What do you do with a forecast that calls for temperatures in the mid teens and a 40 to 60 per cent chance of rain. And what if you are supposed to ride the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour for six plus hours in it?
I spent two hours agonizing over my clothing strategy before finally settling on ‘see how it feels when you step outside’.
And it felt fine. So I dressed in shorts a shortsleeve jersey and arm warmers.
I drove to Algonquin, figuring on Sunday I would not be in the mood for nine more garbage kilometres.
I said goodbye to all my warmer kit as I put it in my knapsack and left it for the luggage truck.
Then I started rolling. It’s definitely worth going the night before to pick up your bib.
And as soon as I turned west onto Knoxdale and saw the sky I realized what a terrible mistake I’d made.
See I wanted to wear a cool looking jersey. So I eschewed my award-winning wet weather jacket, my warm but water eating merino jersey for the slick Danny Shane kit.
And as I headed west on Hunt Club toward Old Richmond Road (maybe 20 minutes into the ride) I started paying for my vanity as the sky opened up.
No overshoes either. Not that any I have would have withstood the next 90 minutes of rain.
My core stayed warm. My legs were warm although they felt inordinately tired and stiff. But my arms and hands were numb and hard to move.
I realized there would be no in-saddle snack breaks. I could still shift and brake, but my thumbs were more or less locked in handlebar grab position.
So cold my phone died – in June, remember
How cold was it? At a certain point my phone died complaining of low battery. But when I got to Kingston (sorry for the spoiler) it came back at 44%.
I have seen this sort of thing happen in winter while cross country skiing but was surprised to see it happen in June.
At some point after Almonte the rain stopped. There was intermittent drizzle for a time, but as I pushed on through Lanark I realized my optimistic strategy was playing out nicely. My shoes were draining, movement and flexibility — oh and warmth — were coming back to my arms and hands.
And the wind was drying my clothing. Although mostly in my face, by the time I hit half way I was confident that I was going to pull this off.
I arrived in Kingston 6:34 after I set off. Quite tired and a bit chilled to stop moving. But I didn’t have to wait for my luggage and yet the shower had a ton of hot water.
I’m in heaven. The shirts are purple though. Naturally I have numbers.