Friday Follies ~~ Another Time

The alarm starts its awful chirruping at 3:15.  A hand shoots out from under the pile of blankets and hits the off button.  Downstairs, the coffee maker has just finished its job.  Its timer was set for 3:05.  The rider slips out of bed and pads silently into the next room.  He will begin the suiting up process there.  Shorts, a long sleeve polypro under jersey, liner socks, leg warmers, light tights, wool socks, in that order, then it’s time to go downstairs.

Coffee goes into a large mug, and the remainder of the pot is poured into an insulated water bottle.  Warm (not hot) goes into the other bottle.  Breakfast consists of a bowl of multigrain, topped with yogurt and fruit.  While the rider is eating, he turns on the weather radio and listens to the NOAA report.  No surprises this morning.  It’s cold out there.  The current local temperature is 25 degrees and falling.  Breakfast is done quickly, and the dishes are racked in the washer.  The rider moves into the garage.

The next layer of clothing is hanging just inside the garage door.  Winter tights, then riding boots, a micro fleece jersey, and a vest go on.  The messenger bag, and the remainder of the riding clothing are hanging by the bike.  The bike is a heavy tourist, perfect for this job.  A quick pre-ride check is done, tires, driveline, brakes, all good.  Bottles go into cages.  The garage door is raised, and the bike wheeled outside.

The last layer goes on now, in the outside chill.  Balaclava, winter jacket, windshell, helmet, liner gloves, mittens.  Turn on the taillights.  Now grab the bag and mount up.  Start rolling down the driveway, turning on the headlights in motion.

An interesting thing happens as the bike turns onto the street.  The rider becomes me.  Until this moment, I’ve been detached from the process, a collection of pre-programmed actions, following a rote routine.  Somehow the act of starting to pedal the bike in the glittering cold and dark brings me to full consciousness.

It’s a Tuesday morning, in January.  I am commuting in to work.  This particular year, I have been tapped to lead a 5:30 A.M. spin class.  This means I start my ride in at 4:00 A.M.  In something like 45 to 50 ice cold minutes I will pull up in front of the shop.  I amuse my self on the ride in, by counting cars.  A “heavy” traffic morning will see 10 or 11 of them.  At these hours, the streets are mine.

The stars glitter brightly above me as I ride.  I work hard to keep speed up.  It helps to keep me warm. 

One part of the trade-off is that I get to leave work a lot earlier, and the afternoon commute home is fairly mellow.

That was all several years ago.  We had a crew of tri-athletes who were in training for an IronMan ™.  The early class was something that worked well for them.  Someone had to lead it.

Sometimes I miss that Winter.  Not often mind you, but it did have its merits.