Have you ever ridden a bike in 30 degree weather with 25-30mph winds pushing against you? That's what I did this past Saturday. Team in Training had our fourth training ride, gearing us up for Tahoe in June. The Fort Worth and the Dallas cyling teams got together for this ride that was out at Joe Pool Lake in the Grand Prairie area. It's actually kinda nice out there.
We started out the morning with a flat tire clinic at 8am. I was pleasantly surprised that it really is not that hard to fix a flat bike tire. It made me feel good to learn how to do that, so I know I won't get stranded. We started our ride at 9am, when the temp was about 38 degrees with a windchill of about 24. The gusty winds were tough at first, and they got even tougher to cycle against as the ride progressed.
We rode 37 miles that day through some neighborhoods, along a highway and across a dam. The ride consisted of a 12+ mile lap, which we did three times. I have to say that after the second lap it seemed easy to almost give up and not complete the third, but I persevered and finished it up. I ended up meeting a few people on the Dallas team that time around and got to practice some pacelining and drafting techniques. Whoo whoo!
I have to say that I felt pretty beat up from the wind that day. It did not let up at all. But, as I heard someone else on my team say that day: When you think it's hard, remember it's nothing like chemo. 37 miles was a great accomplishment for me - being the furthest I've ever ridden a bike. This ride was a big milestone. While I was concerned about the mileage (pre-ride), I now know that I am capable of pushing myself to do things I never thought I would do.
No comments:
Post a Comment