My first 2 hour solo lakefront cycling workout. 20 mph winds and waves kicking up on the path. Is this a good idea??
Maybe not.
I rode through a foot of water 3 times. I actually timed it right the first time to miss the waves. Coming up on the bend before Oak St. beach, I jumped off the bike, waited for the waves to crash against the wall, then I ran all awkward in my cycling shoes past the curve and got back on. Then I got cocky… Chanced it on the way back and my timing was way off, just watched the wave crash half way up the bike and felt my feet get soaked. Awesome. That makes your brakes wet too. Also got soaked twice at the narrow path just north of Navy Pier. Ugh!
My feet were pretty cold after that. You can cycle with cold toes, but I was worried about the dismount. I don’t have a perfect dismounting history (understatement!!) and I worried about trying to unclip and step off the bike with numb feet. So every once in a while I’d squeeze one set of toes 20 times and then do the other one.
I also had an emergency unclipping situation. I rounded a curve and there was a mound of sand on the path. Could I power through this? I really had no idea. I was thinking it was unlikely… yet maybe possible?! I stopped the panic enough momentarily to unclip and hopefully be ready either way. Yeah, turns out there was no way I was going to power through and I had enough where-with-all to lean the right way and one footed flintstone my way through the sand. (Sand + wet foot is a bit of a mess, but I didn’t fall so I declared it a success and went about my merry way).
2 almost emergency unclipping situations when 2 guys (yes, they were both guys) almost stepped into the path without looking both ways, without looking my way. I yelled at them. Just FYI, if you risk your safety or mine out on the bike path, I will yell at you.
Was this a ride good idea?? Maybe not. But, I did it.
It wasn’t the “steady state” ride my coach wanted it to be. Yet, it was a mental victory! I handled a lot out there (for an inexperienced cyclist!!) And I did not fall (that’s a bigger deal than you know… :-))
[…] Was windy and wild out there. More about that here. […]