(January 7th)

Day 13 - LaGrange to Bastrop TX

Arming for Battle

 

I woke up to this great news this morning! It caused me to decide to leave at 11am this morning vs. my usual dawn departure.

On the right is my base layer for my feet: really thin polypropelene socks. They are designed to "wick" the sweat away from my skin. The red socks are my middle layer and are REALLY thick wool. They are probably 20 years old since I bought them long ago when I was doing my first of six gigs as a Scoutmaster. But they are the best/warmest socks I've ever owned.

The outer layer for my feet. They wrap around the outside of my biking shoes. They are insulated and completely waterproof. Really a terrific design as they are easy to put on and take off.

The inner layer for my noggin. It can cover everything except my eyes, but I really haven't been able to cover my mouth as cycling with my rig is hard work! It is NOT wind or waterproof, but I don't want it to be because if it was it would just trap all the sweat and that would be awful.

All my hand layers. I don't use them all at the same time, but some are in every "package." I always start with the silk inner glove liners. Super thin. Then if it is REALLY SUPER COLD I put on the Sealskin "lobster claw" gloves. I normally prefer mittens but I have to operate the brakes, so this design is a compromise for that. If it is anything about 40 degrees or above I don't use those, but rather just put on my normal riding gloves. This morning, for instance, I started with my lobster-claw gloves on but they proved too hot, so I had to take them off. It felt like my hands were in overs. In both cases, I finish off each package with the outer mitten layer. They are waterproof and windproof and they are really oversized so they are easy to pull on and off and allow me to manipulate my fingers.

In this pic is my upper torso inner layer: a Nike Dri-Fit long sleeve top. You can also see my two leg layers. First on is the insulated, long riding tights. Note the "stirrup" design that goes over my instep. And, to keep the chamois (which is inside these pants) in the right place they come equipped with suspenders. The second layer is some warm Nike running pants. Neither of my leg layers are waterproof or windproof though I do have that in EXTREME emergency. I've only used that final outer layer on heavy rain days as this package handled cold into the 20s without trouble.

 

 

My other upper torso layers. On top of my Nike Dri-Fit I always wear the insulated, fitted, long-sleeve cycling jersey. If temps are above 35 or so (as they were for a bit today), I go with just the thin cycling jacket. It isn't wind or waterproof but it does add that small extra layer of warmth that does the trick. If things are nasty in terms of rain/sleet then I add the wind and waterproof layer of the larger jacket. Note that the larger jacket has a hood that IS waterproof and which I wear over my balaclava when I need something extra on my head. So far I haven't worn all this at the same time, but if it got cold enough to require that, I could.

Today is going to be a "gear" post as I haven't yet met anyone who has added to my story (though I still have dinner to go, so who knows!).

 

 

I had more time than usual this morning as I knew I didn't have far to go (only 30 miles) and I really wanted to get my riding into the warmest possible period of the day. So I didn't leave until 11am...which made me feel so decadent after weeks of dawn departures!

 

 

And as you can see in my pics, the story of today was arming for my battle with the weather. It was cold...even when I left it was in the high 20s. Only in the middle of the afternoon did it inch up over freezing. So, given I spend most of every day outside, I either dress well for it or go nowhere. Now, I understand many of you cyclists already have all this cold-weather gear figured out, so you can skip reading all the pic captions :) But, for those of you who don't regularly do hours upon hours of physical exertion in some pretty serious cold, you might find my layering strategy enlightening. Or boring!

 

 

It's one thing to just sit somewhere and dress for warmth...because you aren't sweating. That is a piece of cake. The really difficult part about cycling many hours in this weather is dealing with the sweat. Why? Because sweat is specifically designed to COOL YOU DOWN. The original settlers of my hometown (Phoenix AZ) used evaporation to cool food for example. And they would dampen their sheets before they went to bed at night so that the evaporation of the damp sheets would cool them off at night. So, as you can see, you want as little sweat to evaporate on your skin as possible.

So, that's why I wear the layers I do. I try to wear only enough to keep me warm, but not get me soaked with sweat that will evaporate for hours and cool me off the entire time. It is really a challenge. But after two days of doing battle with some really bitter cold, I feel very good about my "system" ;)

 

 

So, what happens in a day when, literally, all you do is ride your bike (or preapare ride your bike)? Well, about a week ago I decided not to listen to audiobooks while I'm riding so that I could do a better job of experiencing the places I was riding through. I figured I could do a better job of "living in the moment" without having "content" in my mind from an outside source.

Just me and my thoughts.

 

 

Well, that sounds great doesn't it? Very zen. And, as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I did get to some sort of zen state a couple of days ago. But what it also has resulted in is quite a bit of introspection. Like trying to answer the question of "what should be on my bucket list (I don't have one)?" or even "do I even need a bucket list?"

 

 

So, I decided today that I don't need one. Well, at least not a long one. The only two "go see and do" goals I'd put on there are as follows:

 

• Backpack the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine (No, I don't actually backpack though I could if I wanted to in that I have before. Once. I got the idea after watching the film "A Walk in the Woods")
• Learn to sail to the point I have a captain's license. Then, rent a sailboat in the Caribbean and sail it around any random collection of islands for at least a week. (I got this idea while on a cruise in the British Virgin Islands and saw lots of sailboats in ports we visited where people were clearly "living aboard" and just sailing around)

 

Interestingly, at no point up to about four weeks ago did I ever, EVER consider riding my bike across the country! The two goals above are older by roughly two years. And if some of you (like my Mom) would prefer this list never grows longer, then someone had better keep me from reading or watching anything related to adventure travel!