Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Damn, It's Dark

Bike Day (Monday)
time- 1:40
distance- 32mi

Winter came up and smacked me in the face last night. I should have seen it coming. The temps here in Hawaii were down to 73, sometimes 72. Christmas decorations have been up for two months. The Lions lost on a Thursday. And it gets dark damn quick.
I normally ride into town to meet Super Awesome Wife Monday nights. It's a good thirty miles, which I can add to if I feel like it. Some short climbs, mostly decent roads aside from the stretch of Kam around Pearlridge Mall, and its nice not to do a lap. I leave the house at about 4:50 and plan on arriving at Ward Center at 6:30, maybe a little later if the traffic lights are against me.
Yesterday it was dark by 5:30.
Dark. Like street lights. Like taking my sunglasses off so I can see the road. Like wishing I'd put the light back on my seat before I left the house. Whoops.
So the ride was good, I held a decent pace, got the blood pumping, and climbed well. And I'm not doing that again until the sun stops running for the horizon before at least 6pm. I could put a light on the back and a light on the front, but I don't trust the morons driving around this island when its bright and sunny, so I don't expect them to notice my little flashing headlight heading towards the intersection at 20mph. God forbid they realize my light is green and they are blithely making a right turn right into my front wheel. Don't mind me. So until two-a-days kick in again I'll be riding right after school, around my neighborhood, still getting my mileage in but getting it done under the sun.
I would also like to encourage all of you, my dear readers, to check out Jason's Triathlon Blog. He just finished a five part race report on his experience at Ironman Arizona which I really enjoyed. My favorite part has to be the report on his Epic Battle With Eric Byrnes. This level of beautiful delusion and sense of fun inspires me to find my own famous person to challenge at the Honu. So Jason, if you're reading this, I'm completely going to rip off your idea in a few months.
Who Fears the Dirtbag in June?

3 comments:

  1. Doug, I have some clear glasses that I wear when I have to ride in the evening. Helps to keep the crud out of my eyes. I have done early morning rides before daylight. They aren't as bad as the late afternoon/early evening rides because traffic is lighter. Still have to keep my head on a swivel though.

    My buddy tried to sign up for the IMAZ when registration opened online. He submitted as soon as it opened up and he still wasn't able to get a spot. It goes fast!

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  2. Btw, I just bought a pair of Altra Adams... you can google it if you haven't seen them. They are zero drop with only 3mm of sole. VFF's with the toes. Anyway, after the marathon, I am going to start running in them. Maybe after I get used to them we can set up a (slow) BRS run... maybe 90 minute run or something.

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  3. Kepa, the Altras look very cool. They've been getting lots of buzz on some of the minimalist sites I go to. I love my Vibrams, but I need to check those out. We definitely need to run.

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