In My Face

Now that it’s cold (or getting colder, I should say), it’s windy. What is it about the wind arriving as soon as the temperature drops? Why can’t the wind arrive when it’s hot and humid and all everyone wants is a simple breeze? Why does the wind have to pick up when the last thing you want is a blast of freezing air in your face? Who the hell manages these things?

Riding in Prospect Park yesterday, the wind seemed to attack from all angles yet it struck the hardest while climbing the one decent climb near the north end of the loop. Combined with the fact that according to 1010 WINS the temperature was a brisk thirty-two degrees when I left the house, the weather yesterday made for some extremely chilly hands and feet. After an hour of battling the wind and climbing that stupid hill at nine miles-per-hour (compared to the usual thirteen or fourteen, I’ll have you know) and after an hour of riding with my hands curled into fists in an attempt to provide some protection for my fingers, I called it quits. Further, by the time I reached home, my feet were starting to go numb. To try and remedy the situation from happening again, I stopped by Paragon Sporting Goods this afternoon in the hopes of finding a better pair of socks and a warmer pair of gloves.

I was about to invest $44 in a pair of cold weather Pearl Izumi gloves, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Simply, I get the feeling I could find a great pair of gloves that will keep my hands just as warm in some sort of camping gear store and I’ll end up spending a lot less than $44.

Conversely, I did pick up a pair of Woolie Boolie socks for $11.95 and they’re considering warmer than the cotton socks I’ve been wearing. In the event you end up with cold toes even with booties, you might want to give the wool socks a try. They seem to work.

That’s pretty much it, dudes. It’s late, it’s been a long day, and I’m starting to get the feeling I’m going to be riding into the wind for the coming months. That sucks. I can’t stand headwinds. Blah.

Picco, do some sort of rain dance but substitute a few wind moves and make my life a bit easier.

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On another note, is anyone interested in joining me to in San Francisco in mid-February to check out the prologue and first stage of the Tour of California? I'm giving it serious thought. Tour starts on February 18th, which is a Sunday. I'm thinking of flying out some time Friday, enjoying the city Friday night and all day Saturday, watching the individual time trials on Sunday and then possibly the following stage in Sausalito on Monday, flying home either Monday night or, better yet, Tuesday morning.

Thoughts?