Saturday, December 12, 2015

The Picture Of Boring And Gray

The only thing worse than riding on days like these … is not riding on days like these.




We’re in another one of those weather funks that are common to Washington County: day after day of gloomy clouds, temperatures in the 40s, and a sensation of dampness even when there’s no rain. Last week I rode my bike for just 3 hours. This week I rode my bike for just 3 hours. I’m calling it “training” but it probably isn’t. My week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday, but there’s no reason to think I’m going to ride tomorrow. Looks like we’re going to have an all-day soaker. Could be worse: could be snow.

With my outdoor activity level falling precipitously, I have been turning my attention to the smallest details of my life in an effort to stave off abject boredom. Two weeks ago I was almost giddy with delight when I made a new label for my home’s circuit breaker panel. Today I discarded all of my old audio cassettes, a dusty pile of junk that warranted only a few MP3 replacements. On Monday I will go to city hall to pay my property tax bill, and won’t that be fun? I’m also thinking about going to the hardware store to make another set of house keys, but I’m not sure my heart can take it.

Back on Nov. 19, I mentioned that I was getting into reading again. I have knocked out 4 books in the last month and I expect to finish 1-2 more before the end of the year. No Oscar Wilde, though; I am working through the African adventure novels of Sir Henry Rider Haggard … and it just occurred to me that my choice might have been inspired subconsciously by a desire for hot, sunny weather. Around here, we won’t see anything like that for months.

2 comments:

  1. I've attempted to resolve my boredom and lack of desire to train indoors by spending a pile of money on a Wahoo Kickr trainer and riding on Zwift. Despite the pain-in-the-wallet the Kickr was, I love it! I actually WANT to ride indoors now as the combination of Zwift and the Kickr actually make riding fun. I'm hoping to find some locals riding on Zwift so we could "virtually ride" together this Winter.

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  2. Some of the Belgianwerkx people reviewed the Kickr last year (http://belgianwerkx.com/2014/11/wahoo-kickr-trainer-review/) and it sounds like a great machine, but it's way out of my price range! I'm moving out of the home gym this year and parking the trainer right in front of my PC in the home office. Training DVDs and old race footage will be my companion.

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