Today I managed a third consecutive day of outdoor cycling and field-tested my ability to fix a flat with a damaged digit. All is well. I froze my nuts off, true, but that’s nobody’s fault but my own for underestimating how much heat a fat bastard can generate riding a flat-bar cyclo-cross bike in subfreezing temperatures with a brisk north wind.
A windproof jacket would’ve been smart. Ditto full booties instead of toe covers. Hell, how ’bout staying indoors and drinking whisky out of the bottle? How many 55-year-old fat bastards do you know who are layering on the Lycra for a 90-minute ’cross-bike ride on a football Sunday when they could be in some warm pub drinking Clydesdale piss and sneaking peeks down the waitress’s blouse?
Yeah, I know. Plenty. And I was one of them. Because I am a dog with a mission — get fit enough to do the Adventure Cycling Association’s Southern Arizona Road Adventure in mid-March without embarrassing and/or killing myself.
Then I will write about it for Adventure Cyclist magazine, cash the check, and use the proceeds to buy warm clothing. Or whisky. Or both.
Mad Blog Media 
Booties rule. Like you, I was on a mission from God today: ward off further fattitude between now and spring. Booties and split mittens make for a far more manageable ride.
The moderate mileage of the Southern Arizona Road Adventure looks charming. Not sure what exactly I’ll be doing in March, though.
Patrick,
At least you got out for a few days. This OGWGFIW caught some sort of gut bug and has been chanined to the bowl for three days straight. Today I felt like I could ride, but the thought of cold AND recovering from this bug was not working. That and it was foggy and coldish (low 50’s) most of the day. I know that is not anywhere close to COLD (or effing cold)…but, as I said, recovery and cold is not good for this OGWGFIW. Tomorrow though I plan at least a little ride to ‘clear the pipes’ and see how it goes.
It is good news to hear that your misaligned digit was not a hinderance to the flat fixing. But at least you were out there. Excellent!!
Hey, K,
I had the booties and didn’t wear ’em. Worse, I have lightweight and heavyweight booties and didn’t wear either of ’em. Also lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight gloves, plus mittens. So don’t weep for me, Los Alamos. I done did it to myself.
The Arizona thing does look like fun. One of my favorite authors, Jim Harrison, winters in Patagonia. I met him some years back at a reading and have an autographed copy of a book he apparently hates. And a buddy, Albert Hopper, runs La Vuelta de Bisbee out of the old mining town of the same name. Plus I used to live in Tucson and know where all the good Mexican restaurants are.
Now, if I can just remember where I left my legs. …
James, I hope you feel better soon. I felt like a 55-year-old fat bastard out there today, but since I am a 55-year-old fat bastard, it’s something I have to live with. I’ll get out there again tomorrow and see if I can do a little something about the fat part.
3 degrees this morning. 21 by the time I woke up enough to think about going outside and 27 when indoors got too much to take. Good thing the van’s heater is nice and strong. The Canadians sent us an arctic air mass for Hanukkah-Christmas-New Years and we haven’t re-gifted it to Greenland yet.
Spinning at these temps the no breeze, no skills, no movement downside is outweighed by getting frostbite and road ice.
The Tucson thing looks like fun. Patrick, are you riding it or driving SAG?
Bitchin’, or braggin’?
Fear and Loathing in Tombstone: A Mad Dog, Nine-Fingered Odyssey of Mexican Food and Whisky in The High Sonoran Desert
Take your attorney and plenty of grapefruit.
That looks like a sweet little trip. I see they do a camping one up in Da UP of Michigan. I’ll have to look into that.
Get well soon, James.
Ran across folks on this trip two years ago while on a PACTour camp. They were camped in the town park in Patagonia while we lounged in our motel. I recommend dinner at a great Italian place (fresh, not canned) in Patog called the Velvet Elvis. Top drawer pizza and delicious calzones along with very fresh salads.
And of course you’ve got to check out the Bisbee Bicycle Brothel. http://www.bisbeebicyclebrothel.com/
I’ll be on another PACTour sufferfest that same week, Chricahua Challenge. http://www.pactour.com/