This was last Sunday's "Squigglebration" race in Prospect ParkLook at how much clothes everyone is wearing!
It's that time of year.
I'm going to whine a lot today. If you're not in the mood for it, you might as well stop reading now...
It's the officially the time of year where I have to put on all the clothes I own to go for a bike ride. And it's officially the time of year where I have to make sure I leave for my ride by 2 in the afternoon or it isn't going to happen, because the sun sets everyday by 4:30.
I used to like winter. I used to look forward to skiing and snowshoeing and all that. Now, I can't afford to go skiing, and I feel like any time I have off from work should be spent riding, and getting ready for next season, to make sure that next season isn't as shitty as this past one was.
I also don't like riding in the cold. It seems that no matter what I stick on my hands or feet my fingers and toes always get cold, like really cold. This is a problem that stems back to when I was 16 and went winter hiking for the first time with friends of mine from summer camp. I wasn't properly equipped to keep my hands warm, and I got frost-nip on nine fingers. Frost-nip has the same symptoms as frost-bite, though less severe. It took about two months to get feeling back in all of my fingers, and ever since my hands have been very sensitive to cold.
But back to riding... Last Saturday I went for a ride out to the Saratoga battlefield. It was about 25 degrees. Cold, but not that cold. But even so, about half-way through the ride my hands went completely numb. I did something that I have never done before on a ride. I stopped, took off my gloves, and put my hands next to my chest for a good five minutes, until I could feel my hands again, and until I felt like they were relatively warm. Then I went on my way.
As the ride went on, and as the sun got lower and lower in the sky, my hands got progressively colder. I had to stop again to warm then up. My feet, of course, were also numb, but that doesn't bother me as much, since I don't need my feet to articulate while I'm riding. So, eventually I made it home, and swore I'd never ride again.
Of course, I rode again the next day, with similar results. I took Monday and Tuesday off. The temperatures today were in the mid thirties, and I was scared to go outside, so I told myself I'd spin in our nice warm living room. Then I had lunch with Dante, and he told me about a great ride he'd had the day before with a pro mountain biker he knows from the collegiate race circuit. I'd missed that ride because I'm a working stiff now. But I his story inspired me.
So I went for a ride, another two-hour ride in which I had to race the sun to get home before nightfall, and even though my hands were very cold by the time I got home, I've never felt better about motivating myself to get out and ride, because it was a great, fun ride that reminded me that I can ride when I'm motivated, and take days off when I feel like it. My hands didn't even get too cold today. I wish I could ride again tomorrow, unfortunately, the forecast is for a rain and snow mix. So we'll see...
It's the officially the time of year where I have to put on all the clothes I own to go for a bike ride. And it's officially the time of year where I have to make sure I leave for my ride by 2 in the afternoon or it isn't going to happen, because the sun sets everyday by 4:30.
I used to like winter. I used to look forward to skiing and snowshoeing and all that. Now, I can't afford to go skiing, and I feel like any time I have off from work should be spent riding, and getting ready for next season, to make sure that next season isn't as shitty as this past one was.
I also don't like riding in the cold. It seems that no matter what I stick on my hands or feet my fingers and toes always get cold, like really cold. This is a problem that stems back to when I was 16 and went winter hiking for the first time with friends of mine from summer camp. I wasn't properly equipped to keep my hands warm, and I got frost-nip on nine fingers. Frost-nip has the same symptoms as frost-bite, though less severe. It took about two months to get feeling back in all of my fingers, and ever since my hands have been very sensitive to cold.
But back to riding... Last Saturday I went for a ride out to the Saratoga battlefield. It was about 25 degrees. Cold, but not that cold. But even so, about half-way through the ride my hands went completely numb. I did something that I have never done before on a ride. I stopped, took off my gloves, and put my hands next to my chest for a good five minutes, until I could feel my hands again, and until I felt like they were relatively warm. Then I went on my way.
As the ride went on, and as the sun got lower and lower in the sky, my hands got progressively colder. I had to stop again to warm then up. My feet, of course, were also numb, but that doesn't bother me as much, since I don't need my feet to articulate while I'm riding. So, eventually I made it home, and swore I'd never ride again.
Of course, I rode again the next day, with similar results. I took Monday and Tuesday off. The temperatures today were in the mid thirties, and I was scared to go outside, so I told myself I'd spin in our nice warm living room. Then I had lunch with Dante, and he told me about a great ride he'd had the day before with a pro mountain biker he knows from the collegiate race circuit. I'd missed that ride because I'm a working stiff now. But I his story inspired me.
So I went for a ride, another two-hour ride in which I had to race the sun to get home before nightfall, and even though my hands were very cold by the time I got home, I've never felt better about motivating myself to get out and ride, because it was a great, fun ride that reminded me that I can ride when I'm motivated, and take days off when I feel like it. My hands didn't even get too cold today. I wish I could ride again tomorrow, unfortunately, the forecast is for a rain and snow mix. So we'll see...
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