Headed down, down, down to the bosque.
The more I read of the news, the more I want to ride my bicycle.
That said, holy hell, it’s getting hot again. The Heat Dome must be coming back for round two.
Another day, another century.
I was out for about three hours yesterday, down to the bosque and back again, and by noon I was starting to feel like a parched lizard in need of a shady rock.
My insulated Camelbak Podium bottles will keep water cold — OK, so, cool — for about two hours. But three hours in, what remains tastes like warm flu.
Today Herself and I got out early for our weekly leg-stretcher, about 90 minutes of pooting around in the foothills, and that was fine. Afterward we finished off the last of the tasty egg salad I made yesterday, in sandwiches of homemade bread, and I am not ashamed to say that we added some hipster potato chips to the mix.
Strictly to replace lost sodium, you understand.
Elsewhere, doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s hot, cold, up, or down, Mark Cavendish just keeps winning stages at the Tour. Dude is better at finding the hole than Ben Crenshaw.
Tags: Heat Dome, Mark Cavendish, Paseo de Bosque
Mad Blog Media 
July 9, 2021 at 2:35 pm |
It’s 102 here with 15% relative humidity.
It seems the Manx Missile still has something in those legs. And his lead outs have been excellent according to him. Nah, I ain’t watching it. I just read the highlights on the BBC website. Never would have caught my eye, but when I see Cavendish and Merckx mention in the same sentence, you have my attention.
July 9, 2021 at 2:57 pm |
It was 94 as I got home and took a shower and ran some errands. Not sure what it was during my two hour ride, but needless to say, it was toasty and the Gatorade got pounded down fast.
Good for Cavendish.
July 10, 2021 at 7:12 am |
Sheeeyit. When the A/C clicks on at 7:11 a.m. on a Saturday you know you have a long day ahead of you.
July 9, 2021 at 3:03 pm |
Both Mark and Eddy agree that no matter how many sprints he wins, Cav is no Cannibal.
July 9, 2021 at 8:54 pm |
Word. Eddy is from outer space.
July 9, 2021 at 3:06 pm |
PO’G: You might want to try leaving a bit of space in one of your water bottles for expansion when you fill it, then freezing it. I do that frequently in the summer. By the time I need it, it’s partially/fully thawed and still very cold.
July 9, 2021 at 3:30 pm |
JD, I’ve never tried the frozen bottle, but if this heat keeps up I’ma give ’er a whirl.
What I usually do is fill the first bottle halfway with ice, then add water. Second bottle is two-thirds ice, one-third water. Those work pretty well unless I get a late start, which I did Thursday. Noon is too late to be climbing up from the Rio.
July 9, 2021 at 3:31 pm |
That was some nice riding today. D-QS didn’t panic when they were swarmed inside the 1K mark.
I’ve never done a mass sprint of any flavor, but for the guys who are good at it, it’s gotta feel like skydiving, watching that altimeter, and not popping until the needle exactly hits the 2,000 foot mark.
July 9, 2021 at 3:41 pm |
I never had the acceleration or top-end speed to sprint. Couldn’t climb real well or descend worth a damn. Frankly, I have no idea why I gravitated to bike racing. Clearly it was not for me.
The thing I liked was going to the front and taking some monster pull toward the end of a training ride, for the city-limit sprint. I could crank out some watts for a short stretch. I also enjoyed attacking from the back from way too far out, because I am not and never will be smart.
Oh, yeah, I also liked dropping back to tow some poor dropped soul up to the bunch. Had I known about bike racing when I was a young feller I might have made someone a third-string domestique.
July 9, 2021 at 8:01 pm |
Word.
July 9, 2021 at 8:23 pm |
Khal, stumbled onto this in a basement shoebox!
July 9, 2021 at 8:04 pm |
Closest I ever got was once behind a camera:
https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B10GWxe86G4udRp;D0092B8A-7142-49F5-8C00-66F527B2DC2F
July 9, 2021 at 8:31 pm |