I had grand plans for a grand ride on Saturday. I was on the bike by 6:30 am and headed up Emmigration. It was sprinkling a bit, but I thought that it was the tail end of the night's storm. However, mid-way up Emmigration, the sprinkle turned into a full on down pour. Again, I though, the down pour was the tail end of a storm and that it would soon clear. It hadn't yet occurred to me that I ought to "fold'em," so I kept going. My thought was that it would soon clear up and I'd dry out on the bike.
By the time I hit Little Mountain, my tires were leaving little trenches in the ice/slush on the road. Since I'd been climbing, I wasn't cold. The problem was I was at a highpoint and my only option was to go down. And I was starting to feel cold. Since I wasn't yet ready to fold'em, I opted to head east towards Mt. Dell, and up I-80. That descent was cold. My soaked clothes turned to stiff frozen clothes.
When I hit I-80, I was too cold to stop. Going down Parley's was a sure fire way to repeat LOTOJA '05 (see pic above). It's hard to ride when you have hypothermia. So, I went up. Yep, I climbed to survive -- and I secretly hoped that the weather would clear up. That hope lasted about 20 minutes. Because after 20 minutes I found myself at the top of Parley's Summit, with nowhere to go but down. That's when I folded, pulled into a cafe, pulled out the cell phone, and waited for my rescue crew to bail me out. I don't know that my fellow diners appreciated me stripping off most of my clothing and laying it out on the table, but at least I didn't get hypothermia.
To recoup my losses, I did the Powder Keg course this morning. I'm going to have to start my mental preparation for that one ASAP. It's going to be a lung burner.
By the time I hit Little Mountain, my tires were leaving little trenches in the ice/slush on the road. Since I'd been climbing, I wasn't cold. The problem was I was at a highpoint and my only option was to go down. And I was starting to feel cold. Since I wasn't yet ready to fold'em, I opted to head east towards Mt. Dell, and up I-80. That descent was cold. My soaked clothes turned to stiff frozen clothes.
When I hit I-80, I was too cold to stop. Going down Parley's was a sure fire way to repeat LOTOJA '05 (see pic above). It's hard to ride when you have hypothermia. So, I went up. Yep, I climbed to survive -- and I secretly hoped that the weather would clear up. That hope lasted about 20 minutes. Because after 20 minutes I found myself at the top of Parley's Summit, with nowhere to go but down. That's when I folded, pulled into a cafe, pulled out the cell phone, and waited for my rescue crew to bail me out. I don't know that my fellow diners appreciated me stripping off most of my clothing and laying it out on the table, but at least I didn't get hypothermia.
To recoup my losses, I did the Powder Keg course this morning. I'm going to have to start my mental preparation for that one ASAP. It's going to be a lung burner.
Do not spite the gods. What did you expect to happen after standing Ullr up?
ReplyDelete