Yo, those of you in the middle of North America ...

[MotownBikeBoy]

... since the bad weather is staying on the coasts, are you getting out there and riding?

It is nice here, relatively - not anything like a year ago when the heavy snow had set in. Mild temps, no snow, no ice. Looks to stay that way, more or less, through the end of the year.

So, who is riding? How far? How often?

 

[jpr95]

I've been down for the count with a sinus infection, and have to work the next couple days, but Sunday and Monday look like the high is close to 50ºF, so I might be able to get out and get about 20 miles/75 minutes or so. I'm not inclined to ride when it drops below 40ºF, not because my body can't handle the cold, but because my lungs and throat get torn up by it (they get coated with huge amounts of the super-stringy, slimy mucous that's hard to spit out and makes breathing harder). I actually like the cold, but not if I'm doing something that makes me breathe hard for long periods of time.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

On the road 6 of the last 7 days! Trainer yesterday and today because of the never ending drizzle, but it's 45 degrees at 4:30 PM so nice and warm!

Due to SDS (Sudden Darkness Syndrome) my rides are limited to 11-15 miles through the week and last weekend I got 45 miles in on an almost sunny 40 degree afternoon. I dismounted and checked the air temp and it was still a pleasant 35 degrees.

Stoopid Fact: The Garmin 510 reads 2 to 4 degrees lower than the car thermometer and weather channels. This seems to be the truth of several blogs/websites also. Why Garmin can't fix it or allow a calibration factor to be programmed into the unit no one seems to know.

I spent an hour on the trainer this afternoon while going deaf(er) to techno, trance, vocal trance, euro dance and other music that should be accompanied by stout doses of synthetic hallucinogenic drugs and better used to grind with twenty-something hard-bellies...and that hour was about twenty minutes more than I could stand. It was decent tempo work, but my mind can not be tricked into thinking it is flying across the valley floor with a nice tailwind and a low position...

Got a new beater trash bike I'm itching to get on the road, but I want a 50'ish day to fart around with the new shows, cleat placement, saddle and bar tweaks needed. Dial-in may occur in a state far South of Ohio.

jpr95, I swear that on that long ride last weekend the guy riding with me and I could not believe we were blowing so much **** out of our lungs. I was by no means a lung-busting ride and even as we were getting near the finishing point we were still spitting, snorting, blowing snot rockets and generally making disgusting noises. ****it...it's that time of year.

Glad to hear you guys are enjoying winter so far! Let's hope there's no repeat of last year.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Well, last night, it felt positively balmy here, about 50 degrees, pretty dense fog, mist/drizzle, no wind. Still, calm, and warm. Made for a nice ride with a lot of holiday lights glowing. I dressed for in-between temps and had to remove a top layer shortly into it.

Colder later this week but still very rideable - nothing like 2013-2014 on the horizon at this time.

Hey, Campy, one of the advantages of taking a bazillion kinds of prescription drugs, my asthma meds, albuterol, symbicort, singulair all help to keep my lungs pretty open and clear, Add in some Claritin D or sudafed pre-ride to take care of the sniffly nose and I'm pretty good to go.

 

[maydog]

I am not getting out as much as I would like. A combination of logistical issues and a serious motivation problem has kept me to about 30 to 40 miles of on-road riding a week.

The early icy winter blast did motivate me to buy some proper winter tires for my cross bike. I got a pair of Suomi IceSpeed 700x40c tires. They work great - I should have purchased them years ago.

On the demotivatoin front, my left knee has pretty rapidly been degrading since September. My hope was that I could have a knee scope to clean things up similar to a procedure I had 7 years ago. The Dr. indicated that the knee is too far along for a simple surgery; too young and active for a total knee, I settled on getting a viscosupplementation injection the beginning of this Month. It may be a bit better, but still pretty bad - I have to warm up for a long time and my pedal stroke on the left side never smooths out. It could be something to do with not being able to get to 100 degrees of flexion. I have to keep up with flexibility and training, however, otherwise I will not even be able to turn the pedals next season.

I am looking forward to having the latter half of the month off. I hope to put more road miles on to finish up the year with nice rounded total mileage.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Yeah, that sounds bad. Knock on wood, I only have very minor joint pain from time to time.

Those look like awesome tires. I should try them on my hybrid, I've got 700x40 el cheapo Forte tires on there right now, but they ride pretty well. Would give me more options for the winter.

 

[mister5]

I'm waiting for the snow I already studded my tires I drilled holes inserted 1/8 x 3/8 inch rivets and duct taped the back of them inside my tire. there ready for whatever winter has.
The warm weather is nice but its not as fun. Plus, I only have one set of tires and there studded, So if this keeps up I may have to get some tires without studs and switch them out.
16 inch folding bike made to ride daily.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Quote by MBB:
"Hey, Campy, one of the advantages of taking a bazillion kinds of prescription drugs, my asthma meds, albuterol, symbicort, singulair all help to keep my lungs pretty open and clear, Add in some Claritin D or sudafed pre-ride to take care of the sniffly nose and I'm pretty good to go."

Doper! Doper! He's doped!

It's weird. Sometimes the cold, dry air causes very little sinus activity and sometimes...mainly when I'm going at it to hold wheels and such...it's like someone turned on the faucet.



Quote by Maydog:
"I settled on getting a viscosupplementation injection the beginning of this Month."

Ah! A bearing lube job! I hope that fixes you up. Knee and hip joint issues really suck.

"It may be a bit better, but still pretty bad - I have to warm up for a long time and my pedal stroke on the left side never smooths out. It could be something to do with not being able to get to 100 degrees of flexion. I have to keep up with flexibility and training, however, otherwise I will not even be able to turn the pedals next season."

Damn! Is this related to an old injury? Arthritis? Any hope for the usual joint meds? Got to agree, replacement is not an option at your age.

Dr. Campy prescribes only cycling in warm climates. Stay off the knee for 48 hours after the shot and an immediate move to Tucson is advised. You can arrange payment with my receptionist on your way out.

 

[maydog]

19 years ago, my femur rotated 90'ish degrees in relation to my tibia during a football game - could have been just a twisted ankle had it not been taped up. Stretched and tore ligaments and bruised the condyles, the knee swelled to twice its original size. Nothing was holding my joint together, when I relaxed my thigh muscles, the bones came apart and my lower leg would just dangle. I had the acl reconstructed the next week and after 3 months of intense rehab, returned to play the last half of the basketball season. It took a couple of years for the initial injury and pain to subside, but i got maybe 10 real good years on it after that. Knowing how it feels now, I would not have beat up on it so much. Five to 10 hours a week playing basketball on a concrete court was not helpful. Now I have plentiful bone spurs, meniscal tears, chondromalacia and contractures.

Warm weather... sounds a lot cheaper than my present treatment options.

The shot was easy. Inject 6mL of gel - I told my kids it was chicken gravy; it is made from chicken combs. They put me on an exercise bike right after the injection. I rode the rollers that night and had an intense spin class followed by weight training the next day. If this doesn't work, they move to cortosione, then they would have to fillet the whole thing open to chip, clip and grind away the excess bone.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Best of luck to you, Maydog. I hope your weather predicting abilities do NOT improve.