A really, really cold ride...

Saturday, February 23, 2013

With both the girls in town, we scheduled a luncheon for the family.  The menu was Annie Anne’s hot dogs, potato chips and chocolate milkshakes.  If I were to eat such a meal, I could easily pile on the calories I’d burned off in my three previous workouts…something I really didn’t want to do.  About an hour before lunch, I took a proactive approach by loading the blender with a mountain of fruit and vegetables and blended up a huge smoothie, which I stuck I the refrigerator.

And it worked well.  I passed on the chips and milkshake and had only two of the hot dogs.  I let those digest for about an hour before deciding I’d ride outdoors.

It seemed comfortable outside and when I checked the temperature on the weather channel, was doubtful that ’32 degrees’ was correct.  To play it safe, I dressed as though that was the right number, including two pairs of socks and my cold weather booties on my feet.  As I rolled down the driveway and began to pick up speed creating my own 20 mph wind and a biting chill factor, my doubts disappeared.

I dialed back my initial ambitious plan for a 2-hour ride.  I figured 90 minutes would be safer since I was riding in uncharted waters.  The coldest temperature I’d ever braved before was around 36 and since it was moving towards dusk, I’d likely be finishing in temperatures below the freezing threshold.  There was some snow melt on the shoulders and it dawned on me that this would be freezing into a dangerous black ice as I rode.  I needed to be careful.

I was okay for the first hour, but when I descended a steep hill in the valley at speeds exceeding 40 mph, the chill I created was getting to my hands and toes.  The final 15 minutes of the ride were painful but manageable though I was thrilled to roll in the garage and close the door behind me.

When I returned to the weather channel, there was little surprise the temperature had dropped to 31.  I had a new pr…and frozen fingers to mark the occasion.  I don’t think I’ll try to break that record, or if I do, it’ll be for a ride of less than an hour.  Still, I’d managed close to two hours and I didn’t have to get on a trainer…and that’s a good day in my book.

Bike duration:  95 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout:  1325.