35 Years of Temporary Insanity
The heat of summer is here and unless you have ridden in South Texas this time of year you have no idea just how awful it can be. Imagine that it is 95° and there is a 25 mph wind. It’s like a giant blow dryer down here. You can go out in the morning if you wish. Then it is 85° with matching humidity. Think sauna with out the naked Swedes.
So why are we still riding? It beats the hell out of me. I personally don’t have another event to ride until the end of September and that one promises to be nothing but pain. It is fun to ride feeling fit, at least until your eyes fill up with sweat and your chamois reaches the saturation point and starts to squish.
How hot can Gatorade get before you can’t drink it? I don’t know yet. It stays just below boiling on the ride and since it tastes so wretched to begin with I hardly notice any change due to temperature. I had a cold one the other day and found it to be a completely different product. I don’t go out without my Camelback these days. That’s me out there, Quasimodo in red and black.
Oscar the Grouch asked around for hints on how to ride into the wind. It is a relentless torture. 25 mph is normal, 35 - 40 mph is not unheard of. Several times I have done the E.T. thing and left the road. So far the landings have been within acceptable tolerances. The wind is not my friend. I weigh in at a strapping 135 pounds. That’s not much ballast and my engine runs high rpm low torque. Some days my whole left side hurts from having to lean into the wind to keep from getting blown sideways. What motivates me the most on those days? Company. Having someone to chase, or doing an extra long hard pull at the front. If I'm by myself I'll plug along at 16 mph into the wind. With company? 20 -22 mph.
My hint to Oscar? Find someone bigger to ride behind besides me.
So what really gets me out there on the road in this miserable weather? Why do I keep riding with no clear goal? It’s simple, I just can’t stop. The idea of not riding, sitting on my ass, never facing a challenge, rarely crosses my mind. I’ll bail out some days and take an extra day off but quit just because of a little heat and wind?
Not likely.
So why are we still riding? It beats the hell out of me. I personally don’t have another event to ride until the end of September and that one promises to be nothing but pain. It is fun to ride feeling fit, at least until your eyes fill up with sweat and your chamois reaches the saturation point and starts to squish.
How hot can Gatorade get before you can’t drink it? I don’t know yet. It stays just below boiling on the ride and since it tastes so wretched to begin with I hardly notice any change due to temperature. I had a cold one the other day and found it to be a completely different product. I don’t go out without my Camelback these days. That’s me out there, Quasimodo in red and black.
Oscar the Grouch asked around for hints on how to ride into the wind. It is a relentless torture. 25 mph is normal, 35 - 40 mph is not unheard of. Several times I have done the E.T. thing and left the road. So far the landings have been within acceptable tolerances. The wind is not my friend. I weigh in at a strapping 135 pounds. That’s not much ballast and my engine runs high rpm low torque. Some days my whole left side hurts from having to lean into the wind to keep from getting blown sideways. What motivates me the most on those days? Company. Having someone to chase, or doing an extra long hard pull at the front. If I'm by myself I'll plug along at 16 mph into the wind. With company? 20 -22 mph.
My hint to Oscar? Find someone bigger to ride behind besides me.
So what really gets me out there on the road in this miserable weather? Why do I keep riding with no clear goal? It’s simple, I just can’t stop. The idea of not riding, sitting on my ass, never facing a challenge, rarely crosses my mind. I’ll bail out some days and take an extra day off but quit just because of a little heat and wind?
Not likely.
posted by Speedo at 1:04 PM
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