I chose this years Colorburst ride for my attempt. One of the routes is 100k so if I rode it twice, my goal would be achieved. A considerable amount of time and energy was put into planning and preparing for this ride, including several Bike Days. My Bike Days were regular, old Wednesdays were I took the day off, woke early, and rode all day. The last one of the year was 103 miles. I was ready. It was not a matter of if, but when. I knew what it would take and I was confident I had it in me.
Nutrition? No problem. Hydration? Got ya covered. Fatigue? I can handle that. Cold? That's what good clothes are for.
Rain? Crap.
As the day approached, the forecast was for a 40% chance of rain, probably in the afternoon. No big deal. That I can handle. Most of the ride will be done by then. If I get a little wet at the end, it won't stop me. It just makes the story better.
A few more days passed and it switched to an 80% chance of rain, still with most of the rain in the afternoon. Hmmm...how should I handle this? Use the rain coat? Probably a good idea. What about the feet? Good question. I've never been able to fully close up my shoe covers because they are just a little too small. AHA! Michelle can sew some extra velcro material on! She did (Thanks Honey!) and they fit much better. I knew this wouldn't completely prevent wet feet but I thought it would hold things off.
Friday arrived and the forecast was upgraded to a 100% chance of rain, mostly likely starting in the late morning. Oh boy. This isn't looking good.
At this point, I switched from planning to wishful thinking.
Maybe it won't rain that much. Maybe the forecasters are giving us a Worst Case Sceneario.
I'm sure my clothing will hold out. How wet could it be?
On Saturday morning, I woke early and made sure I had everything. When I checked the radar map, all I saw was a big green blob the size of the Mitten that was almost to Muskegon/Grand Haven.
This is the point at which the wishful thinking ended. Today was going to be a big pile of suck.
As I was driving toward Lowell, I noticed it was not yet raining.
Try to get as many miles in as you can before the rain starts and then deal with conditions.
On the way out there, there was not a single drop of rain on my windshield. Not. One. Drop.
I got out of my car and started to unload my bike. As I was doing this, it started to sprinkle. I kid you not. Further evidence that God does have a sense of humor.
After checking in with the ride officials, I turned on my lights, hopped on my bike and took off. At this point, it was still a very light sprinkle.
A little sprinkle is nothing. It's not enough to really have any effect on the day.
By the way, it was about 35 degrees out. The one bright spot for the day was that I was actually dressed quite well for the cold. Had the rain not been part of the equation, the day would have turned out much differently.
One of the reasons I chose the Colorburst was that it is basically a series of short rides connected together. Instead of thinking, "You have to ride 124 miles", my thought process was more like "Ok, you're done with a 20 mile ride. Next is a 25 mile ride". A series of short rides sounds a lot more do-able than one 124 mile ride.
Within 5 miles of starting, the rain started coming down harder. Joy. At this point, it was still beading up on my coat but I could feel it soaking into my tights.
No big deal, you're legs are still warm. You're still cruising along pretty well.
At about 10 miles, I could feel the top of my left sock getting wet.
That's not good. You know where the water's going. Oh great, now the top of the right sock is getting wet.
So, I'm about 10 miles in and my socks are already getting wet. My shoe covers and shoes were actually doing a good job of keeping the water out. What was happening was that water was soaking my tights and running down my leg and getting under the shoe cover. My shoes have a Gore-Tex liner so any water that gets in cannot get out.
When I got to the first rest stop, it wasn't even open yet (I had started about an hour earlier than most people would). This was no big deal because I hadn't expected it to be open. The next loop was about 20-25 miles, so I kept going.
You're feet are pretty wet. Not too long before they are nice and numb. 124 miles doesn't seem likely. Maybe just 62 today. Finish this loop and then back to the start. That sucks pretty hard but it's better than nothing.
About 3 miles down the road, I realized my feet were no longer simply wet but were quite literally swimming in my shoes. I could actually feel pooled water around my toes.
Ok, if you keep going this is going to get ugly fast. The smart thing to do is to turn around and head back. On the other hand, you're not going to get another chance at this, at least this year.
In the end, I made what was probably the right decision and turned around to head back. Interestingly, I rode more miles after that point than before.
By the time I actually got back, I was sooooo wet. I was not tired, however. Had conditions been better, I don't doubt that I would have met my goal. My final tally for the day was 41.4 miles and about 1300 feet of climbing. According to my Garmin, it never got above 37 degrees.
On the way home, I peeled off my shoes and socks and blasted the heat on my feet. By the time I got home, I could actually feel my toes again. Sensation in your toes is such a nice thing. I highly suggest it.
I was home by about 10:30 and spent the rest of the day hanging out with Michelle and the kiddos. We even went to Chuck E. Cheese in the evening.
I didn't do my 200k ride. I didn't even really come close. What I ended up with was, basically, a decent ride marred by cold & rain. Disappointing to say the least. It is highly unlikely that I will get another chance this year. The newest Terrell is due in Novemeber and I don't have any more time off except for holiday stuff.
Sigh.
On the plus side, the ride was educational. First, I have a pretty good set up for cold weather riding. My feet might have gotten a little cold yesterday, but I think the rest of me would have been fine. The next time it is 35 degrees, I won't flinch at going out.
Second, riding in the rain was actually kind of enjoyable (except for the soaking wet part). The roads were nice and quiet and hearing the rain fall was a surprisingly relaxing. With the right gear/bike set up, I might just look forward to a rainy day ride.
Third, I got out there and gave it a solid go when many people would have stayed home (I will admit, this option strongly crossed my mind). The fact that I had worked so hard to prepare and plan for this ride got me out there. The old saying "You don't know until you try" kept running through my head.
For 2013, I'm going to add a new goal: do a rainy day ride of at least 2 hours without getting soaking wet. Achieving this goal ought to be easy. All I need is the right equipment. All I need to get the right equipment is money. And this is where the plan falls apart some.
One of the things I like the most about cycling is all the cool gear and gadgets. What I like the least about cycling is how much money all that gear and gadgets costs.
Here is what I think I will need:
WARNING!!! WARNING!!! GEEKY CONTENT APPROACHING!!!
- Fenders - I recently saw a company that has a developed a set of full coverage fenders designed specifcally for bikes that don't usually fit fenders. The come from sks-germany.com.
- A good quality, waterproof cycling jacket. I have some ideas here but nothing specific.
- Waterproof shoe covers. I saw a pair from Gore Bike Wear that come up pretty high on the leg. Between these and fenders, I would likely avoid water running down my legs into my shoes.
- Some tights that are at least water resistant.
If I can figure out good options for the list above, I might just look forward to riding in the rain.
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