Desperate Times
Winter comes every year, so it should be no surprise that I've had to be off the bike for the past several days. This year, it is different. It isn't uncommon for Oklahoma to get snow in the winter. Generally, though, winter comes and goes pretty quickly. I mean, we might get a big snowstorm, but within a day or two, the temperature is back to the mid 40s or low 50s, and it all melts off pretty rapidly. That's what makes Oklahoma such a nice place to live—just enough winter to get it out of your system, but never guilty of wearing out it's welcome. Not so this year.
On Christmas Eve, we had a mild blizzard. We got six to eight inches of snow. Not a big deal. Here was my street on Christmas Day:
Problem is, we haven't had any warm days since. I think we've had one day out of seven where the temperature was above 40. So the snow has been very slow to melt. Here is my street this evening:
Better than last week, but still dangerous for cycling. Black ice is everywhere.
Last night, as I drove through town, I witnessed several accidents, as there was some melting and re-freezing. The city streets were like a skating rink in places. One pickup truck driver creamed a policeman. The cop didn't look too happy.
Needless to say, cycling has been non existent for me. The last time I rode my bike was December 22, and it is killing me to be off. Not that it hurts to take some time out of the saddle. But I just really miss it. And I have been eating like a horse. Needless to say, I've been feeling very lethargic. And fat.
Things don't look terribly hopeful either. The gang at Channel 2 had the nerve to put this graphic up on their website today:
More snow moving in on Sunday, and not one day above freezing. I could cry.
Yes, I have a gym membership. We put it on hold during the warm weather, and I haven't really wanted to spend the money to start back up again. I also have a magnetic resistance trainer, but I don't like it much. I can never get my heart rate up, and it doesn't really feel like I'm doing any work.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. Today I got up off the couch, and went for a walk/run. I would like to have run more than I walked, but the sidewalks and streets were still very icy. I did that for about an hour, then came in and set up the mag trainer, and was on it for about thirty minutes. Surprisingly, it wasn't at bad as I remembered. I actually worked up a good sweat, got my heart rate up and into the mid 120s, and burned a few hundred calories. I think I'll leave it set up until the weather starts to thaw. Heck, maybe I'll even crack open my checkbook and re-activate my gym membership.
It wasn't so bad
At least I could watch the game while riding.
Good news is, I won! Stage victory!
Looks kinda like...
Hey, I can't dream, can't I?
On Christmas Eve, we had a mild blizzard. We got six to eight inches of snow. Not a big deal. Here was my street on Christmas Day:
Problem is, we haven't had any warm days since. I think we've had one day out of seven where the temperature was above 40. So the snow has been very slow to melt. Here is my street this evening:
Better than last week, but still dangerous for cycling. Black ice is everywhere.
Last night, as I drove through town, I witnessed several accidents, as there was some melting and re-freezing. The city streets were like a skating rink in places. One pickup truck driver creamed a policeman. The cop didn't look too happy.
Needless to say, cycling has been non existent for me. The last time I rode my bike was December 22, and it is killing me to be off. Not that it hurts to take some time out of the saddle. But I just really miss it. And I have been eating like a horse. Needless to say, I've been feeling very lethargic. And fat.
Things don't look terribly hopeful either. The gang at Channel 2 had the nerve to put this graphic up on their website today:
More snow moving in on Sunday, and not one day above freezing. I could cry.
Yes, I have a gym membership. We put it on hold during the warm weather, and I haven't really wanted to spend the money to start back up again. I also have a magnetic resistance trainer, but I don't like it much. I can never get my heart rate up, and it doesn't really feel like I'm doing any work.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. Today I got up off the couch, and went for a walk/run. I would like to have run more than I walked, but the sidewalks and streets were still very icy. I did that for about an hour, then came in and set up the mag trainer, and was on it for about thirty minutes. Surprisingly, it wasn't at bad as I remembered. I actually worked up a good sweat, got my heart rate up and into the mid 120s, and burned a few hundred calories. I think I'll leave it set up until the weather starts to thaw. Heck, maybe I'll even crack open my checkbook and re-activate my gym membership.
It wasn't so bad
At least I could watch the game while riding.
Good news is, I won! Stage victory!
Looks kinda like...
Hey, I can't dream, can't I?
Jason: can we have a mutual "I miss riding" session? My last ride was Friday, Dec.18. The Y has been my "salvation" but it certainly isn't the same thing. Anyway, spring is coming. BTW: congrats on your victory. It was awesome to see.
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Bill, I was able to get out yesterday for a little while. It felt good, but it was scary, with some pretty big ice patches on the bike trail. Still, it was good to ride for a bit. I'm going to try to get out again today, then maybe tomorrow. After that, the bottom falls out again, with low temps forecast to be below zero. Weather Channel says next week should warm up a bit. Thank goodness!
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