It Coulda, Woulda Been A Nice Ride
This morning I was planning to take a bike ride here in Palm Springs. A map of the ride that I wanted to take can be found here. It is about a 40 mile ride. It will be a good workout for me. There is not much elevation gain, however it will be warmer and drier than I am used to. I feel confident that I can complete the ride, just not sure how sore I will be afterwards.
The last few days, it has been hot in Palm Springs. It was 94 degrees yesterday and the news says it will get to 96 degrees today. So I decided to go for an early ride. I got up and had an early breakfast at 6:15. I packed the car for the ride. Just as I was leaving, "Hey where are my bike shoes?" Uh-Oh, left them in Santa Cruz.
My bike pedals are kind of flat, so I figure that I can use my tennis shoes. Certainly not ideal, but at least I can still ride. I will not be able to complete the 40 mile ride, but I should be able to get in 15 to 20 miles. So I get in the car and drive to where I want to start the ride. I start unloading the car, "Hey where is my helmet?". Oh nooooo, also left in Santa Cruz. No more of this last minute packing!
Now I know that it is legal for adults to ride without bike helmets, however I refuse to make this ride without one. These are 2 lane desert roads, where the cars move pretty fast. Plus many of these roads do not have bike lanes. It is dangerous enough WITH a bike helmet.
Unfortunately, it is too early for any bike shops to be open. When they do open (10am or so), it will be too hot to ride, so no bike ride today. So I got back in the car and just drove the route. I wanted to see what it looked like anyway. It looks like it will be a nice ride, however I am still a little nervous about the speed of the cars.
Later this morning, I will go into a bike shop and see what I can do. Maybe install bike clips on inexpensive pedals? Maybe get an inexpensive bike helmet. It will be just as safe, just heavier and it will not vent air as well. Thus it will be warmer, just what I need in the desert!
The last few days, it has been hot in Palm Springs. It was 94 degrees yesterday and the news says it will get to 96 degrees today. So I decided to go for an early ride. I got up and had an early breakfast at 6:15. I packed the car for the ride. Just as I was leaving, "Hey where are my bike shoes?" Uh-Oh, left them in Santa Cruz.
My bike pedals are kind of flat, so I figure that I can use my tennis shoes. Certainly not ideal, but at least I can still ride. I will not be able to complete the 40 mile ride, but I should be able to get in 15 to 20 miles. So I get in the car and drive to where I want to start the ride. I start unloading the car, "Hey where is my helmet?". Oh nooooo, also left in Santa Cruz. No more of this last minute packing!
Now I know that it is legal for adults to ride without bike helmets, however I refuse to make this ride without one. These are 2 lane desert roads, where the cars move pretty fast. Plus many of these roads do not have bike lanes. It is dangerous enough WITH a bike helmet.
Unfortunately, it is too early for any bike shops to be open. When they do open (10am or so), it will be too hot to ride, so no bike ride today. So I got back in the car and just drove the route. I wanted to see what it looked like anyway. It looks like it will be a nice ride, however I am still a little nervous about the speed of the cars.
Later this morning, I will go into a bike shop and see what I can do. Maybe install bike clips on inexpensive pedals? Maybe get an inexpensive bike helmet. It will be just as safe, just heavier and it will not vent air as well. Thus it will be warmer, just what I need in the desert!
posted by Steve @ 8:34 AM
2 Comments:
At 3:53 PM,
kg said…
Ok, that made me laugh!!!
At 6:30 PM,
Steve said…
Hey, the posts you enjoy the most, seem to be the ones where I am experiencing the most pain! Sheesh, tomorrow I will probably be riding along, with open sandals taped to my pedals and a motorcycle helmet on my head! Talk about hot! :-)
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