MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
December 2019
Eve
It\’s Christmas Eve already! The sun was out this morning, for a change. The wind wasn\’t nearly as strong as the forecast had predicted. Not having to go to work today meant that I could sleep later. I didn\’t start my ride until about 8:10! I stayed on the small ring today, and practiced riding fast — well, pedaling a lot faster — for intervals of 10-60 seconds. Now my legs are feeling it! That just goes to show how much I need such work. When I was a kid, at this time on Christmas Eve, the Christmas Tree would be newly trimmed. We probably would be playing albums of Christmas carols. I would have been excitedly wrapping the presents that I had gotten for other members of the family. Incidentally, as a young child I was puzzled by other kids at school who would say that they were going to get this or that for Christmas. I never could see what fun it was to KNOW ahead of time what you were going to get. At our home, the one exception was that you got a wristwatch for Christmas when you were in eighth grade. Of course we could ask to get this or that — but being surprised was half the fun!
Jest \’Fore Christmas
When I was a kid, we had a book of Christmas stories for kids. It included the poem by the above title. Today for sure is \”jest \’fore Christmas\”, and time to be sure that everything\’s ready. Would the little one like to find a balance bike under the Tree? How about that special person on your gift list who is just getting into cycling? Beginners can always use some help. I wouldn\’t be surprised if a seasoned cyclist can still find something helpful in a book for beginning riders. For the time-conscious, maybe a clock will do. After all, who doesn\’t need to worry about time these days? There\’s always Christmas music. If there\’s enough snow where you live, make snow angels. Build a snowman. Have a snowball fight. Or even go riding in the snow! Jest \’fore Christmas is time to see to the weather forecast. It looks like tonight and tomorrow morning will be foggy. Time for Rudolph to get into his act. Or, down here in \”Swampeast\” Louisiana, Gaston the Green-Nosed Alligator!
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Finding Your Wings?
Finding your wings isn\’t entirely about being able to \”fly\” down the bike path at 25+ mph. A serious competitive cyclist reaches the point where traveling to races is unavoidable; and if those races aren\’t pretty close to home, flying might be necessary. Transporting a bicycle by air sounds like a bit of a hassle. It wouldn\’t be a good idea to let your bicycle go into the luggage hold with no more protection than a cardboard box from a bike shop; therefore some sort of bicycle travel case is a wise idea. They aren\’t cheap, but they cost less that replacing a bicycle would. Look at it as a form of travel insurance! Not only competing cyclists need to travel. Some of us yearn for new paths to ride, and there just aren\’t any close to home. We might be itching to do the Dirty Kanza. Or RAGBRAI! If you\’re going to transport your bicycle by air, you might need to learn to partly disassemble it; I\’ve read of bicycle cases that mean removing one or both wheels before stowing the bike in it. Not my idea of fun, but sometimes you\’ve got to bite the bullet and learn how to do new things. It\’s all part of finding your wings as a cyclist.
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Countdown
Countdown to Christmas! Three days to go. I\’m sure we all remember how long it seemed to take for Christmas to come when we were little kids. Now, the day comes all too soon. Today I had a little bit of early Christmas. A friend had sent me a $20 gift card to Whole Foods, and this morning I pedaled over there. It was chilly and gray, but didn\’t rain 🙂 First I headed for the bulk bins, and got some dry-roasted, salted cashews. They\’re my favorite nut, but too expensive to buy regularly. I wanted olive salad, and was dismayed that there didn\’t seem to be any. Oh, well, I do have a jar of olives that I\’ve been saving especially for December 25. Hummus is another item that I usually skip, but today I got it. Hummus is great spread on sourdough bread, and I got a loaf of the bread, too. Finally, I picked up a quart of low-fat eggnog. Eggnog freezes quite well, so I don\’t need to worry that it will go bad on me before I can use it. I drank a little of it, and put some in jars to freeze. Now I\’ll be sure of having my eggnog-without-the-nog, as my sister calls eggnog with no booze. I\’d better be getting ready to go for a ride. I\’ve got to burn off that eggnog and hummus. It will help the countdown to Christmas go faster! I just hope I don\’t turn into a \”Christmas star\”.
Air Care
That\’s right: AIR care; not hair care. How can you best care for yourself while in the air? Traveling by air can mean hours of sitting in a cramped seat, in air that\’s often too cold, and too dry besides. Especially if you\’re a serious bicycle racer, you\’ll have additional concerns. Not only about that bicycle in the luggage hold, either. Air travelers are often advised to do what they can to prevent blood pooling in the legs. If you\’re traveling to a bicycle race, you\’ll want to do all possible to keep that circulation moving. Compression socks can help with that. I\’ve tried wearing them when the orthostatic hypotension was bothering me so much, and I personally don\’t find them comfortable. But if I travel by air again, maybe I\’ll try them. Another problem with air travel is dry eye. Artificial tears can provide relief. The prospect of \”fragrances\” is a major concern for me if I fly; more so than it usually is. Just try to get out of a sealed tube at 30,000 feet when somebody\’s \”scent\” gets to be too much for you! I wear a filter mask; carry spares; and hope for the best! As for airplanes being cold, carry on some sort of sweater. It\’s years since I last flew, and I\’ve certainly never tried to fly anywhere with a bicycle in the hold. But who knows? Maybe a miracle happen and I\’ll get rich enough to buy that bicycle travel case; and pay for a plane ticket to — RAGBRAI, maybe? Wherever I go, I must remember Air Care.
Whirl
Is your head in a whirl? With Christmas just a few days off, anybody\’s mind can be spinning. It\’s not always strictly Xmas stuff, either. I\’m trying to juggle several blogs-in-the-writing. And work on the Shop, too. I\’m glad I\’m done with shopping for the holiday. The chances of rain are high for tomorrow, and who likes to be struggling with bags and packages while trying to hang onto an umbrella at the same time? On top of that, over the next few days things will be ever more hectic at the stores. That\’s a good reason to get all your stuff early! It\’s much easier on the nervous system. Christmas cards are sent, except for a couple of last-minute ones. In fact, I\’d better get them written tonight. Gifts were shipped at least a week ago. I don\’t like to be gnawing my fingernails, hoping that stuff sent off at the eleventh hour will get to its destination before December 25! I\’m certainly looking forward to being able to get some extra sleep during the holiday break. Between work on this site, and trying to get in a morning ride before going to work, I\’m not getting enough shut-eye. It\’s enough to put my head in a whirl, I can tell you. How nice it will be to sleep until 7 am, and still be able to go riding!
Long Time No Hundred
Long Time No Hundred Long time no hundred mile ride! It’s hard to believe that my last century ride was six and a half years ago. I did that last one on the road bike; but yesterday I got to reminiscing about the centuries that I did with the hybrid. Especially the first one. That first two-wheeled century was a major aggravation in one way. Somebody had been strewing tacks on the bike path, and I wound up getting two flats. I wondered whether it might be a copycat case from that year’s Tour de France. In addition to the delays caused by flat tires, I made a halt at around 58 miles to change into fresh shorts. After that I felt much more comfortable. It was October, and still quite warm. Ten miles or so later, I needed to stop at a convenience store for another snack or two. I was getting very, very tired by then, and was starting to feel bonkish besides It gets dark pretty early in October. At about 6:30 pm I had to stop and put the lights back on the bike. I still had some 15 miles to go! The headlight soon began to go dim; so I had to stop again and get out the back-up headlight. And then the handlebar bag kept knocking the light off the handlebars! Halt yet again to hang the handlebar bag from the bike trunk’s handle. All those halts were a big bother. My legs were so tired that starting up again was no easy matter. It was 8:15 pm when I finally rolled up to 100 miles. I was worn out, but the satisfaction of seeing your bike’s computer turn up triple digits makes the long, hard day worth it!
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Racy?
Not that kind of \”racy\”. PLEASE not that kind! I mean “racy” as in, How would I fare as a bicycle racer? None too well, I fear. For starters, I’d get dropped in short order. I’m not fast enough to hang with even the lowest level of amateur racers, I’m sure. Maybe this advice would help? I also have far, far to go with improving my power-to-weight ratio. To begin with, I need to lose at least 20 pounds! My anaerobic endurance isn’t up to scratch, either. Not even my aerobic endurance is so great at present. I lost a lot of it because of that pulled hamstring, and the work to correct my left ankle’s behavior. It greatly reduced my mileage, and I couldn\’t ride as hard as I normally did. Then there are my sensitivities to “stuff”. Could I take part in a race without getting overwhelmed? I read once about a certain pro tour rider – I forget which one – who allegedly poured an entire bottle of cologne over himself before a race. How does he stand that? Ambitions to take part in bicycle races means participating in group rides. It\’s important to learn how to ride in close proximity to other riders; learn to draft; and your new-found cycling buddies may even be able to help you find a coach — and that first race.
Shivering
I\’ll be shivering tonight! Tonight the low will be around 37 degrees, with a wind chill well below freezing. It might be wise not to try riding the road bike outdoors tomorrow. For one thing, my face would be totally exposed to the cold. For another, leg warmers alone won\’t be warm enough. With old-ish shorts whose legs slide up, and old-ish leg warmers that slide down, I\’ll have problems if I wear slacks over the leg warmers. I\’ll have no way to pull the shorts\’ legs back down, nor the leg warmers back up. Even indoors it will be cold, except in front of an electric heater. Pedaling in the trainer ought to get me warmed up, though! The catch is that it\’s tedious as can be. It bears repeating every Winter: Do\’s and Don\’t\’s of riding in cold weather. You don\’t have to live where it snows for three months straight to suffer problems from getting too cold. I hear the wind blowing, and this place is not the most weather-tight one in the world. I\’ll have to choose between shivering on the bike, and shivering indoors. Not much of a choice, is it?