Home  Bathroom Reading / News The Chamois Winter Base Continues...
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Winter Base Continues... |
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Written by Jason Mahokey
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Monday, 28 January 2008 |
Winter Base Continues...
 | | Ice makes this river view a little better than usual. |
It will be worth It.
It will be worth It.
It will be worth It.
It will be worth It.
I hope.
 | | Rocking the Woodsy-Gangsta look. |
Riding out in 20 degree weather for the second weekend in a row WAS NOT something I wanted to do again. BUT knowing that some of my Bikeman.com teammates are riding in some conditions much worse than I was about to ride in gave me a little motivation. Plus riding for 2 hours on the trainer was something I wanted to do even less. SO, it was time to scour the house looking for all my gear. The layering broke down like this....
Feet: Base socks. Wool Socks. Plastic Baggies. Wool Socks. Lake MX230 Shoes.
Legs: Tights. Bikeman.com Bibs. Tights.
Torso: Base T. Long Sleeve Thermal. Twin-Six "Buck" Jersey. LL Bean Jacket.
Head: Bikeman.com Winter Hat, Hammer Cap. Balaclava.
Hands: Big ass wind resistant, water repellent winter gloves.
Damn! I felt like a big old fatty boom-ba-latty?and got to rock the Woodsy Gansta Look again.
 | | And endless ribbon of white. |
I hit the local rail trail again to put in a couple hours and do some pretty much constant pedaling and traffic free. Too cold for me on the road (although I did pass two roadies on my way home. Hats off to them! The trail was covered in snow, but luckily it was pretty packed down and not icy. Just one long continuous ribbon of white. That keeps going, and going, and going. It could drive one mad, if one wasn't a tad mad already.
The only other cyclist I saw on the trail were two hunters who had just parked their full suspension Huffy's and were heading off to hunt God knows what. How the hell long is PA's hunting season??? This has been going on since November! Eeesh. You would have thought they would have killed everything by now.
Damn cold today. I think I was colder today than last week and the temps were LOWER last week. This week the gray/brown/vomit colored river was frozen. It actually looks better frozen. Made it impossible to see the floating tires and McDonald's bags. Nice.
Thankfully I once again rolled with my iPod. When the feet are cold and the fingers are numb I can just let my mind drift along with the music. This is especially helpful on the return trip, when my mind is wasted (more than usual). That's another good thing about the rail trails. I would not think to ride with my iPod on the road. I like to be able to hear the insults that motorists yell at me as they pass. More than that though I like to just enjoy the sounds of cycling. The rail trail is too boring though. I must have some muzak.
I have found myself becoming pretty negative in the past week or two. Anyone that reads thesoiledchamois.com can attest to that! "Winter Jason" is in full effect with at least 5 more weeks or so of cold to go. All I can tell myself is that it will be worth it in the end. That the miles will help my body and that forcing myself outside in the cold rather than opting for the warmer climes of the Stankment will improve my mental toughness for those chilly midnight to 4 a.m. laps during a Solo when I usually want to lay in the weeds and sleep.
 | | Yum-Oh. Frozen Perpetuem. Mmmmmm. |
At rides end I had 2 hours of constant pedaling. The snowy trail made my HR stick pretty much in Zone 3 the whole time. I ended up witha nice bottle full of Perpetuem ice, and some frozen fingers and toes. I anxiously await the pair of used Lake winter shoes that I bought off a fellow Bikeman.com racers. Yeah I bought used shoes! I'm not too proud to wear shoes with someone else's toe funk in them. ESPECIALLY when the shoes in question are gonna keep my tootzies warm and toasty.
All in all, it was worth it. I in NO way had the mental energy for a two hour trainer ride. And my legs got some "real bike' time on the Mamasita. Hope to get some warmer temps soon (doubtful!) or at least some warmer clothes (probable!). Hope everyone is having a good winter and staying warm.
Later.
Jason
"The Soiled Chamois"
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; "Ice makes this river view a little better than usual.")
; "Rocking the Woodsy-Gangsta look.")
; "And endless ribbon of white.")
; "Yum-Oh. Frozen Perpetuem. Mmmmmm.")
