Sunday, March 11, 2007

A little bit o' sunshine

It's supposed to get into the 40s (F, that's 4.44 something in C, which frankly seems way colder) again today. Yesterday, I was hunkered down, avoiding grading. Today I'm just going to give in; the bike is coming off the trainer (where, to be honest, it hasn't been used nearly as much as it should have been).

UPDATE (because I know you've been waiting with bated breath)

Joy. Happiness. A little sweat, a lot of mud up my back (through all three layers, thanks). I rode out to where the city trail meets the state trail, which isn't cleared of snow at all, then turned back and rode up through the city park, which has enough trees to scent the air to remind me that once this area was a great pinery.

A fair number of folks were out walking and such, and all of us smiling.

There's something very weird about riding through the park, up the hill, and seeing in the distance people out ice-fishing on the lake, and then riding around and down next to the lake, and watching kids play at sliding near the ice fishers.

Note to self: trying to ride uphill on ice isn't as fun as it sounds.

I desperately await the arrival of spring. I sent away for biking shorts today, even though I've read how you're supposed to wear them.

6 comments:

  1. Yay! Spring is on the way, and I'm SO happy about it ...

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  2. How are you supposed to wear them?

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  3. Hey, I just began celebrating the upcoming Spring weather by taking out and laundering my coolest matching workout gear! We haven't quite gotten a nice day, though. So I haven't actually worn them yet. ::hopping up and down slightly:: Can't wait, can't wait.

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  4. I second that - how are you supposed to wear them? (Besides clinging to a part of my body that shouldn't be clung to?)

    Glad you had a good ride!

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  5. The answer you've all been waiting for: commando!

    Yeah, watching bike races will never be the same for me, either.

    Bike shorts have, so they say, a soft inner layer that absorbs sweat and such and provides padding, support, and softness to prevent chaffing. In the old days, the inner layer was chamois leather (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamois_leather) though now it's synthetic. (Supposedly, cotton isn't nearly absorbent enough.)

    This leads to a product called "chamois butt'r." I kid you not: http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=3921

    I think I understand why all biker shorts seem to be black. And yet, everyone I've talked to who bikes more seriously than I do (and that would include most 7 year olds) says that biker shorts are incredibly comfortable and wonderful. So what the heck.

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  6. You are a braver woman than I.

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