1 week to go
Last training ride today. I went out for a 120km loop through some routes that looked interesting. The weather forecast said that Saturday was dry and Sunday was not, so it was another early Saturday start.
Realized I hadn't tweaked the handlebar camera to point the other way, and I hadn't replaced the broken safety loop, and I hadn't charged it, so no handlebar video today. Unfortunately I haven't done that gear check yet either, and I'm feeling increasingly guilty about that, so I don't have much leftover shame for the camera.
The weather forecast was 4 degrees all day. My usual strategy for dealing with the cold is "ride faster" but I'm starting to understand that this doesn't always work. So I put on a sweater and fingerless gloves before heading out. Figured that if I got too hot I could take them off.
That was a wildly bad misjudgement. There was some wind, and it was cold, and cycling faster wasn't really working. My fingers turned white and then started to hurt. Tried holding then against my back but that didn't help warm them up. It's too cold for photos. It's like some bad moments in South America, where I had warm layers on but was still painfully cold.
From left to right: I took a scenic route today to make up kilometers, meant crossing a canal I haven’t been over before. Selfie from the same spot, trying to not look cold. All good except for the temperature. Note the ducks on the pontoon. Forest path, looks dry, but I went carefully to minimize spray.
After about two hours I gave up on the plan to warm up by going faster, and dug out the fleece. It even has pockets! So I could put a hand into them to warm up. My fingers hurt while warming up too which probably means I should have done it earlier. But I did get warmer and then felt a lot happier which is the right result.
Except for my feet. They were not painfully cold as my fingers were, but were still unpleasantly cold and sore; a thin athletic sock and a cycling shoe is not enough insulation today.
From left to right: nice route, except for the temperature. Island fortress. Well, abandoned island fortress. Lunchtime sandwich. Everything was brighter afterwards.
Fortunately the weather was dry-ish, so I hadn't been sprayed with grit and was decent enough to go into a cafe. I stopped at a Breukelen cafe to thaw out, and get a coffee. I also had what the menu described as "a sandwich", but it was actually a lunch sized salad with two pieces of bread and cheese. Unexpectedly big. But I'd got the appetite to match.
Once I'd warmed up I was a lot happier about riding again. This was about the halfway point; the temperature was still at 4 degrees but the extra layer made it bearable. The wind was also just as strong as ever, but I'd changed direction so it wasn't quite the headwind it was before. And I went over the "Kwakelgat", a 400m causeway over a lake with so many trees around it made it feel like you were in a park miles from water.
From left to right: more selfie practice, didn’t have to work so hard to smile this time. Random tower along the way. Low light. View back towards Amsterdam.
So the second half was definitely more fun. I didn't notice I'd forgotten to wear padded shorts until I'd got home.
Then on Sunday it snowed. So I’m quite glad I went out on Saturday, even though I got frozen.
There is really just one week to go and I've got a lot of organizing to do. New shoes for when I’m off the bike, my current ones are causing leg pain. I need to dig out all the thermal underlayers, and get them washed. And check that all the electronics has working charge cords, and backup cords too.
But the biggest challenge has been getting a cardboard bikebox for the plane flight. I've needed them four times so far, and each time it's been straightforward. I'm looking for one of the boxes that holds the disassembled bikes that are shipped into the shop; where they're taken out and assembled and the box goes into the recycling. So shops usually have several, and are only too happy for someone else to take them away. On the day I flew to South America I found that the box I’d saved was far too small and needed a new one in a hurry. I was able to find one within an hour.
Not this time! Over the weekend I visited three nearby shops, none had any. Emailed three more shops, no luck. In desperation I visited a huge Decathalon store on the way home: they don’t have any, but suggest coming back when they open at 1000 tomorrow morning, because if they’re assembling bikes, the boxes won’t have been crushed yet. Probably. Fingers crossed that they’ve got one then. If not it’s going to get exciting.
