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February Morning Ride

312 words on Wed, February 14, 2024 in #minutia #bicycling
  • 6:15 alarm. Hit snooze twice
  • Wake up a few minutes after second snooze, a few minutes before 6:30 alarm
  • Assess painful foot. It hurts worse than it has in the last week or so. Decide to go ahead with ride. I don’t want to bail on my friend. How much worse could it get?
  • Brush teeth
  • Go downstairs, turn on coffee maker. Carissa had set it up the night before. Grateful. Ignore begging cats so they don’t accidentally get two breakfasts.
  • Pour coffee
  • Go back upstairs
  • Start getting “kitted up”, as we say
    • Socks
    • Foot brace
    • Leg warmers
    • Thermal bibs
    • Chamois creme
    • Merino baselayer
    • Arm warmers
    • Jersey
  • Head back downstairs, carrying the rest of my kit
  • Fill water bottle
  • Realize I forgot to grab my jacket. Go back upstairs for jacket. Head back downstairs.
  • Finish kitting up
    • Windproof socks on
    • Shoes on
    • Realize I’m missing one toe warmer. Consider going without, but Carissa is up and pouring her own coffee, so I ask her to look if I’d dropped it between the stairs and the back door. She ends up going all the way upstairs for it. Grateful again.
    • Toe warmers on
    • Jacket on
    • Merino cap on
    • Helmet on
  • Open garage door
  • Get bike down from wall rack. I almost always make sure the bike is ready to go the night before. I don’t leave time to mess with it in the morning, and that kind of thing is less “fun” in the cold.
  • Turn bike computer on
  • Turn rear light on brightest flashing setting. The sun has come up. Don’t need the headlight.
  • Close garage door
  • Open gate
  • Start ride on computer
  • Gloves on
  • Pedal
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