Cycling WOES? Yes, indeed! Occasionally I think that maybe there are better ways of getting around than by bicycle.

By balloon, maybe? A hot-air balloon eliminates headwind problems; but apparently ballooning against the wind is impossible. It\’s all with the wind in a balloon; and that\’s inconvenient when your destination isn\’t downwind. Crashing, on the other hand, is far more survivable on a bicycle than in a balloon.

But do hot-air balloons have chains that need to be maintained and that, sometimes, get dropped?

This morning I had both: headwinds, and I had to stop and put the chain back on the small ring when it got dropped. There are times when shifting to the big ring simply doesn\’t work. When I try to shift back onto the small ring, the chain falls between the small ring and the frame.

I was wearing very heavy gloves, which actually doesn\’t help when I need to shift to the big ring. They\’re really too big for me; and if anything that reduces the already-reduced dexterity of gloved hands.

Another problem I had this morning was highly suspect readouts from my heart rate monitor. My Garmin\’s screen was showing a HR rate in the 180s, which I\’m sure can\’t have been right. Yes, I was pushing for 12-13 mph into a 17 mph wind; but from my breathing at the time, I\’d say upper Zone 4 was correct; or possibly low Zone 5.  But not Zone 6+! In fact, I don\’t even have a Zone 6 programmed into the Garmin.

Maybe the HR sensor needs a new battery; and I can do without it for a while if I must. Meanwhile there\’s always RPE. Oh, these cycling woes!