Thursday, January 24, 2013

Cold Commute

I don't use pogies often....
Tuesday was my first day back to work post Triple D, and with the "Truck With No Name" having a dead battery, I was relegated to riding to work. This would ordinarily be a cause for complete and utter joy; however, my legs were torched, it was below zero something, and the wind was out of the Northwest.

Uggh!

Well, there was nothing else for it other than to mount up and make the pedals go around. I dug out my ATV bar mitts, and with those in place, I pointed the Snow Dog Northwestward and off I went. It wasn't very pretty, I'll say that much!

I like commuting, and it is a great time for me normally, but that commute was pure suffering. It brought back the same feelings I had going up those long Dubuque hills on the Northwest Arterial, and the cold was even worse than during the race. My legs were aching and weak. I suppose it is good mental training!

As I struggled to get up the water tower hill on University Avenue, it occurred to me that the cold makes everything slower. The grease coagulates, maybe even my joints are "thicker", and the blood doesn't seem to flow like it does in warmer weather. I don't know, but the cold wears you down in ways that are.......depressing sometimes.

Anyway, the trip home was much, much better! I figure it is the rare sub-zero ride that was getting to me, but I'm hoping for warmer weather all the same!

1 comment:

S Sprague said...

GT, I agree, the cold seems to slow things down. I rode Brice Creek out of Cottage Grove in Oregon last weekend with a starting temp of 29. This was super cold for someone from California. I was slow as my body was having a hard time adjusting to all the layers I was wearing. As I was riding a new trail for the first time and at a slow pace, I actually looked around while going much slower than I wanted.

My point is, this winter or slow riding, gives you a chance to get a new perspective on the world. And the scenery is temporary as snow and rain generally don't last all year long. Feeling whooped from your Triple D race only added to the slowness. Hopefully, you got to enjoy some of the scenery on the way to work. I enjoyed my commute on bike yesterday. Even though I took off my fenders and it rained! Ha!

Thanks!