February 13, 2010
It's funny how pretty much year-round I'm wishing I were in some other climate, yearning for seasons instead of just downright hot and humid every day. Well, right now I'd pay some cash for some heat and humidity.
I actually woke up early this morning. I had decided not to set the alarm so I could get the amount of sleep my body was craving. If I missed the organized ride, I'd just do a solo from the house. I leaned over to look at the blue glow of the clock and it told me 4:45. WHAT??? I normally get up at 5:00 so I guess my body clock was on auto pilot. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to get to Lake Mills Park for the 8:00 FFW ride.
I've really only been riding once a week since starting back up, which isn't nearly enough, but it's what I can do right now with work schedule, weather, and physical limitations. The only problem with that is I need to get to a point where I can do 60 miles, and FAST. Tour de Cure is coming up in two weeks and my longest ride since my re-herniation has been 30 miles.
So two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, two heavy-duty shirts, two pairs of gloves, a jacket, and a delicious pre-ride breakfast of Scottish oats, banana, walnuts and raisins later, I loaded up the truck and hit the road. Remember the Michelin man? You get the picture.
Upon arrival I was worried nobody else was going to show, but sure enough there were a few cars in the parking lot. Joanne, friend and ride leader, was there with her husband Ron. As I pulled up they were in debate over what they were going to do. They both wanted to go home, but Joanne felt obligated to stay. So Ron woosied out of the ride, claiming he'd just returned from snow country, and bailed, promising to pick up his wife upon her return. Also in attendance were fellow Flamingo Elaine and newbie Scott.
As we were all standing there getting ready to go, I contemplated briefly just going out and grabbing a hot drink, but then I remembered the upcoming Tour. I had driven all the way out to Chuluota, so I was riding.
In a nutshell, it was COLD and WINDY. Because there were only four of us I had a chance to ride with Joanne and gab so we could catch up, but it was hard to talk because my face was frozen. You've seen weathermen on TV in the midst of snowstorms and it's so freakin' cold that they can't articulate to report the weather? That's exactly how I felt. It sounded like I was slurving my speech. My lips couldn't make contact to form B's and P's and M's. Brrrrr!
At our rest stop halfway there were other diehards that braved the conditions to get a ride in.
Unfortunately the hardest of the work was on the way back. Right before the rest stop I jinxed it by making the comment that it's not so cold anymore...that blood was actually starting to circulate in my feet. Well, false sense of warmth, thy name is tailwind. The party was over once we turned around. Fortunately it was a short 25-miler and the self-dubbed Diehards Under Duress ended up making good time...probably because we were so frozen that the main objective was just finish.
Do you know there's no Starbucks between Lake Mills Park and my house? All I wanted was HOT beverage on the way home, but I was SOL. So instead I just plodded home and stood under a hot, hot shower for about 30 minutes until I had blood flowing into my hands and feet. I know how that sounds being that I'm in Florida and this is probably one of the warmest places in the country, but I'm ready for spring!
It's warm again....woo hoo! Ride on, sista!