One of my biking buddies has a saying: “Wind, rain, cold. Whenever two out of those three conditions are met, I don’t ride.”
Seems like we’ve been putting up with those conditions a lot lately — mainly cold and wind. My riding for February has tanked. The rest of the country is putting up with a brutal winter, and even here in Central Texas, it’s been colder than usual for longer than usual.
They crazy thing is, I’ve just come into some new biking duds — a couple of thermal jerseys. I’ve worn them twice. They work great, and I’ve been comfortable in temperatures in the 40s (4-6C), but those have been our milder temps for the last few weeks. When we’ve gotten a brief respite, I’ve been at work.
Then, the weather lightened up this weekend. Saturday saw the sun come out, and temperatures in the 60s. “Are you up for a ride?” asked my wife, pulling on a long-sleeved jersey.
I wasn’t. I was sick. First decent biking weekend we’ve had in two weeks, and I came down with a stomach virus. It was much safer for me to stick close to home.
Got lucky Sunday, though. The bug passed, the day warmed up to 72 (22C), and I not only rode with my wife, but I struck out on my own after we got home, and did a nice 21 miles. Felt good to wear short sleeves and shorts again.
But I’m not sure how long that will last. The forecast for Monday calls for a high around 47 (8C), with a brisk wind from the north and rain showers.
Three out of three. No matter, I’ll be working. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that by Friday, things will be bikable again.