When I showed up at Fish and Wildlife last Saturday at 9am, (we had delayed the start time an hour because of chilly temperatures), there was no other riders there yet. So, I said to myself, "Hey, nobody shows by 9:03am, I'm outta here." A few minutes went by and I looked around and thought it was time to go home and get warm. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to check the time. Yep, 9:03, time to go. As I was putting my phone back in my pocket I heard a voice, "Man, it's cold out here." I swung around to see The Count smiling back at me from under his heavy jacket. "I almost didn't come." he laughed.
"I was just heading home. It's too wet and cold." I was almost apologizing. We exchanged some pleasantries and decided we would just head on home. As we were clipping in, around the corner, dressed in nothing more than tights and a sweatshirt comes the bodacious Brit himself. "Aw, man! We were outta here. I can't believe this." I was kind of complaining under my breath. Apparently, loud enough for The Count to hear because he laughed out loud expressing that we waited 10 seconds too long. He was right.
The Brit is Keith "Big Motor" Irwin. He greeted us with his typical, "Hello Gents." You see, for those of you who have never lived in Britain, last Saturday's weather was like a summer day for them. Mine you, Big Motor has lived in the States for over 20 years, however he was raised in that climate, so nothing that the Panhandle of Florida can dish out seems too bad...with the exception of the occasional Ivan, of course. Keith was ready to roll. "Where we going?", he asks. The Count and I mumble something about back to bed or hot bath but he didn't hear us because he goes on to answer his own question. "How about 45 miles? And I just want to stop at that coffee shop up north." By coffee shop, he meant the Starbucks at Pineforest and 9 Mile Road. This is one of our usual stops on a chilly winter ride.
After a few more minutes of complaining, we were off, headed for The Miserable 45! It was 42 degrees when I left my house with a stiff wind out of the northwest and cloudy skies. I was cold and it got colder. (I have noticed over the years that cold and heat have a cumulative effect. In other words, the longer you are in the cold or heat, the greater it affects you.) The temps actually went down and we were riding into the wind...it was cold. Did I mention it started to rain?! Oh, I'm loving it now, baby! Cold and wet we finally arrived at Starbucks for a hot latte to warm the innards and thaw the toes, hands and face.
It rained on us most of the way home. There are no sprints to report. No breakaways, no king of the mountains...just suffering. And that, our capacity to suffer, which every cyclist must own, is really the only benefit I can discern from riding The Miserable 45...it wasn't epic. Sorry you missed it!
Don't fret yourself, there's more suffering planned for this Saturday and Sunday. But don't take my word for it, check out the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogazoidal. The weather forecast is for bright sunshine but chilly temps at start time. Stay tuned for an update as to if we delay the start time an hour...my guess is that we will.
And here are some other dates to keep in mind:
- Less than 5 weeks until our first Wednesday evening Hammerfest on March 14th.
- Saturday, March 26th is our Rite of Spring Ride: Around the Bay
- Saturday, April 2nd is the TOUR de CURE. Sign up on line under our own Team Mayo
Great rides and warmer weather just on the horizon, but you have to prepare now for the longer, faster rides coming in just a few short weeks. I know it's no fun riding the miserable rides now, but they are absolutely necessary for your success on future rides that you will not want to miss. So, come on out and suffer with your cycling brethren. The pace now is much slower and the distances much shorter than they will be in just a month or so. Come on..."Get up off dat ding, shake it loose and you'll feel better." Taken from a James Brown song.
Uh, I'll leave you with that. And, of course I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Sorry I missed the Miserable 45. Sounds like it was a good day to be sick!! Of course one must wonder if the 3 of you guys got what you deserved. You see if I remember correctly the 3 of you guys were conspicuously absent from the last Most Miserable ride - the round the bay with the insane ride over the Garcon Pointe Bridge into a 25mph headwind. At least one of you (to remain nameless) had passed out face first into his plate of pasta as the Peloton suffered our way over the GP Bridge. From herto forward you 3 will be know as "Les Miserables"!!
ReplyDeleteI think I would have liked the Around the Bay ride, into a headwind or not, better than The Miserable 45. Granted, the wind wasn't as bad, but the temps were much colder and we rode in the rain almost the entire ride...with only 2 guys to talk to as you're suffering down the road. Not to mention the lack of drafting as Big Motor rode most of the way about 50 to 100 yards in front of The Count and me.
ReplyDeleteLes Miserables eh? Well, that won't be the worse thing I've ever been called. Although, if it is just one, it should be Un Miserable. (That's, uh French for those of you less fortunate than my bilingual self) Adios!