This morning I went for a bike ride with my friend, Jen. It was nice and cool, not really any warmer than mid-80's by the time we returned.
The nice thing about being on a bike is that you get a bit of a wind chill. When we stopped for a small break in the neighboring town of Gazelle, the lack of wind reminded me of how hot it really was and how hot it was going to get.
We rode from my house in Montague to the town of Gazelle. I've got visions of living the sort of life where I bike large distances to have a cup of really great coffee at a small town café. Having never been to Gazelle, I had that sort of vision for today's trip. I should've just asked Jen who's been there a time or two. No coffee shop, no cute little pancake place. It had a post office, an auto repair shop and a very small elementary school. All of which were closed since today is Sunday. Anyway, Gazelle is 15 miles away and it was a beautiful ride.
About halfway between Montague and Gazelle is the small town of Grenada. It has a gas station, post office, general store, auto repair shop and an alpaca farm. There's actually quite the alpaca population up here. These guys must've just gotten shaved. Just in time for this awful heat wave we're having.
In case you've never seen an alpaca before, these guys are usually quite fluffy all over. They are now shaved with the exception of a bushy head and tail. As I was snapping away at these guys I was trying to figure out what they reminded me of. Some 60's or 70's disco star or something.
Thirty miles later we pulled up into my driveway and off-loaded our sore butts from our saddles. Jen is more sore than I am being as she has yet to purchase padded bike shorts. We went inside and broke open a small seedless watermelon that I had chilling in the fridge. I gave half to Jen and half to myself. We plopped down on the couch to recover.
After she went home, I got on Facebook to post photos. Looking at the photos of Jen and I, I was irritated about how obvious the chin strap on my helmet was and how dorky I look in the helmet. While posting the picture of the alpacas, I realized what they reminded me of. Me in a helmet.
I've been wanting to do a triathlon for awhile now and there's one coming up here in September, not that I'll be able to go being as it's fire season. But in the off-chance that I am not on a fire and able to go, I'd like to be prepared for it. Jen wants to do it too. I've been reading up on this creature we call the Triathlon and have come up with all sorts of ideas and issues.
Clothing is one such issue. I just don't know about wearing those one piece things (you have to be able to run, swim and bike in whatever you choose to wear) but I also wasn't too sure about swimming in a "tankini" and shorts. The shorts should be a little padded for the bike stretch but not so padded that it's irritating in the run and the swim. The other option is a total 2-piece. Sports-bra type swim top and a pair of padded bottoms (specially made for triathlons). I would be comfortable swimming and running in that, but I don't know about being hunched over a bike with my belly showing. We all know what happens to our bellies when we hunch over. I know, I know. But don't tell me you all wouldn't be phased if it were you.
Hair style. That's another predicament. The low braid I wear for cycling is not at all what I'd appreciate on the run. This is irritating. I like my ponytail much higher up on the run but that won't work with a helmet.
Then there's food replenishment. I'm used to long bouts of exercise and have no issue with consuming packets of gelled sugar throughout a race. I was just reading one of the triathlon books my friend from the gym loaned me and I came across a sentence I had to read 4 times before I understood it. "You can also mold unwrapped energy bars to the top tube of your bike."
What? I had to break it down, like a foreign language. Unwrapped. Like no wrapper attached? Why on earth would you...hmmm. I got a vision in my head of my swimming days and the old style power bars. Banana or peanut butter specifically (why? couldn't tell ya). Back in the day, it was pretty much all I could eat at swim meets without upsetting my nervous stomach. They were those thin little things that don't look (or taste) much like food. When it was cold out, trying to eat those darn things hurt my jaw, they were far too chewy. But I could place them (still wrapped in their original packaging) in my armpit to soften them up.
Bingo. Warm floppy power bar draped over the top tube of my bike. Unwrapped. I wonder how warm it has to be to make that happen. I flinched at the thought. I don't know if a power bar is comparable to raw eggs when it comes to putting it on an expensive paint job. I wondered how that would affect my brand new gorgeous bike. Don't worry Ruby, I thought. I would never do that to you.
Then I thought about the utility of it. Think about it. You're tired from your swim, you're riding along on your bike thinking about how bad the run is going to feel. You're hungry. In front of you, draped over the top tube of your bike is a choice of chocolate or peanut butter power bars, unwrapped and molded to the tube. You just peel it off like a fruit roll up and start munching away. Genius! I like this idea.
Question: Being as the bike is second, and it sits at the transition spot while you swim, how do you keep critters away from your power bars while you're away? Ants, squirrels, deer, whatever. Flies. I don't know. Critters.
Hmm...food stuffs draped across the top tube. I don't know about that. It seems like a lot more fun than sticking packets of gel in my sports bra and pinning them to my shorts with a safety pin, but also not quite as clean. I definitely see the benefit of having solid food during the bike portion.
I will have to stew on this some more. I'll let you know what I come up with.
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