If I ever have any delusions about being tough, all I need to do is contemplate going out on my road bike, without Greg. At once, a definite sense of panic sets in. What if I get lost? What if I get a flat? What if I get COLD?! Now that the man is unable to bike due to a torn rotator cuff, if I want to prepare for my triathlon this year, I have to deal with this. I started trying by going on a Saturday group ride with Nampa Cycling.
Greg had heard of them, and took me out with them a couple of times last year. I was impressed with how friendly they all are. Of course, the group varies, but I always see Bruce Wiley there. He is in charge of the facebook page, posting inspiring invitations such as “OK you bunch of Mamby Pamby couch anchors…” He had a knee replaced this year and is already out cycling on a regular basis, so excuses that he finds valid are hard to come by. 😀
I had to adjust my workout schedule to begin to fit in their 10 AM Saturday rides. This was a good week to do it, since I was already making changes to recover from my race last Saturday. I also had to do a post-winter check-up on my bike, as well as think about what to wear for 32°F weather. I had another session of being trained to pump up my bicycle tires. This procedure is not at all natural to me. Still. Greg quipped that he was going to require me to deflate and re-pump my tires every morning until I could do it easily.
It is harder for me to bike in cold weather than run or swim (assuming I am swimming in my heated pool). When biking, I have trouble with my toes and fingers going numb from pressure anyway, so it is hard to evaluate the effect of cold during the ride. Riding the bike creates your own arctic cold front, too. The toes and fingers are right out in that. The toes are not being used like in running, and the fingers can’t be flexed or placed under warm armpits easily. There is usually one direction of the trip that is heading into the wind, subjecting all the digits to an even deeper cold blast.
My limited experience riding in the cold, combined with Greg’s good suggestions helped me come up with this outfit for today:
- 3 layers of exercise leggings; that is, insulated running pants, followed by a more basic pair of long running pants, then topped with Greg’s full length bike pants.
- 3 shirts/jackets. My mock turtle neck insulated, long sleeved shirt; then my new thinsulated running jacket; and finally the windbreaker outer shell of my regular winter coat.
- 2 pair of wool socks plus leather shoes. The first socks were calf high ski socks, the second just ankle high, but both were on the thick side. And SmartWool. I don’t like thick socks when I run, but they are good for this!
- 2 pair of gloves. The inner gloves were regular knit gloves that were in the race pack from my YMCA Christmas Run a year ago. The outer gloves were loose polar fleece gloves.
- a double thick polar fleece gator that I made myself
- a “skull cap” beanie that my daughter donated to keep my ears and head warm under the bike helmet
- sunglasses to keep my eyeballs warm. I’m always glad when the sun is out, because I need those glasses as a wind break!
There are several nice things about going riding with a group like this. First, there is just the safety in numbers due to increased visibility in traffic. Also, I learn (relatively) safe bike routes, and ways to use side roads. They go places that I can consider for workouts on my own, if it doesn’t seem like there is much traffic there. And they always take me on at least one “good” hill.
My clothing choices basically worked. I did sit with my hands under my arms for the last 10 minutes before the ride, to get them as warm as I could. I did wish that I had bar mitts like Jason Craig had told me about. I did wish I had toe warmers, like Bruce said he had (and said I should find at any sporting goods store). However, my fingers got warmed up about half way through the ride (right about when I reached the top of the “good” hill…) My toes had me concerned, but were fine as soon as I got into the car after the ride.
For this day’s adventure, we headed up to Lonestar Road. The “good” hill ended as Lonestar made a “T” with South Indiana Avenue. The men held back and didn’t put any pressure on me to go faster up the hill. At the top, there was a quick decision made by Bruce and Fred to go to the right on Orchard Avenue, which meant a bit of scary downhill.
Bruce seems to have all the roads memorized, although Fred gave some very useful direction through some back roads once we hit town again. I now know that there is a street named Horton that cuts from Orchard to Davis. A couple of turns more, and we were cruising through some older Nampa neighborhoods, nearly back to the Flying M.
Some of the most important things I learn from them are how to ride when there is traffic. Many of these bicyclists are veteran riders, although not super intense or high powered on this Saturday ride. They have had a lot of experience dealing with vehicles and studying their options. Today, I learned these pointers:
- The very edge of the road is not necessarily the safest place for a bicycle for at least two reasons. 1) the cars tend to claim the whole road with less consideration for and less safe driving methods next to the bicyclist. 2) It is not a safe place for tires, which not only can suffer damage, but the bike might end up being knocked into traffic due to hitting the larger gravel and holes.
- A bike mirror really does help, so I shouldn’t forget mine next time.
- If you want donuts, you should get them before the ride.
There were only three of us who were brave enough to hit the road at 32°F this particular Saturday, but I don’t really feel like I was brave. Just reasonably prepared and in good company. I don’t really know how my rookie presence affected the other two fellows who showed up, but I had a wonderful (70 minute) ride. Thank you, Bruce and Fred! I am already planning on going again next time.
