Time to change it up again

Well, it’s March now, which, around here anyway, means that we can pretty much put away the long sleeved jerseys, arm warmers, tights, and jackets.  It’s back to the short sleeves or sleeveless jerseys, and it’s also time to go back to the summer-time hydrating principles.  Brenda went out this morning with her usual 2 water bottles, but she ran out about 4 or 5 miles from the end of the 45-mile ride.  Warmer weather means more water, and moving into a different season of the feeding system.  So she was really really hot and really really thirsty when she got back home this morning.

One of the cycling magazines has a fun page in each edition where they ask a fun kind of question like “If your bike could talk, what would it say?”  Then the readers write in their responses and the next issue of the magazine publishes the best answers.  One in particular that I remember was “How did you first know you were a serious cyclist?”  There were responses like “I knew I was a serious cyclist when I skipped a mortgage payment in order to buy a bike,” and “I knew I was a serious cyclist when I found myself squatting over a mirror naked to look at my first saddle sore.”  Brenda said that she had an answer for that question after today’s ride.  She said “You know you’re a serious cyclist when you come home dehydrated and you still put your bike away first, before getting a drink.  Then you also know you’re a serious cyclist when you down a whole bottle of water while you’re taking off you cycling clothes and putting them in the washer, and then you also know you’re a serious cyclist when you take a whole second bottle of water into the shower with you.  Yep—time to move into a different season of the feeding system.

Brenda has one of those Camel Back hydration backpacks that she really likes.  It’s been in the closet since last summer, and now it’s probably time to get it back out again.  Oh, we’ll still probably have another cold day or two before it gets hot for good.  But in general, it’s time to start getting ready; the heat is on the way.  But you know what we say:  We’re tough.  We can handle it.