11.18.2007

50K


I never made it out for my ride yesterday. I was set to go, but it started raining and never let up. It was a very light rain, but 39 degrees and rain is a little too much. The line must be drawn somewhere.

But today was nicer, so I got my ride in. It was 45 degrees and partly cloudy. I wore my headband, cycling cap, helmet, long sleeve base layer, PI Kodiak Light long sleeve jersey, vest, PI winter gloves, shorts, leg warmers, thin socks, shoes and shoe covers. I took a jacket and knee warmers just in case. The toughest part about riding in cold weather is dressing properly. You can always find enough gear to keep you warm, but the trick is not getting too warm. If you sweat too much you'll get very cold and could get frostbite if it's cold enough. Today, I got it right although I probably could have gone without the vest...especially on the way back with a tailwind.

I rode from Janesville to Carver Park outside Clinton back to Janesville. The big difference between biking around Madison vs Janesville is that you will almost always see other cyclists around Madison. There were rides this spring where I think I saw well over 100 cyclists. I figured with the cold temps, there was no way I would see another cyclist on today's ride. Oh well. No big deal.

At mile 28, I saw another roadie. Good to see the Rock County cyclists are representin. Then a few miles later I turned onto Wright Road to head home and what do I see? A bike lane. Holy smokes. That makes 2 roads in Janesville - that I know of - that have bike lanes. Very nice. Janesville has a long, long way to go before one could call it a bike friendly town, but it's good to see they're working on it. You gotta start somewhere.

I'm watching Ironman Louisville on the tele right now, and this is definitely one of the best IM broadcasts I've seen. They're actually showing the race instead of filling the whole hour with inspirational stories. The commentary is a little different and reminds me of sports commentary from the 80s. And the course looks awesome. I'm glad I'm taping this one. This will be a good one to watch again on the trainer this winter. I think I might like to do this one someday. It's not too far away and the course looks fun.

Today's Ride
Time = 1:46:07
Distance = 32.94 miles
Ave Speed = 18.6 mph
Ave Cadence = 82 rpm


1 comment:

Chris said...

Hi Mike,

Nice Blog. I noticed that you might have recorded the Louisville IM broadcast. I and up in Canada and unfortunatley, we don't get the Versus network. Would it be possible for you to send me a copy on DVD? I'd really appreciate it. It was my first Ironman and I'd really like to show my family and friends what the day was like. More than happy to pay you for whatever costs you incur.

Not sure if you got one, but Janus did a DVD of the race highlites and sent one to all entrants, please let me know if you want a copy and I'd be happy to send one.

Thanks very much,

Chris MacMillan
38 Tilman Circle
Markham, ON
Canada L3P 6A5