TIME THERE: 30 min. (via river valley)
TIME BACK: 37 min. (via road)
WEATHER: overcast, -19C, 7km/hr wind there; overcast, -20C, 6km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: business socks, boots, fleece pants, fleece mid-layer jacket, turtleneck, lobster gloves, balaclava
NOTES:
Oh, River Valley hills, you will be the death of me!
I have a cold - not a full-blown, stay in bed and eat chicken soup all day kind of cold, but enough of a cold to make me feel tired all day and prevent me from sleeping at night. I don't actually recall falling asleep at any point at all last night - I just tossed and turned, blew my nose, had my eyelashes attacked by my kitten, drank water to soothe my sore throat, and continued to toss and turn. I couldn't get comfortable, couldn't breathe through my nose, couldn't sleep. It wasn't pleasant.
Every morning I get in the car and drive my daughter to her daycare, then drive back to the house where I drop off the car, pick up my bike, and bike to work. This morning, it took every ounce of will in my body to drive back to the house and get my bike, rather than stay in the warm car and just drive straight to work. I'm so tired, my chest rattles when I breathe deeply, my nose is at least partially stuffed up - can't I just take a break from biking today??
The problem is that I seem to be sick all the freakin' time. And if I don't bike when I feel under the weather, I'll never bike. So I forced myself to get on the bike this morning. Even within the first block I could feel my legs start to ache from exhaustion - and I hadn't even gotten to the river valley yet, with its snow cover and icy hills. It would appear my Battle of the Hills from yesterday left my thigh muscles sore, and in combination with feeling unwell and having slept poorly, I felt finished just as I was only beginning. Despite my intention to get farther up the big hill at the end of the route than I did yesterday, by the time I got there I just didn't have it in me. I didn't even get as far up as I got yesterday. I just got off the bike and walked it, feeling defeated and exhausted and like my lungs were going to burst. At least I still made it in good time!
On the way home I opted for the road route. It was flat and relatively easy, rather than the horrible uphill struggle it would have been if I had come home through the river valley. Still, despite the flatness of the terrain along the roads, I still felt so tired. I felt like I was barely crawling along, that I was working too hard to be going so slow, and that this ride took forever. In fairness, it did take a long time - 7 minutes longer than my river valley ride to work, which is an increase of 23%. My eyelashes were covered in ice by the end.
Maybe it's that I'm tired. Maybe it's that I'm sick. Maybe it's the December of Debauchery coming back to haunt me, and now I'm paying for how little I biked and how much I ate last month. I got out of shape, out of the routine, and now I'm paying for it. Maybe all of the above. Who knows? All I know is that I'm in need of a long, hot shower tonight, followed by one hell of a night's sleep!
** UPDATE: I figured out what was causing my commutes today to feel so long and difficult! I checked my tire pressure and it seems the frigid temperatures made the air inside the tubes shrink, so the tire pressure was hovering around 20 psi. I pumped them up to their usual 40 psi, and I'm hoping tomorrow's rides will feel a whole lot easier because of it!! **
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