It's a Hot 52 Mile Ride

"Sometimes I'm doing things considered

crazy by others, but then my heart

giggles.  That's when I know I'm doing

the right thing."

Dodinsky

 

Last night I wrestled with the idea of canceling the 52 mile ride today.  The news, my phone, everywhere I turn they are issuing record heat warnings and advising people not to so outside activities.  And I remember hot rides and how painful they can be, the ones where you feel you are on fire and the only thing that will help are gallons upon gallons of ice cold water.  And I am not stupid:  I know they can be dangerous.  Though I have had my moments in the heat, it is worse when you are nursing someone who is riding with you, worrying about them, often in the middle of nowhere. But I decide to show up and see what happens despite the fact it is a drive to the start for me.  We are, after all, adults and responsible for  our own choices in life. 

When I wake up, my phone has, in large letters, Extreme Heat Advisory, and despite being morning, it is already in the low eighties.  Again I ask myself what is wrong with me that I would even consider having a ride in this weather.   I head to the ride start feeling relatively certain that nobody else will show, telling myself I'll ride and can always turn around if I would like.  Then I plan to go pick blueberries at a nearby You Pick farm. While I often try to combine errands in one trip, I  have become even more determined to do so with the current gas prices.

Sure enough, when I arrive, nobody is there in the parking lot.  I am not surprised and I am not particularly disappointed, maybe because it is what I expected.  I drag my bike out and begin the preparations to leave at the ride start time.  It is hot and it is humid, but it is a bit  overcast and I know that will make a difference.  And then Mark pulls in.  Grinning,  I ask if he knows that he is crazy.  Like a true cyclist and in all seriousness, he tells me, "I need the miles."  My heart chuckles and grins. Not canceling was, indeed, the right thing for me. I do admonish him, however, that there should be no macho "I'm a man and I can take it particularly if a woman can" bull on the ride.  I will tell him if I am having heat issues and I expect him to tell me.  Not sure if he hears me though.

And we ride.  Not only do we ride, but we ride fairly hard.  It is not the tongue hanging out, not enough oxygen in the world hard, but hard enough that I feel it nagging at my thighs and my lungs.  At first I think the humidity, in the seventy something percentile, is going to be an issue as I notice the sweat just sitting on my skin, but the wind from movement of riding begins to evaporate the dampness from my skin.  Yes, I am soaking wet with perspiration, but I am not overly hot which surprises me because I definitely am not yet at all acclimated to the heat.  

We reach the midway store stop and do stop.  I grab a quick 2 percent milk because they only have the large size Gator Aid and I don't want that.   We don't linger however.  We have clouds blocking the sun on and off and they may not last.  We don't want to waste them.  I chug and we pull out.

This route is still new enough to me that I am not overly familiar with all the roads, so I enjoy the scenery.  After lunch, it is mostly riding rather than talking and riding.  It is nice to be with someone that doesn't expect to be entertained the entire ride though earlier in the ride I had to tell him about Dave King's comments about my possibly only taking a carry on bag to Scotland rather than a checked bag.  He assures  me there is no way I can do this and I tell him Amelia did it on our trip there a few years ago. From his point of view, Amelia is so much smaller than me that her clothes just take less room than mine will.  And I giggle just as I did when he first said it and I begged his pardon;-)  I think the main reason he would like  me to take a checked bag is so I can bring whiskey back for him for whiskey, while a Scottish specialty, is not my thing.  

By the time we reach the big climb the clouds have mostly evaporated and we are averaging 15.7, much faster than I anticipated when I started the ride.  The big climb up Tunnel Mill into Charlestown, however, lowers the average to 15.3.  Mark drops me on the climb despite being on a recumbant and "needing the miles," but he is nice enough to wait for me at the top despite my prior urging to feel free to shoot ahead, and we finish it out.  Nobody had heat stroke and no cramps.  The sun is out in full force as we turn into the parking lot.  And I am glad that I rode despite it being a bit on the crazy side. It is not the first crazy ride I have done and my heart continues to giggle.  Then off to pick blueberries.  (The man there also thought I was a bit off, picking berries in the extreme heat, but he appreciated the business and I'll appreciate the berries tonight in pancakes, a special treat for my efforts.  Also have to be sure to fill the huge  size clothing I wear per Dave;-)  Great ride!