Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Training for Misery

In the month of June the weather man in Seattle has predicted rain 10 out of the first 13 days and he’s been right. Honestly, I don’t always like what the weather man predicts but when he predicted a day of overcast but DRY skies for last Friday and I had the day off I started planning out a training route with a lot of miles and some great scenery. My plan was to ride from our house up to the Canadian border along the Puget Sound and end up at the new LDS temple in Langley British Columbia. Sometimes I think planning is half of the fun.

On Friday morning I got up a little after 4am and started getting everything ready to roll. At 5am I stepped out the door with my bike in hand only to be greeted by wet roads and that familiar Pacific Northwest consistent drizzle.

That’s when the internal negotiating started between Mike the slacker and Mike the fit cyclist. It was a fierce battle with a lot of passionate pleas, power plays, bargaining, jumping up and down, and whining. In the end the arguments were for:

  1. Crawling back into our warm bed and spending the balance of the day eating assorted deep fried food.
  2. Going on the ride anyway because I really need the training miles.

Amazingly enough I decided to head out in the rain with the hopes that it would stop after a couple of minutes and follow the forecast of overcast but dry skies. It's amazing what denial can do for you sometimes if you use it in your favor.

After 30 minutes of riding I was soaked to the bone but I also had either warmed up or become completely numb because I was finally comfortable. This being the case I decided then and there I was going to just keep going until I couldn’t take it anymore.

Occasionally, the rain would stop and I would somewhat dry out but then the showers would start again then I would think to myself “I hate that weather man”. This is how the entire ride went. I rode through drizzle, rain, downpours, and occasional dry spells.

The overall ride was very beautiful from what I could see through my wet sunglasses. This ride served two purposes. I was able to pound out 113 miles but I was also able to endure some miserable conditions. I think I’ll be able to use both of these things when shooting for the double century. In my own little way by finishing this ride I was giving the rain the finger without actually making an inappropriate gesture. It felt kind of good.

Next time I think I’ll opt to stay in bed and eat the deep fried food.
P.S. Hi Dayleen!


Riding Chuckanut Drive in the Rain (Still fun even with wet roads)

Cows out in the rain. I wonder if they worry about their leather coats shrinking if they get wet.
The Border between the US and Canada (Peace Arch)
Crossing the Boarder. I got in line with all the cars. It was kind of fun.

My wet welcome to Canada

My final destination in Langley, British Columbia

5 comments:

jeff said...

I too enjoy the planning for an adventure. By the way, riding across KS I saw an StP jersey and meant to talk to the guy when I had a chance and never got the chance. Weather aside, it looks like a beautiful training ride. And you've got to like 2 countries in one ride!

Jenny-Jenny said...

I like your attitude Jeff. Way to find the good! The craziest thing about this day is that as soon and Mike and I had lunch and started to head back to the U.S., not only did the overcast dry up but the sun came out... blue skies almost all the way home.

Linda said...

A+++ for determination and self discipline!Great ride and freat pics!

Dayleen said...

Hi, Mike, you are amazing--crazy but amazing!

Touring Motorcycle Bike exhausts said...

I can imagine you listening to the weatherman and telling yourself, 'damn you weather man! I am gonna prove you wrong this time round' On the said day, you set out for a ride determined that the weather man would be wrong. But unfortunately the weatherman's word comes true and you be like,'I hate you weatherman'. It hapens to me all the time.