This post is going to be about a lot of little things mostly dealing with recent observations both on and off the bike. I’d like to say these are solid Zen-like, life changing observations but alas, it is nothing like that at all. It’s mostly a bunch of little things that I’ve noticed that aren’t big enough to fill an entire blog post. So, I am combining them into one by taking full advantage of my poetic license.
If you read my last post, you know that I was absolutely hammered by a cold. I had the high fever, body aches, constant coughing, etc. And while I recovered from most of the symptoms relatively quickly, I am still not back to full strength. One of the cool things about being sick is that you find out your ultra supportive friends are even more supportive then you thought. I had all kinds of people offering to bring me soup, medicine, and other feel-good items. I also learned that everyone in the world must have a different recipe for how to get over a cold.
On Saturday I managed to get out for a ride with Carmen before the weekend rain got too bad. I actually enjoy riding in a light rain. It kinda makes me feel like a badass knowing all my fair weather cycling friends are tucked away safely indoors. You just have to be a little more careful and really pay attention to the paint on the street and all manhole covers. Carmen and I did just fine and managed to get in a staggering 18-miles before we were done.
The second nice thing about Saturday’s ride was that I was finally feeling normal again on the bike. Of course, we were not pushing the pace. This was more of a social let’s-go-play-in-the-rain ride. Still, as we rolled along at 16 mph, my heart rate was right were it should be unlike my last ride were it was at least 20 bpm higher then normal. Bottom line, I am feeling stronger again and that’s a good sign.
Of course, no rain ride is complete without a flat or two (or three). After all, our rainy season is our flat season (see Beware of Bibendum as to why). There’s nothing like standing around in the rain, fixing a flat, to immediately distinguish that badass feeling you had while riding. So, in the spirit of the day, Carmen had a flat about 4 miles into the ride. Then the replacement tube she used had a hole in it so it went flat. Just for fun, she decided to flat again 5 miles later. At this point we were out of spare tubes and decided to turn for home. And, this was the reason our ride only lasted 18 miles.
On the way home I got to observe a new cyclist safety measure in action. On Montgomery Drive, heading west into Santa Rosa, there is a new bike warning signal, called a bike beacon. There is a section of road that is narrow and curvy for 1.5 miles making cyclists hard to see. If you are heading west on your bike you will trip this signal. The signal continues to flash and warn motorist that a cyclist is up ahead for 4 minutes. They are trying to find the money to put one in the east-bound direction as well. I hope they are successful.
There you have it. Great friends helping out during a time of need, feeling stronger, riding in the rain, fixing flats in the rain, and tripping our new bike beacon. How’s that for an adventuresome little ride? I can’t wait to see what observations this off season will continue to bring.
Until then . . .
Ciao!
1 Comment(s):
hey that's a pretty neat idea! i also hope they find the money for another.
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