Cold and Wind

Jim, Paul, John - out on the road...

More cold and wind here in Kansas -- the Sun just can't seem to warm us up enough, and mornings are still between 39 and 45 degrees.  With the wind, that cools things down quite a lot more.  You can see that the guys are dressed warm--better than I was the last two weekends.

Glad I dressed warm!

I went with the Retro Riders--they're part of the Bike Club but they have a week day morning ride they all try to make happen.  Instead of leaving at 8 or 9 in the morning, we started out at 11 a.m.  The hope is that it will be warmer--however, it was very cold again.  I didn't do the 9 a.m. fast ride because like last weekend just too cold mes amis.  Riding out to Broken Arrow Park, I saw guys coming in--they looked miserable.  In fact not many went out early Saturday so that group was small.  This time I dressed warm and wore my wind and rain shell.  Very glad I did!  And I wore my Brevet gloves and my helmet liner.

Marie and Chuck.

Our route was different for a change!  But there's quite a few gradual climbs, that with the wind that came up, make you really work!  Most of these Retro Riders are much older than me, but they still ride strong.  Its that constant wind that has conditioned them I suppose--

We rode, then stopped to regroup--Chuck was hit by a car last year by a KU student that ran a red light.  So the group rides a few miles and then has been stopping to let Chuck catch up.  That's okay with me because for the most part, Gentle Readers of This Blog, I am unable to keep up myself--I get dropped on any climb or if the wind really gets blowing.  I guess I'm still recovering--I just feel like I have no power and no endurance!  The very strong head and crosswinds doesn't help either.

So up above is my view for most of the rides.  I get dropped and I'm struggling to keep up.  I need to try and stay with the group so I can get on a wheel.  Once you get dropped, its hard to keep going in the wind.

As the guys would stop and wait for Chuck, I just did some interval-type training.  I went as hard as I could because I'd get to stop and rest and recover a few minutes until Chuck joined us.  I think I'm going to have to ride a few more days during the week, or set up my trainer here in the basement because one day trying to keep up a week won't make me stronger.

On the way back into town, we took a side road that offers a pastoral but aging old German Farm.  Peaceful and the wind is blocked by the hills and trees.  Because we're riding later in the day--something I really don't do that often--there's a lot of traffic.  People are drivin' into town.  Its okay when you're in a pack, but on your own you feel vulnerable at times.  Often you get some drivers that are overly cautious and won't pass you--even when there's no cars in the oncoming lanes.  This makes other drivers irate and quickly you get five or six cars backed up behind Aunt Bea.  Suddenly all those backed up cars roar past and most often they drive real close and buzz you to let you know they hate you for riding a bike.  "God Damn it I got's to get too town!"

I was happy because I bought a second cadence sensor, and with the extra mount that came with my Garmin Edge 800, I was able to make it work on my Raleigh.  The Garmin people, from not far from where I'm riding out in Olathe, Kansas, know that blokes like you and me have more than one bike.  So I can tell my 800 which bike I'm on and it keeps track of all that data.  I should be able to see if I'm getting stronger over the course of the season.  One thing I've noticed is that I gain some speed and strength rapidly--but I tend to level and then have a hard time reaching the next step.

Really is going to take time, and more time on the bike.  Little Egypt is not keen on that.  Plus I'm spending about 70 percent of my day looking for jobs and filling out applications.  Last week I applied for five jobs at the University of Arizona--in hopes that I'll get one of the positions.   Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by the blog!

Cheers!  Bruce