Tuesday, April 03, 2007

And you will know me by the overly bright shirt...

It's getting warmer (well, this week's impending cold-snap notwithstanding) and that means more time on the road. It's slow going when the weather is unpredictable. Was going to ride on Sunday morning, but decided to wait for a friend who was coming back from a southern suburb. By the time he got home, the wind had kicked up to 25+ mph sustained and rain was starting, so I forced myself onto the trainer out in the garage.

Time moves much slower when riding a bicycle that is attached to a trainer. A half an hour on it is akin to that last half hour before school lets out on a sunny day. It just draaaaaagggggsss. Tell yourself, okay, I'm going to kick up the gear and put in a full minute of intense effort. The minute hand turns and it's go time. And the minute never ends! The song in the headphones has to have gone on long enough for a minute, right?

Wrong.

By the time 30 minutes elapses, I'm reduced to just spinning and sweating and wondering why..... why.... wondering why what? It's numbing.

A half hour on the road at least goes by. Actual distances are traveled. Cars and trucks skimming by make the ride visceral and heighten the senses. Wind taunts and teases. Folks give funny looks. Once in a while another lone rider will glide past in the other direction, a quick hand raised in acknowledgement that this ride is necessary in the scheme of things. Necessary for when temperatures get warmer, hotter, and sweltering.

Here's my latest jersey for when the warmth kicks in. Should be bright enough out on the road. I'm expecting to hear fun comments on big group rides, just like with the Fat Tire jersey. Beer is good. Beer from Kalamazoo is even better and Bell's Oberon is a near-perfect one for summertime.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

don't know the beer. any good?

as far as the jersey - why am i not surprised to see that there's adidas stripes, but it's made by champ-sys? typical.

get off that trainer, and hit the road. it's april!

CyLowe said...

Ahh... Bell's Oberon. It's a summer offering. Here's the little to know about it...

http://bellsbeer.com/branddetail.asp?BrandID=7
or http://ratebeer.com/Beer/bells-oberon-ale/3211/

As for the jersey, the Adidas stripes are a sponsor of their MTB team, as is the small Oakley logo on rear left and Two Wheel Tango Cyclery on the rear right pocket. Side panels have "Quiring" on them for this Michigan frame builder... http://www.quiringcycles.net/about.html

Alright, yeah it's April, but understand I'm a fair-weather wannabe and not fond of heavy winds, rain, and sleet. It's the 'burbs, not the three or four days of Dunkirk.... ;)

Arron said...

nice. we for sure will see you coming! later.