Like the Tazmanian Devil

These last few days I've been able to work out the kinks of my race on 10/2. I did my long ride on Saturday where my chain kept getting stuck when changing from the big ring to the smaller one. Turns out that I've been using the wrong chain lubricant - at least according to the guy that sold me the 'correct' chain lubricant. I'm embarassed to say that I've used various liquids to oil my chain, not necessarily labelled 'for bicycle chain'. Who knew? Still don't know if it is some sort of marketing scheme, but now I put something on my chain that is labelled 'for bicycle chains'.

When I got the bicycle chain oil, I also bought bicycle gloves. I had been wanting gloves for a while and after seeing the sudden cold weather shift, I was worried about cold hands during the race. Anybody that has ridden with gloveless hands in cold weather knows that it can be a very painful experience.

This morning we had an end-of-season time trial on the bike. Three loops around the park. I put my jacket on for the first time and my brand new gloves. I started the loops. By the end of the first loop, I was sweating. My jacket felt like one of those weight loss jackets that are intended to make you sweat and therefore lose a lot of weight. ( I wouldn't mind losing weight, even if it is only temporary water weight that will show on the scale until I drink my first glass of water). I couldn't really stop to take off my jacket ( I was in the middle of a time trial you see), so I kept going, sweating, with my now unzipped jacket flapping in the wind. But then the were the gloves. My hands were sweating, and it was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. I took them off with my teeth, with a desperation of someone who is trying to go as fast as possible while taking their gloves off. I guess that is not an analogy. I was like the tazmanian devil, sans growl.

the blood blister on my pinky.

Moral of the story?: I am not wearing gloves nor a jacket during the race.
-- lemmefineout - Brooklyn