the tao of cycling: 52 degrees

Saturday, October 25, 2008

52 degrees

clothing for an afternoon ride, heading up emigration, temperature at home 52 degrees:

sports bra
cycling tights, capri length, standard black
ankle socks
short sleeved jersey, orange print
wind jacket, neon green
fingerless gloves
toe covers on shoes

stuffed in pockets: arm warmers, headband for descent

outcome: sweaty at times on the way up, chilly at times on the way down, did not need headband, on average, perfect.

clothing for late afternoon ride up big mountain, temperature at home 58 degrees

sports bra
cycling shorts, black
ankle socks
short sleeved jersey, white with red trim
wind jacket, neon green
fingerless gloves
toe covers on shoes

stuffed in pockets: arm warmers, headband for descent

outcome: a little sweaty on the way up, freezing at top of big mountain, cold all the way home, incredibly thankful for headband.
note to self: next time wear capris and bring full gloves.

clothing for early afternoon ride up emigration, temperature at home 62 degrees:

sports bra
cycling shorts
ankle socks
short sleeved jersey, Lotoja 2008 design
fingerless gloves
toe covers on shoes

stuffed in pockets: arm warmers, wind vest

outcome: perfect on way up, used arm warmers on way down, absolutely perfect temperature for a fall ride and clothing choice was superb.

I own just about every piece of cold-weather riding gear I could ever need: I have full booties to cover my shoes, and long thick "tights" with wind-panels on the front of the legs. I have a skull cap, and I have my well-loved and very-well-used arm warmers (which are an awful lot like long, dramatic fingerless gloves: I feel incredibly sexy when I wear them).
but I'm really not excited about dragging these things out and making them part of my everyday wardrobe.
and that is why I am squeezing in every last little ride I can this fall. I plan as if every ride may be my last . . . my eyes searching every hillside and every inch of sky to try to imprint the sights in my brain.
for now I live by the weather channel, I skip a few chores, and I revel in the glory of the changing hillsides and vistas.
and I carefully put on exactly what clothing I think I'll need to wear, then stuff a few extra things in pockets, and just say a little prayer that mother nature will protect me for at least one more ride.

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the Male Ego

The other day I was coming down a canyon in my drop bars (two years ago I would have said, 'what's a drop bar?'), working hard, when I came up on two guys who were also heading downhill but at a more leisurely pace. I passed them, said hello as I did so, and pulled back into the bike lane. a few minutes later they went flying past me, faces looking dead ahead, not a single bit of acknowledgment that I even existed on this planet let alone was involved in and enjoying the same sport they were.
I have to attribute this to the male ego. what else can it be? now I know we all have egos, myself included. and mine even shows its ridiculous little head once in a while, or perhaps more often. but the difference between mine and say, those of certain men on bicycles, is that I KNOW mine exists and I can LAUGH at mine. I know my ego was quite excited to pass those guys, and I could also smile because I knew if the men had really been working like I was, they would have kicked my butt down the hill.
I think I pissed them off.
and I'm sure I will be sharing with you much more of my thoughts about the male ego . . .

a little history

I was married, and I had a mountain bike which I rarely rode. we separated, I moved out, and four months later someone stole my bike. the next spring, 2005, I bought myself a new mountain bike. I rode occasionally, and in april 2006 I rode in my first century, the Cactus Hugger in St. George, Utah. I made it 54 miles on that mountain bike, and it took me about 6 hours. I think that included the rest stops where I prayed that someone would steal my bike again . . .
in june 2006 I started riding my mountain bike five mornings a week, a 45-55 minute loop that was intended to be all about exercise. and what I found was that I loved the quiet, peaceful morning full of bird chatter and barely breaking sunrises. by that fall I was hooked, and began considering the purchase of a road bike. I rode up emigration canyon for the first time that Labor Day of 2006, panting and plowing along on my trusty (heavy) bike, and a month later I was the proud owner of my own road bike: I had become a two-bike girl!
a 17-week-long "power camp" over the winter and a handful of new friends kept bicycling front and center in my life, and when spring of 2007 rolled around I was ready to hit the pavement. I rode my first century the end of april, when I again went to St. George and completed that Cactus Hugger. it took me about 7 hours, but this time I rode the entire 100 miles with about 9300 feet of vertical gain. woo hoo!
I started riding canyons around our area, emigration and millcreek, city creek, big cottonwood, little mountain and big mountain, and once--yes, only once--little cottonwood.
then in september of 2007, I rode from Logan, Utah, to Jackson, Wyoming, in the slightly infamous LOTOJA race. I rode, I did not race. and I completed the thing, crediting my good training buddies, the incredibly perfect weather, my support team, and an amazing convergence of all things positive in the universe.
I put in about 3500 miles last season, and as of today, july 19, 2008, I have about 1700 in, adding to it every day.
I have again signed on to ride the LOTOJA race, and my goal is to have just somewhere near as great a ride as I did last year. oh, and to have someone fun to talk with along the way as I got incredibly bored last year . . . star valley is still a nightmare scene in my biking memories . . .
and here is a picture of the machine that has helped me reclaim my life.