indicator on it has looked dead since the ride out to Purcellville.
Anyway, while meandering through there, I decided that I really should turn around, so I did. Shortly after I'd turned back, desperation gave rise to invention, and I curled my fingers up inside my glove, one hand at a time. It didn't restore them to warmth, but did get them back to "not painful".
So on the way back, I decided to extend the ride a bit more, eventually turning off of George Mason Drive back onto the Custis Trail, and heading back towards the East Falls Church Metro, whence it is easy to return home. Despite my best efforts, though, my fingers were still getting very cold, so I didn't extend things beyond that point.
When I reached home, I found that my fingers, while painful, weren't nearly as uncomfortable as they'd been a couple of times in the past. So that was good news. But when I pulled my phone out to hit 'Stop', I found that the reason the RFLKT+ had turned off was that the iPhone had shut itself off due to the cold (once again, helpfully explaining that it needed to cool down).
So my recorded ride was less than five miles, even though the total trip was more like seventeen. A bit irritating, to be sure.
What was amusing was that I was credited with 2015 KOM (King Of the Mountain) for two segments that were on the recorded part of the ride. Doubtless due to being the first Strava user going over them, though, as I wasn't going quickly (something like twice my PR on each of them).
Today's ride, it was a little warmer (freezing to a few degrees colder), so I went with my new Assos FuguJack (bought only when I found a new one at half price), to see how it would do. The good part was that my iPhone, in the pocket, stayed on throughout. The bad part was that I was chilly through much of the ride (and definitely taking advantage of moving my fingers into the palms of the gloves regularly), occasionally getting to the point of shivering. And that was with my warmest base layer (though only those two layers, overall).
So that jacket is definitely not enough when the temperatures get below freezing, for recovery rides. I suspect, though, that it'll be fine even down colder than the 21F that it is advertised as being for, when riding hard.
But now I realize that I still don't have an answer for gloves in the cold. Not for right around freezing, and wet, or for below that and dry (for recovery rides, at least; my Black Diamond gloves are fine for hard rides). I think the only things better, for straight gloves, are Arcteryx, but they're crazy-expensive. And while lobsters sound intriguing, I'm reluctant to get more Pearl Izumi gloves (their cuffs don't handle water satisfactorily).
Oh, and I got a ton more trophies this morning on Strava, for 2015 KOMs or top-10s. One of them was second along Potomac Avenue, which amused me, as the person who had first passed me. I do wonder if they'd've been able to pass me if I was riding hard (they were going along pretty good). Again, though, the times were way off my best. The Potomac Ave one in question, in particular, I did in 7:18, and my best is 4:46.
Anyway, looks like tomorrow will be the acid test of a lot of things; it's going to be right around freezing, and raining or snowing. So I'll have to get the hybrid (with the snow tires) out for the first time in a while. Which means it'll really need to be another recovery ride, as I don't want to push things with that bike. We'll see how it goes (it'll also be my first time on those tires).
20141220
Ten miles of pain
The forecast for this morning, as of my going to bed, was for 30F, and dry.
So I dressed in a light base-layer shirt, softshell jacket, bib shorts, leg warmers, socks, skullcap, and boots. That is, normal clothes for right at freezing (actually, a tad warmer, as I sometimes just wear a summer jersey under the jacket at that temperature). It turns out it was only 23F (which I didn't find out until I returned), plus the group ride wasn't happening, so it was supposed to be an easy day of riding today. The intersection of temperature, clothing, and exertion level was just not right.
It didn't start out too bad. I was pretty sure it was colder than thirty, just based on the amount of frost on car windows, but it didn't feel bad.
After a couple of miles, I got on the bike trail at the normal place, and things still didn't seem too bad. I was feeling it a little on my lower torso when I sat upright, but that's about it. After getting a mile or two down the trail, it started feeling even colder, and that's when things went downhill. Next, I had to zip my jacket all the way up to the top (which doesn't sound like much, but I hadn't been doing it recently). Then my fingers started getting chilled (ok, that was no unexpected).
When my legs started getting cold, I decided I needed to cut things short from my planned 20-25 miles, even if only to go home and get more clothes on. So I turned back on the roads, and even cut it a mile or so shorter than my original turn-back plan. But it was still painful; I needed to speed up, just to keep myself warm.
I noticed the roads were a little bit warmer, but probably only a couple degrees. It certainly wasn't enough to stay out longer.
And going home turned out to be a longer trip than I'd expected; by the time I got home, I was almost at eleven miles. But after getting inside, I didn't even slightly feel like going back out. I came in, got my daughter to go back to bed, and then got breakfast.
Digesting breakfast was enough to leave me shivering from cold; not a pleasant feeling at all. I've been ok since taking my shower, but it wasn't fun.
Now I know: for an "easy" day, I need an extra layer, top and bottom, to do it. The fingers are still an unknown, but I think they'll be decent if the rest of me is warm. Unpleasant, but decent.
The next two days are supposed to be right around freezing when I ride. If one is colder than projected, I'll do a harder ride that day. If both are, I guess I'll need to go back more quickly, and add that extra layer on Monday.
So I dressed in a light base-layer shirt, softshell jacket, bib shorts, leg warmers, socks, skullcap, and boots. That is, normal clothes for right at freezing (actually, a tad warmer, as I sometimes just wear a summer jersey under the jacket at that temperature). It turns out it was only 23F (which I didn't find out until I returned), plus the group ride wasn't happening, so it was supposed to be an easy day of riding today. The intersection of temperature, clothing, and exertion level was just not right.
It didn't start out too bad. I was pretty sure it was colder than thirty, just based on the amount of frost on car windows, but it didn't feel bad.
After a couple of miles, I got on the bike trail at the normal place, and things still didn't seem too bad. I was feeling it a little on my lower torso when I sat upright, but that's about it. After getting a mile or two down the trail, it started feeling even colder, and that's when things went downhill. Next, I had to zip my jacket all the way up to the top (which doesn't sound like much, but I hadn't been doing it recently). Then my fingers started getting chilled (ok, that was no unexpected).
When my legs started getting cold, I decided I needed to cut things short from my planned 20-25 miles, even if only to go home and get more clothes on. So I turned back on the roads, and even cut it a mile or so shorter than my original turn-back plan. But it was still painful; I needed to speed up, just to keep myself warm.
I noticed the roads were a little bit warmer, but probably only a couple degrees. It certainly wasn't enough to stay out longer.
And going home turned out to be a longer trip than I'd expected; by the time I got home, I was almost at eleven miles. But after getting inside, I didn't even slightly feel like going back out. I came in, got my daughter to go back to bed, and then got breakfast.
Digesting breakfast was enough to leave me shivering from cold; not a pleasant feeling at all. I've been ok since taking my shower, but it wasn't fun.
Now I know: for an "easy" day, I need an extra layer, top and bottom, to do it. The fingers are still an unknown, but I think they'll be decent if the rest of me is warm. Unpleasant, but decent.
The next two days are supposed to be right around freezing when I ride. If one is colder than projected, I'll do a harder ride that day. If both are, I guess I'll need to go back more quickly, and add that extra layer on Monday.
20141117
And the rain came
Got out at my normal time, this morning. Only did fifteen miles, and I did that in a weird mix of "I'm on a second recovery ride" and "I feel pretty good, so let's push here".
I was a bit annoyed at the air vents in those Northwave boots, though. As suspected, they did let quite a bit of water in the bottom of the boots. So my feet got very wet. Not a really big deal, because this wasn't a super-long or super-cold ride, but definitely annoying. (Really, despite the water, my feet never got at all cold.)
It will end up having been really annoying, though, if they aren't dry by tomorrow morning, because it's supposed to be really frigid. As in, I'll be wearing extra socks (and thinking about booties), if the boots are dry. And if they aren't dry; I'm not sure. It's a certainty that my summer shoes, even with booties, are not warm enough for 21 degrees, which is what's expected.
And I still need to make sure my cold-weather booties fit over the boots (which are a little wider than my shoes; the shoes are already a tight fit for the booties). If not, I might need to get an extra-large pair. Spending the extra money for that would definitely blow chunks.
One thing that is for sure, is that I'll be putting tape over the vents of the boots when going out in the rain, in future. I'll also be wearing my heavy baselayer with my warmest jacket; I won't be wearing the middle layer I just got, though. I think that'll be fine, along with my second-warmest pair of tights (saving the warmest ones for wet weather, mostly).
I was a bit annoyed at the air vents in those Northwave boots, though. As suspected, they did let quite a bit of water in the bottom of the boots. So my feet got very wet. Not a really big deal, because this wasn't a super-long or super-cold ride, but definitely annoying. (Really, despite the water, my feet never got at all cold.)
It will end up having been really annoying, though, if they aren't dry by tomorrow morning, because it's supposed to be really frigid. As in, I'll be wearing extra socks (and thinking about booties), if the boots are dry. And if they aren't dry; I'm not sure. It's a certainty that my summer shoes, even with booties, are not warm enough for 21 degrees, which is what's expected.
And I still need to make sure my cold-weather booties fit over the boots (which are a little wider than my shoes; the shoes are already a tight fit for the booties). If not, I might need to get an extra-large pair. Spending the extra money for that would definitely blow chunks.
One thing that is for sure, is that I'll be putting tape over the vents of the boots when going out in the rain, in future. I'll also be wearing my heavy baselayer with my warmest jacket; I won't be wearing the middle layer I just got, though. I think that'll be fine, along with my second-warmest pair of tights (saving the warmest ones for wet weather, mostly).
20141116
"It'll be warmer tomorrow"
[note: wrote this yesterday, but forgot to post until this morning]
That's what the weather forecast said when I checked it last night. Of course, it still listed a low of 29 degrees, and the up-and-down temperature chart that Weather Underground does (and which I love) went down to 27 degrees.
I put a bunch of warm stuff together for the ride, and got underway at 0530. Roughly at which point, I discovered that it was actually twenty-four degrees. Oof. I was very glad I brought the liner gloves in my jacket pockets. I got seven miles in before I needed to pull those out and put them on.
By the end of my ride (2:06 duration), my fingers were getting close to numb, and my toes were distinctly cold as well. So, high twenties is the limit for those boots with my normal socks; will have to put another layer of socks underneath. And I guess I need warmer gloves.
Aside from the cold, though, not a bad ride. It helped a lot getting me ready for the huge dinner at my step-mom's birthday party.
That's what the weather forecast said when I checked it last night. Of course, it still listed a low of 29 degrees, and the up-and-down temperature chart that Weather Underground does (and which I love) went down to 27 degrees.
I put a bunch of warm stuff together for the ride, and got underway at 0530. Roughly at which point, I discovered that it was actually twenty-four degrees. Oof. I was very glad I brought the liner gloves in my jacket pockets. I got seven miles in before I needed to pull those out and put them on.
By the end of my ride (2:06 duration), my fingers were getting close to numb, and my toes were distinctly cold as well. So, high twenties is the limit for those boots with my normal socks; will have to put another layer of socks underneath. And I guess I need warmer gloves.
Aside from the cold, though, not a bad ride. It helped a lot getting me ready for the huge dinner at my step-mom's birthday party.
20141114
Feeling a chill
The mercury rolled a little colder today, hitting the 20's for the first time this "winter". My biking boots didn't arrive Wednesday, as I'd mentioned they were supposed to, but were still here yesterday for use this morning.
And boy was I glad of that. They're made by Northwave, and I was in love when I first put them on, yesterday. I was lucky in that they fit perfectly, but I also love the closure. I have high insteps, so it's not unusual to end up with my circulation being cut off at the top of them when tightening laces really tight. No issue with these SLW2 closures. Awesome.
When I got outside, my opinion didn't go down, as I didn't feel the cold there at all. In fact, I didn't feel it even at the end of the (hour:forty-five) ride. A very nice feeling. I don't know how cold it'll be before they aren't enough, but I still have the options of booties and more socks. I'm thinking that it's unlikely it'll get cold enough around here for that to be insufficient.
One bit of weirdness is that I needed to adjust my pedal width, as the boots are a bit wider than my shoes. I did that (glad that I have pedals that allow that), and we'll have to see how that works.
My remaining question relates to how waterproof they are. They're GoreTex-lined, so they should be pretty good. There are air vents on the bottom, though, and I don't know if that'll ruin things. If not, then I'll be over the moon, I think.
My other experiment was on the top half. When I went for a long ride last Saturday at around the same temperature (ok, technically a couple degrees warmer), I wore a Pearl Izumi Transfer baselayer and Pro Softshell jacket, which did well. Today, I went with my colder weather baselayer, and my normal windbreaker.
And those worked just fine. I felt the chill a little bit, when the wind was blowing and I was doing 20-ish mph, but it was sporadic, and never enough to bother me. And there was a bit of sweat on the shirt when I'd finished; definitely not overly cold.
The one downside to the ride was that I think I rode too far. My wife's alarm woke me a bit early, so I decided I'd ride a bit further than I'd originally planned. But my legs were a little tired when I started, and a lot tired when I finished (and my power was down a lot, too, which is probably a sign of overdoing things lately). And Friday is not a good day for that to happen; I want to do more riding tomorrow and Sunday, not less. We'll see how I feel, I guess, but I definitely should have taken it easy today.
And boy was I glad of that. They're made by Northwave, and I was in love when I first put them on, yesterday. I was lucky in that they fit perfectly, but I also love the closure. I have high insteps, so it's not unusual to end up with my circulation being cut off at the top of them when tightening laces really tight. No issue with these SLW2 closures. Awesome.
When I got outside, my opinion didn't go down, as I didn't feel the cold there at all. In fact, I didn't feel it even at the end of the (hour:forty-five) ride. A very nice feeling. I don't know how cold it'll be before they aren't enough, but I still have the options of booties and more socks. I'm thinking that it's unlikely it'll get cold enough around here for that to be insufficient.
One bit of weirdness is that I needed to adjust my pedal width, as the boots are a bit wider than my shoes. I did that (glad that I have pedals that allow that), and we'll have to see how that works.
My remaining question relates to how waterproof they are. They're GoreTex-lined, so they should be pretty good. There are air vents on the bottom, though, and I don't know if that'll ruin things. If not, then I'll be over the moon, I think.
My other experiment was on the top half. When I went for a long ride last Saturday at around the same temperature (ok, technically a couple degrees warmer), I wore a Pearl Izumi Transfer baselayer and Pro Softshell jacket, which did well. Today, I went with my colder weather baselayer, and my normal windbreaker.
And those worked just fine. I felt the chill a little bit, when the wind was blowing and I was doing 20-ish mph, but it was sporadic, and never enough to bother me. And there was a bit of sweat on the shirt when I'd finished; definitely not overly cold.
The one downside to the ride was that I think I rode too far. My wife's alarm woke me a bit early, so I decided I'd ride a bit further than I'd originally planned. But my legs were a little tired when I started, and a lot tired when I finished (and my power was down a lot, too, which is probably a sign of overdoing things lately). And Friday is not a good day for that to happen; I want to do more riding tomorrow and Sunday, not less. We'll see how I feel, I guess, but I definitely should have taken it easy today.
20141108
Ride north, young man
I haven't gotten much riding in, the last several days, for various reasons (two of them mechanical problems). So I wanted to get an early start, this morning, and ride a bit further than is my wont. To make things more complicated, I needed to be back at the house by 0800 at the latest, because of my daughter's piano lesson.
Things did not start out well. I thought I'd gotten ready last night, but overlooked two things. One, I put the lights on the charger, but forgot to get them off until after I'd put my shoes, booties, and RoadID on. So I went back to the bedroom to get them, clomping a bit (we do not wear shoes in the house).
Then I went out, and realized I'd forgotten one other thing: my hat. I got half a mile down the road before I realized it, but knew I couldn't ignore it. I went back (clomping, again, which woke the baby a little), and couldn't find the skullcap I've been wearing. So I grabbed my balaclava, which I'd never worn before. (Also, I didn't realize it for a while, but in pulling my zipper back up while doing this, I got it tangled with the thing underneath that's supposed to keep it from tangling with other clothes. This made a mess when I got back.)
To make things worse, when I got a little ways in, I discovered two things. One, the balaclava (I had it down below my chin, which surely made a difference) started humming very loudly when I got over about seventeen miles an hour. And two, I wasn't getting any signal from my power meter.
The latter had me really pissed when, at the furthest point of my ride, I was able to power up a very long hill that I'd died on, the last two times I'd climbed. In fact, I was able to finish the climb by getting out of the saddle and pushing hard. I felt really good about that, and I suspect I'd have a new FTP if the power meter were working.
Other than that, it was fairly uneventful. It was very nice, though; I enjoyed myself immensely. And I was glad I opted for the heavy-duty gloves (without the liners). A bit of a pain on the right shifter, but I didn't get cold (I definitely would have, after a while, with the lighter-weight gloves I normally wear). Also, the leg warmers did just fine. No sagging, and no cold (though as someone who normally doesn't wear pants until it gets well into the twenties, maybe they were overkill. Not sure, though, being outside for two hours).
I wasn't wearing my coldest-weather combinations, but I was close. I can wear tights that are probably a tad warmer on the legs, wear a warmer base layer (after reading reviews, I got one size bigger than the size guide, and was glad I did; it's still skin-tight), maybe wear a second base layer (a Pearl Izumi one) or jersey over that, and have liner gloves to go in the heavy-weight ones. What I haven't figured out is what to do about my feet. Maybe I can wear a second pair of socks. But I was feeling the chill in my toes towards the end of the ride this morning.
When I got back, it took about ten minutes to get the jacket off. And that didn't involve getting the zipper fixed, just down half an inch or so. I was amazed, though, that it only took half a minute or so to fix the zipper once the jacket was off. Otherwise very happy with the jacket, though; I was more worried about being too warm (sweating too much) than too cold. Which is good, since I don't know what I'd wear that's warmer when the temperature gets even lower.
Things did not start out well. I thought I'd gotten ready last night, but overlooked two things. One, I put the lights on the charger, but forgot to get them off until after I'd put my shoes, booties, and RoadID on. So I went back to the bedroom to get them, clomping a bit (we do not wear shoes in the house).
Then I went out, and realized I'd forgotten one other thing: my hat. I got half a mile down the road before I realized it, but knew I couldn't ignore it. I went back (clomping, again, which woke the baby a little), and couldn't find the skullcap I've been wearing. So I grabbed my balaclava, which I'd never worn before. (Also, I didn't realize it for a while, but in pulling my zipper back up while doing this, I got it tangled with the thing underneath that's supposed to keep it from tangling with other clothes. This made a mess when I got back.)
To make things worse, when I got a little ways in, I discovered two things. One, the balaclava (I had it down below my chin, which surely made a difference) started humming very loudly when I got over about seventeen miles an hour. And two, I wasn't getting any signal from my power meter.
The latter had me really pissed when, at the furthest point of my ride, I was able to power up a very long hill that I'd died on, the last two times I'd climbed. In fact, I was able to finish the climb by getting out of the saddle and pushing hard. I felt really good about that, and I suspect I'd have a new FTP if the power meter were working.
Other than that, it was fairly uneventful. It was very nice, though; I enjoyed myself immensely. And I was glad I opted for the heavy-duty gloves (without the liners). A bit of a pain on the right shifter, but I didn't get cold (I definitely would have, after a while, with the lighter-weight gloves I normally wear). Also, the leg warmers did just fine. No sagging, and no cold (though as someone who normally doesn't wear pants until it gets well into the twenties, maybe they were overkill. Not sure, though, being outside for two hours).
I wasn't wearing my coldest-weather combinations, but I was close. I can wear tights that are probably a tad warmer on the legs, wear a warmer base layer (after reading reviews, I got one size bigger than the size guide, and was glad I did; it's still skin-tight), maybe wear a second base layer (a Pearl Izumi one) or jersey over that, and have liner gloves to go in the heavy-weight ones. What I haven't figured out is what to do about my feet. Maybe I can wear a second pair of socks. But I was feeling the chill in my toes towards the end of the ride this morning.
When I got back, it took about ten minutes to get the jacket off. And that didn't involve getting the zipper fixed, just down half an inch or so. I was amazed, though, that it only took half a minute or so to fix the zipper once the jacket was off. Otherwise very happy with the jacket, though; I was more worried about being too warm (sweating too much) than too cold. Which is good, since I don't know what I'd wear that's warmer when the temperature gets even lower.
20141005
A few thoughts on the chill
This morning was my coldest ride so far, at around 39F. I've gotten some cold-weather gear for riding, and was debating how much to test.
I have a pretty high tolerance for cold, so I went with my normal gloves (which I bought for their kevlar protection, not for keeping warm), a windbreaker, and "thermal" biking shorts. I should also point out that I've been using booties for a while (since a day or two before getting my current shoes), but had decided that I'm getting tired of the effort of putting them on and off without ripping them up.
So, how did all that do? Well, the shorts were fine, although I think the odds of being fine in normal biking shorts were pretty good. Wish I hadn't bothered with these, and had saved them for a really cold day.
The gloves were not so good. It's possible that they were still a little damp from yesterday's ride (during which it wasn't raining, but the streets were wet, so lots of water was kicked up), but my fingers were pretty cold through most of the ride. I have warmer gloves, and wish I'd worn them.
The windbreaker ended up being fine. There were a few minutes where I was thinking of my warmer jacket, but I actually wonder, after the fact, if I'd've been fine without any jacket. All of which adds up to it probably being good that I wore what I did.
And now, to the feet. This is a little bit of a weird one. My shoes advertised their ventilation, so I thought it was a bit funny that I immediately put those booties on, which cut off (much of) the ventilation. So I never saw what the ventilation was like, really.
Well, today, eschewing the booties, I got the full effect of the ventilation, and my toes were pretty chilly. Thankfully, I wear Thorlos heavy hiking socks for all occasions and all activities (I think they're the best socks made, and have worn them for fifteen to twenty years. During that time, for 105F ultimate frisbee or sub-freezing skiing. Have yet to find an activity for which they felt out of place. And I just bought my first batch of replacements a year and a half ago. Literally, I cannot give a high enough recommendation for those socks).
I'm going to detour for a minute about the booties, and about pedals. My old pedals were the mountain biking version of Shimano SPDs. Pretty decent pedals; I had no major faults with them. A little bit of a pain getting out of, but not bad.
But I upgraded to Mercury pedals. They're much easier to get out of (I've heard some people complain, but I find them very natural), and about the same to get into.
But getting back to the SPDs, those had pretty sharp spikes on the bottom. Not dangerously so, but they did quite a number on the booties before I noticed. You can get the booties on and off without damage, but it takes quite a bit of care. It takes a lot less with the cleats for the Mercury pedals, but those can do damage as well. Hence, skipping the booties.
Well, won't be skipping the booties below 40F again, for sure. Above that, we'll have to see. For now, I may just go to the cold-weather booties, which I have, but haven't yet worn.
Anyway, the result of all this is that I ended up just doing my normal route, when I'd been planning to add ten miles or so to that. Will have to make up for it later, somehow.
I have a pretty high tolerance for cold, so I went with my normal gloves (which I bought for their kevlar protection, not for keeping warm), a windbreaker, and "thermal" biking shorts. I should also point out that I've been using booties for a while (since a day or two before getting my current shoes), but had decided that I'm getting tired of the effort of putting them on and off without ripping them up.
So, how did all that do? Well, the shorts were fine, although I think the odds of being fine in normal biking shorts were pretty good. Wish I hadn't bothered with these, and had saved them for a really cold day.
The gloves were not so good. It's possible that they were still a little damp from yesterday's ride (during which it wasn't raining, but the streets were wet, so lots of water was kicked up), but my fingers were pretty cold through most of the ride. I have warmer gloves, and wish I'd worn them.
The windbreaker ended up being fine. There were a few minutes where I was thinking of my warmer jacket, but I actually wonder, after the fact, if I'd've been fine without any jacket. All of which adds up to it probably being good that I wore what I did.
And now, to the feet. This is a little bit of a weird one. My shoes advertised their ventilation, so I thought it was a bit funny that I immediately put those booties on, which cut off (much of) the ventilation. So I never saw what the ventilation was like, really.
Well, today, eschewing the booties, I got the full effect of the ventilation, and my toes were pretty chilly. Thankfully, I wear Thorlos heavy hiking socks for all occasions and all activities (I think they're the best socks made, and have worn them for fifteen to twenty years. During that time, for 105F ultimate frisbee or sub-freezing skiing. Have yet to find an activity for which they felt out of place. And I just bought my first batch of replacements a year and a half ago. Literally, I cannot give a high enough recommendation for those socks).
I'm going to detour for a minute about the booties, and about pedals. My old pedals were the mountain biking version of Shimano SPDs. Pretty decent pedals; I had no major faults with them. A little bit of a pain getting out of, but not bad.
But I upgraded to Mercury pedals. They're much easier to get out of (I've heard some people complain, but I find them very natural), and about the same to get into.
But getting back to the SPDs, those had pretty sharp spikes on the bottom. Not dangerously so, but they did quite a number on the booties before I noticed. You can get the booties on and off without damage, but it takes quite a bit of care. It takes a lot less with the cleats for the Mercury pedals, but those can do damage as well. Hence, skipping the booties.
Well, won't be skipping the booties below 40F again, for sure. Above that, we'll have to see. For now, I may just go to the cold-weather booties, which I have, but haven't yet worn.
Anyway, the result of all this is that I ended up just doing my normal route, when I'd been planning to add ten miles or so to that. Will have to make up for it later, somehow.
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