A bit moist….
After a rather frigid week, I was jonesin to ride to work yesterday (besides, being Friday, I could get away with wearing jeans all day, and didn’t have to bother with bringing a change of clothes to work!).
It was in the upper 40′s, so I decided to test ride my new Turtle Fur neck tube thingie. It’s not really a balaclava, as it doesn’t cover the head, but rather it’s a tube (made of super soft, fuzzy, fleecy material) you slip over your head to cover your neck; it blocks the wind from going into the collar of your jacket, and can also be pulled up and over the chin to keep cold air out of your helmet.
Well, truth be told, the Turtle Fur ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. While it is super warm, and did block wind, it’s bulky, and when you combine the helmet, my hair in a braid, the top of the armour in my jacket, and THEN the bunched up Turtle Fur, it made for a rather uncomfortable ride to work. I dunno… I like it, but it may need some ‘mods’ to be useful for me.
Aside from that, the ride in to work was lovely… clear, sunny, and beautiful. The Ospreys have been out in full force all week — there were at least 4 (all appeared to have tasty morsels clasped in their talons) sitting atop the light posts on my way in.
The afternoon ride home, however, didn’t prove to be as lovely. It had been drizzling all day, so my bike was soaked when I got out to leave (few things are as unpleasant as straddling a cold, wet vinyl seat — except the resultant wet JEANS). The rain got a bit harder on the way home (still just a light rain, but enough to be a bit annoying), and then I hit bumper to bumper traffic for the last 2 miles home. Still, I’ve ridden in worse weather before, and I’m sure I will again.
Miles Ridden: 25
Since I’m a glutton for punishment….
…I rode to work today. Yes, you’d think I’d have learned my lesson on the frigid ride last night, but alas, I did not.
In truth, it was a spectacularly beautiful ride in this morning. It actually felt colder (and much windier) than it did last night, but there are few things as beautiful as watching the sun rise over the Atlantic as you cross the Dame’s Point Bridge.
And the Ospreys were our in full force this morning. It’s become a daily ritual to count the Ospreys perched on light poles at the south end of the Dame’s Point. They’re such amazingly huge, impressive birds, and ever since a friend explained that the presence of Ospreys indicates a healthy aquatic ecosystem, I’m always intrigued by them.
This morning there were two — one on the northbound side, and one on the southbound side. The one on the southbound side had a fairly large fish he was working on devouring, while two seagulls hovered over him, occasionaly diving toward him, in feeble attempts at robbing him of his breakfast (my money was on the Osprey, especially since he was literally 3 to 4 times the size of the gulls).
The afternoon ride home was cool, but not as windy as this morning. That said, I really do need to invest in some silk longjohns. It takes hours for my rear end to defrost after a chilly ride like that.
Miles Ridden: 25
Um, brrrrr……
So after spending a great deal of quality time with Scarlet this weekend (to the tune of over 370 miles), I wussed out this morning — just too darned cold to ride. Especially in light of the fact that I haven’t located the quilted liner for my leather jacket yet (eek!).
I hate wussing out due to weather, but I think I suffered enough discomfort due to Mother Nature over the last two days. The rest of the week looks downright frigid, so it might be this weekend before I ride again *sigh*.
Miles Ridden: 0
Maiden Voyage
Since picking up the new bike on Sunday, today was the first opportunity I’ve had to actually take her for a spin (my husband rode her home for me the day we bought her — I wasn’t feeling too good, and it was a bit of a long ride, and then last night we got her registered).
While not a long ride, I did take her to work today — a mere 25 miles round trip, but enough seat-time to confirm that I chose the right bike. It was with sheer glee that I rolled on the throttle as I merged onto 9A this morning, heading into work. Just the smooth manner in which she accelerates brought a huge smile to my face.
On my way home, I got a hint into just what second gear is capable of — as I was merging onto the highway to head home, there was a semi in front of me, kicking up all sorts of dirt and rocks. In the fast lane, just barely a car length back from the rear corner of the semi, was a Suburban. The Suburban showed no signs of slowing to let me in, nor any sign of accelerating to pass this truck, and I simply didn’t want to be boxed in behind him. So with just a teensy twist of the throttle, I slipped over in front of the Suburban, tucked in over the tank, and zip-zip, I was gone. It wasn’t just the speed, it was the rate at at which I reached that speed. It’s such a drastic change from my previous bike (in more ways than I can count).
Miles ridden: 25
