Racing vs. Randonneuring

Made it to the bike locker in one piece yet again...

The wind was supposed to be gone. Thursday after work it was gusty and it made me work hard. Actually Thursday morning was breezy too—when I succumbed and shifted from my big ring to my second smaller ring, everything was okay. But I could not shift back up the big ring.

You would think that would be okay but I do not ride at a racer’s pace, which is high cadence and spin—I ride rando-style which I would say is bigger gearing over long distance. The cadence isn’t as high.

So I spun and made my way up the ridge and down to my car at the YMCA—but the wind was brutal, mes amis, and it got colder as I neared home. The high cadence was draining on me, Gentle Reader of This Blog.

I left the bike on the car, and shuffled in the house. Little Egypt had dinner ready and that was the best—I sat down without even changing and shoveled dinner into my face.

Coming into work was a repeat of Thursday Night’s high cadence—and again it was exhausting! At lunch today, I'd ridden down to have Phil check things out. Phil says the derailleur is now shot after some 30 years. He believes he has one that will work in the shop and can fix me up—and he got things so that I can ride home. But be careful while shifting because things could jam. I’ll have to bring it in next week for repairs.

When I get home tonight, I will have ridden 130 miles this week, commuting by bike--a small victory in the motivation department. I rode four out of five days to the office. It's been a good week, but I am tired out from all the wind.

Cheers!