This past week I had one long ride left to do, a 51-miler, and
had skipped going out the day before because it was windless and triple-digit
hot.
Still, the forecast was for high 90s on this last ride day
available, and that meant one thing: If I wanted to get this ride in without getting
heat stroke, I’d have to leave early.
Leaving early is a relative thing. Early early to me is pre-dawn, and that’s just too early for me. I’ve
done it, and hey, I’m not even awake several miles into rides this early. Plus,
I’ve found it’s hard to see in the pre dawn light, still waking up. And wearing
sunglasses doesn’t help.
If it’s too early, I know I’ll probably have to fight off the
need to nod off along the way, and that’s just a bad scenario. Half-snooze
while on the bike? Crash. Not good.
So early to me in the dead of summer is more like between
6:30-7:30 a.m. I usually do a stretch routine to get the rust out of the joints
and muscles, and that has helped keep my back relaxed and pain free on a long
ride.
But to leave early enough on this last ride, I had to skip
the stretching, kit up and get out on the bike pronto, since the angry heat
outside was already moving the needle steadily toward a scorching afternoon.
Even when I need to get out as fast as possible, I tell
myself not to rush while getting ready. Whenever I do, I feel out of whack and
unsettled mentally after I start the ride. Once out, I’m sure I’ve forgotten something
important like my phone (which I’ve done), or something else -- which wouldn’t
happen with a steady, thoughtful pre-ride prep. Because of rushing to get out
on the bike, I’ve forgotten to put on my riding gloves and one time, my helmet!
Anyway, without rushing, but also without stretching, this
time I got out on the bike at about 7:40. Which wasn’t ideally early, but early
enough so there was still some coolness in the air. And that’s always a welcome
with the promise of nuclear heat later in the ride. When the air is already warm
at the beginning of a ride, that means, oops, yeah, left too late, gonna pay
for that.
At the start of this ride, I felt a little stiffness in my
lower left back. Which I was pretty sure could have been avoided with my
stretches. So with that little warning sign, I decided to go easy, and not push
a strong cadence right away.
I’ve learned to pay attention to back stiffness on a ride.
For me, it will flare up after riding for many miles under-hydrated.
So, with the intentional slow start and regular deep drinks
of water, I rode. And while I didn’t ride near my fastest average speed, the little
tightness in the back I felt at the start, worked itself out.
I finished the ride before noon, before the heat was in full
beat-down mode. Not a fast ride, but my back felt fine, no heat stroke. By leaving
early, not starting out too fast, and keeping hydrated, the heat kept in check.
Signaling is good
This week I rode up behind a guy pedaling a recumbent bike.
As I got closer and closer, he suddenly decided to make a left U-turn, blocking
the oncoming lane and where I was about to pass him. Whaaaaat?!!!
I jerked the front wheel to the right, course correcting
without a hit or a crash. But just barely. As I rode past, I mentioned to the guy,
in a nice way of course, to maybe SIGNAL before doing a U-turn, eh?
Hey, we’ve all done it, made a sudden dangerous move without
thinking, or signaling. But just like drivers that never signal lane changes or
turns, it’s an indicator of too much of a ME attitude, that says “Who cares how
my actions affect others, they can get over it.”
Which is really not so great. So let’s all huddle up and
remember to signal our turns and lane changes. As somebody once said, safety is
no accident! Sure, it’s a corny line, but true. Most of the time, anyway.
Stop and help?
Absolutely…
On a couple of rides this month, amid the hot dog days of
August, I came upon rattlesnakes slowly crossing the bike path. Both were
visible enough ahead of time to make riding around them easy. But I always tell
upcoming riders there’s a snake ahead of them, because if they’re not paying
attention, they could ride over them, lose control, crash, and kill the snake.
One morning I rode up on a big snake that suddenly appeared in the shady, dark
part of the trail, and I just missed hitting it. I told oncoming riders, but on
the way back saw the snake had been run over and killed. Which made me feel
bad. Maybe I should have stopped, got off the bike and shooed him off the
trail.
On this last ride, a guy on a mountain bike coming the other
way was stopped and pointed to a big snake on the path as I rode around it. I think
he helped it off the path, because when I came back through about an hour
later, there was no dead snake, just clear trail.
So it’s true, sometimes stopping while on a ride to help a
snake survive a trail crossing, or even a rider with a flat, is a worthy
goodwill gesture. This is something I need to do more often, because riders
have stopped to help me repair a flat tire when I definitely needed the help.
One guy stopped and just kept me company while I repaired my flat, and rode on
when I was finished. Now that’s something to be thankful for, very nice
humanity.
And while I’ve stopped to help a rider with a flat, I still need
to be more on the lookout for chances to help snakes or other riders. Just
riding past someone who looks like they might need help, and not even asking if
they do, is pretty lame.
OK, on it!
Til next time, remember to pull on a helmet every time you get
on the bike. Then, keep the rubber side down, ride safely, and don’t forget to
have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson
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