Not Fast Enough

Friday morning dawned sunny and (somewhat) clear. I siezed upon the opportunity to take a quick ride before breakfast, to really kick in the ol' metabolism. But I took too long getting ready, and I went further than I had planned, with the result that I ended up having to dodge skywater on my way back home. Fortunately, the rain only began about a mile from the house, so it wasn't too bad, but had I just been that much quicker, it wouldn't have been an issue.

Part of the reason that I took so long getting ready is that I couldn't decide what to wear. This wasn't the "Honey, our theater tickets are for the show that starts in ten minutes, let's go!" type of deciding what to wear, it was "How best do I prepare for the elements?" I could see that it was windy, and it was certainly going to be chilly. So I had to decide on "windproof" pants (but they don't have a pad, what to do?!), do I wear my rain jacket which is also fairly windproof, or do I wear a fleecy type layer instead, do I want sleeves, leggings, booties, what? I ended up with the AmFib pants and my rain jacket as outer layers. The trouble with the pants is that either the seam or the "breathable" layer on the backside of the leg is not windproof like the front is. And whether it's the Bernoulli effect or some other phenomenon making the wind whip past the outside of my legs faster, I felt a draft, right at the edge of that precious windproof barrier. And my gloves were sorely not up to the task, not to mention that they were still wet from playing ultimate the night before. Clearly, the alternate title of this post could be "crabbit complaints about cycling clothes".

The other speed issue I have to contend with is the dreaded D-word. "Dialup." Yes, on my way to the Bay Area, I've stopped to visit my mom in Roseburg, OR. Mom's lappy is hooked up to the 'net with a good ol' phone line. Fifty-six K just doesn't seem to get what it used to.