Ice Man

Today, the temperature was 23 degrees, the wind was from the northwest at seven miles per hour and my water bottles, buttocks, hat, glasses, toes and numerous unmentionables froze. As the sweat dripped out of my hat, it fell onto my glasses and turned to ice in front of my eyes.

The scariest part of the ride was that I actually forgot to wear my helmet and didn’t figure it out until I had been on the bike for an hour and a half. I was wearing a hat called a balaclava that wraps around your entire head, so I felt something there, and just got on the bike and went.

This was not good and should not be repeated. Once, during the winter, I hit some ice and went down with authority. The helmet hit the ground and I walked away from the experience with bruises, rather than a serious concussion.

Coach Josh asked for a 15-minute tempo session today at 275 watts and I did my best to deliver. Can’t say if I did or not as it was quite dark when I left and I could only see the CPU when I whizzed under street lamps.

Weird feeling, ride under light, look at CPU, guess if I’m high or low based on the terrain, and then adjust accordingly.

I felt good during the tempo session, then struggled with the cold for the last half hour of the ride. As my weight plummets, I feel colder and colder all the time.

I’m still about five pounds overweight, but would not enjoy being any thinner during the winter.