One of the problems with aging is forgetting things you shouldn’t forget...like never wearing a wet pair of cycling shorts when going for a long ride.
I’d started my ride with damp cycling shorts, which feel good on a hot day, but when the padding in the butt that is designed to offer some protection from hours of sitting on a hard seat is even a little wet, it’ll lead to chafing before the a ride is done. I began to feel the discomfort after an hour...about the point that I remembered I shouldn’t ride with wet shorts...but I was an hour from home and my options were limited. I spent considerable time out of the saddle, but it was no use. I was going to be hurting and that was that.
It was also hovering around 90 degrees...a temperature that has me sweating profusely and dehydrating quickly. Just past the hour mark in my ride, I began to feel the tingling sensation in my head that warns me I’m overheating. I’ve been through this numerous times and it’s a signal I give serious attention. I slowed my riding and started drinking from my second bottle. I was determined to make it back without losing too much time, but in one piece.
I rolled the final mile down my street thankful that the ride was almost over. It ended up taking me 15 extra minutes to finish the ride, which means that I slowed about 5 mph over the second half of the ride. My rash was making walking painful and when I introduced it to the chlorine in my neighbors’ pool...well...let’s just say I didn’t stay in there long.
I’d suffered with the beginnings of heat illness and this always kills my appetite. I made a blender full of smoothie and called it dinner. I’m hoping I’ll be able to remember the ‘wet shorts’ lesson...I know I’ll have a reminder for the next couple of days, at least. I’ll figure out tomorrow’s workout tomorrow, but it likely won’t include sitting for a couple of hours on a bicycle seat.
Bike Duration: Two hours.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1600.
No comments:
Post a Comment