Training - Outdoors Team Ride

Yesterday at work I did an unusual thing.

I called the missus. Asked her to bring some DayQuil to work. She came down and dropped it off (along with canned soup and a bowl).

Sounds like a recipe for sickness, right?

Right.

I was getting a sore throat, my head was swimming a bit, and I was feeling hot and cold.

Not good.

Especially since, unusually, I committed to an outdoors ride for today, Sunday. Normally I train all cozy and stuff in my basement, but I missed our last team meeting (it happened while I was in Florida) and it seems I needed to catch up with a few folks. So I committed to doing the ride.

I took some NyQuil, went to bed early, and fully expected to pop awake at 5 AM or so (7.5 hours after going to sleep, my standard "good rest" length of time).

Instead the missus nudged me awake at 8 AM.

And I felt exhausted.

I felt reasonable otherwise when I got up, my throat still a bit touchy, but no fever, no weakness, just some fatigue in the bones. I decided that I'd eat and go.

With temps below 30 degrees F at the start, I wore, for the first time in who knows how long, my windstopper tights, the heaviest tights I have. I also had on some standard winter gear - head thing, neck thing, booties, and my cheapo nice winter gloves.

Of course I had my team jersey on, but I slipped it on over an old team jacket. I have no current team jacket, at least not one to ride in, so I will fake it for a while.

I drove over to the Route 5 or something Park N Ride lot off of Exit 5, the meet point as described in our internal forum.

Drove around a bit.

No Park N Rides.

Remembered seeing Route 5 stuff for Exit 4. Drove back, found a Park N Ride, and a few guys waiting for the group. Bingo.

Note to self (and to the team forum): Exit 4. Not Exit 5.

Anyway, I had enough time to get ready by the time the group rolled in - and it was a pretty good sized group, about 17 total riders.

We set off on a winter LSD kind of pace, going a bit slower than I expected. In fact my fingers started to get really, really cold, a first for me with my favorite winter gloves, and I started worrying that maybe I really was a bit sick. At 30 degrees F or so my fingers shouldn't be cold.

I also noticed the cold wind hitting my head. Not just hitting. The freezing air drilled into my skull, freezing my brain, threatening to suck all the heat out of my body.

Normally I use a taped up helmet in the winter, but that was sitting in the garage. And for 2010 I want to get a skate type helmet, or maybe a ski one, where the helmet is less ventilated and more "aero". This would protect my head from the skull freezing cold when I put my head down to hammer. I haven't gotten it yet.

Note to self: Get the frickin' ski/skate helmet.

I did bring my ski goggles just in case. Ultimately I figure that'll keep my face much warmer. As a bonus my eyes won't tear up when the wind blows just right. I chose not to wear them though.

I chatted at the back (of course - where else would I ride in a group) for a bit, and when someone jokingly complained about the pace and then proceeded to roll up the side of the group, I followed.

I had, at some point, shifted into the big ring, but totally forgot about it, and so as we rolled up this minor climb I realized I was pedaling really slowly. But with my legs feeling okay, no feeling like my head was about to explode, I let the gears be and churned my way to the top.

We rolled up to two guys, but when I saw the group not following, I eased a bit and waited.

And bonus! My fingers were warm!

Over the course of the ride I think I efforted/eased three more times. I did another minor effort up a hill, and two where I eased off the back. Once I wanted to help a couple riders bridge. I dropped back as far as I dared, but since I had no idea where we were, I finally bridged up on my own.

I got to catch up with a bunch of guys over the course of the ride. Yes, I want to do this clinic thing I keep mentioning. It should happen in May/June, although we may have a less formal one earlier. Mondays (everyone's off day) would be best, probably in the evening.

No, my bars aren't that low. It's just that my seat is low too, because I have short legs. When everything is low, the bars look low automatically.

No, I haven't gotten my new frame yet. I expect it before I go to California, and I leave early on the 28th. That's in 11 days or so. I noticed a couple CAAD9s and one welded aluminum cross bike.

"It'll be kinda like those, except with custom geometry."

The inevitable question follows. I answer.

"Well, I asked for a 40 cm frame with a 56.5 cm top tube."

Usually there's a pause in the conversation at this point, and it's not caused by hills.

Finally I clarified my intent to sell off the DV46 clinchers. Yes, I want to sell them. Yes, they'll be really cheap. No, they won't include tires, tubes, or skewers. Or rim strips. And they're Campy, not Shimano, but I'll split the $100 it costs to convert them.

I was going to sell off the DV46 tubulars too, but I realized that I could use them on the track, and I would ask such a low price that I wouldn't be able to get even rims for new wheels at that price. So I'm keeping the tubulars.

Btw, does anyone have a source for 20H rear (rear! not front!) track hubs?

Unusually no one asked about Bethel. I guess that the rest of it is more interesting. It's kind of established so it handles itself.

All in all a decent ride. Being time limited I couldn't extend the ride at all. In the future I'll probably ride there with Jon, adding 12 miles to the route, and who knows, maybe I'll even ride to Jon's, adding even more miles.

I also want to ride on less fancy gear. I didn't change my bike at all from the trainer, so I was on my summer set up - Reynolds DV46 clinchers, 23c tires, no fenders, etc. A bit much I think.

I think box aluminum rims, 23s or even 25s, and a more solidly equipped bike wouldn't be a bad thing. The extra few pounds would help make the race bike seem lighter, and the bigger tires would make the ride smoother, more stable, and less puncture prone.

Of course, with the new frame coming in, it's kind of a moot point. I'll be setting that up for California (i.e. summer set up). We'll see what I do when I ride back here, outside in the grit.

When I got back I was pretty drained. I didn't eat for a couple hours, then after a brief eat, napped for a few more. I've been up only a couple hours since then, and I'm pretty pooped.

So, NyQuil, warm clothes, and bed.