We’re not really supposed to have favorites, but everyone does. Just ask your parents. So while I’m not supposed to have a favorite, I do, and its Rule #9.
Bad weather immediately separates the wheat from the chaff, and so the weekend warriors stay indoors and leave the roads to the devout. I talk most often about riding in the rain, with the drops of water dripping from my cap acting as my personal metronome as I carve a path through the chaos towards a happier self. But sunny days in the cold can provide their own glorious solitude.
On Keepers Tour 2013, we had unseasonably cold weather, and some of the best rides we had were early morning spins before heading off to the races. With the sun hanging low over the horizon, we rode through our frozen breath, together in close formation yet each of us retreating inward as we steeled ourselves against the cold. These were beautiful, peaceful rides.
This winter in Seattle has been relatively dry, but also cold. On the weekends, the country roads are nearly deserted and all that is left is the silent, still air and the burning of cold air as it enters my lungs. On a recent solo ride on Whidbey Island, I spun down the same roads which only a few months earlier I had ridden with friends on the annual Whidbey Island Cogal. The island seems a full place then, now it looked like an entirely different place – empty and beautiful.
There is something about the way the bike handles in the cold. The tires are firmer, the rubber less supple. The connection between bicycle and road seems simultaneously harsher and more fragile than in the warm. The muscles in my arms and hands are also more twitchy in the cold. Not twitchy like I can suddenly sprint; twitchy like I have difficulty controlling what they are doing – where normally I pride myself on holding a clean line, in the cold a small bump in the road might trigger a spasm that sends the bike into a wobble. Its an exciting way to ride.
Quiet roads, a still harbor, an early morning sunrise; these are the gifts reserved for those who ventured out when others stay in. These are the gifts of Rule #9.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
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@ChrisO
Some mudguards just don't work but many do. Since most of your riding takes place in a desert and most of mine in a damp swamp I'll assume greater knowledge on this occasion.
My number one doesn't have mudguards though and still gets used for rides like the one you missed the other day.
RP was rammed this weekend. There were as many runners as cyclists many of whom were on the road! I think it's time to start heading for the hills. I prefer my rides to be a bit more solitary.
@PedallingTom If you want to hook up down in leafy Surrey let me know - though I am away "altitude training" for 2 and a half weeks from tomorrow. Though at the moment the leaves are mostly that treacherous mash on the roads.
Can I suggest an addition to Rule #24? Speeds and distances shall be referred to and measured in kilometres and temperatures shall be referred to in Celcius.
Just so when we talk about riding in the low 30s we are all on the same page. I would't want some poor confused soul going for a ride in a blizzard while wearing Froome's new skinsuit.
@eenies
I dunno might be a good Darwin selection for anyone who actually buys one of those horror nets if they come on the open market!
@Teocalli
Some sorties to leafy Surrey would suit me. Give me a shout when you get back from your altitude training!
@eenies
Good idea re temperatures and we should stay metric on all but alcohol measures. But please can everyone stop conjuring images of Froome in that dreadful skinsuit.
@PedallingTom
Most of my current riding, yes, but my pre-desert riding was mostly audax so I have a deep and secret past with SPDs, Open Pros and mudguards which also have flaps attached - now those actually do work.
I also went over to RP on Sunday, but was with the family so didn't try to organise anything.
It was indeed heaving with people who don't look before they pull out to slowly overtake the person in front going marginally slower than them, as well as tits who push up those little rises and then slump and coast at the top as if they've just crested the Madeleine. I got very annoyed and instead of doing the nice steady ride I had planned hammered out a couple of fast laps. At least I didn't have any spray in my face !
May go back on Sunday, weather and family dependent. I'm racing in Brighton on Saturday so it also depends on how many brownie points I have left. Persuading my wife the dog needs a change of scenery seems to be an effective tactic at the moment.
Good morning, Rule #9
http://vimeo.com/77487665
Let's try that again....Good morning, Rule #9
@Erik
Lost Beyond All Reason
@frank
Ah, but you were racing, not just riding. I've raced in near freezing temps in little more than a skinsuit and some overshoes with snow and slush on the roads. Horses for courses etc, etc.