In the summer months I can average between 250 and 300 miles a week on the bike. When the sun is shining, the days are long, and I have my earbuds in my ears delivering sweet music, it seems that I can ride forever. At the end of every summer I feel invincible.
However, this all changes when the time falls back in northwest Indiana at the end of October. After November 1st, if I want to ride outside, I am riding in the dark five days a week after work. The rides are cold, gloomy, and windy. And then the snow comes.
The past few weeks have been very difficult with massive snow, cold temperatures, and roads just too dangerous to ride at night. As much as I hate trainer rides, I’ve been resorting to the trainer to try and keep as much fitness as possible.
I’m very fortunate that several years ago Marc built a movie theater in our basement so that I can watch Bike-O-Vision videos on the big screen while I pedal on the trainer with a fan blowing. However, I find being planted on the bike seat without actually moving to be extremely painful. My trainer rides are never more than an hour.
This past week I’ve hit a wall that I’ve never hit before. I can’t bear to do the trainer, and I can’t bear the 45 minutes of preparation for a 1 1/2 hour ride after work.
Today when I got home, the sun was shining. I had an extremely busy day at work and I was cold and tired. But I looked at the sky and thought, just maybe, if I hurried, I could get outside before the sun went down. I rushed to get ready, and posed my bike in the driveway before setting out.
In my rush to get out the door, I didn’t check the tires on the bike. I was about a mile from home when I realized my mistake. They were so underinflated that the fastest I could go with a tailwind was 11 mph! About five minutes into my ride, the sun started setting. The bare branches of the trees and the open fields in Indiana make for spectacular sunsets. I am always in awe. I stopped and got out my iPhone and snapped a picture, hoping there was enough light for the picture to turn out.
About nine miles into my ride I became extremely uncomfortable because I had to go to the bathroom. In the summer, the endless cornfields provide for shelter and a bathroom stop anytime you need one. However, once the corn is harvested and there are miles of open fields, there is nowhere to go. By this time it was pitch black outside and I was far away from the nearest house. I stopped and turned off my headlight and blinkie and gazed at the constellation Orion in the night sky. It was breathtaking. I laid down my bike and went to the bathroom in the middle of the road, which was incredibly liberating for a girl! I then made my way home. The ride was only 15 miles but it felt like 50 because every pedal took great effort in the cold darkness with my fat, underinflated tires.
Marc had dinner waiting when I got home. It felt so good to be outside!