I always think of Queen's Fat-bottomed Girls

I picked up my new bike last Saturday, plus a bunch of other stuff so I can ride (shoes, helmet, lights, water bottle holder, dinky little repair kit that fits neatly into the onboard storage compartment, a shirt, some padded shorts—all very $$). 

I was all set to ride Sunday morning but had gear issues. I work out first thing in the morning, so it’s dark. No worries, I have a Nox Gear Tracer 360 vest that lights up like crazy, and of course I’d bought the headlight and taillight for my bike. Only the batteries were dead in my vest. OK, I replaced them. And those batteries were dead. Grrr. I decided it would be OK to ride with just the headlight and taillight so headed out. Only I could not get the headlight on. So I scrapped riding that morning and charged both lights.

My first ride was on Monday, and I got a later start than I would have preferred. That meant I had more traffic, which frankly scares the snot out of me. I got a little lost and ended up on Mission, which has a lot of traffic and right now is down to one lane each way due to construction. I couldn't get off that street fast enough. Plus it was wicked cold—the temperature was 33 and the wind chill was 25.

Here’s where running in cold weather differs from biking in the same weather: I wore all my good cold weather running gear (tank top, long sleeve heat-tech shirt, long sleeve biking shirt, medium weight running jacket to block the wind, bike shorts, heat-tech tights, wind pants, wool socks, a winter weight headband plus my helmet, and my warmest running glove/mittens) and it wasn’t enough. I have not been that cold on any run, not even the one in 9F with the wind chill below zero. My thumbs especially hurt all day long as did my pinky toes. 

So I was super proud of myself for getting back out there yesterday in nearly the same weather for another ride. Fortunately, the wind was slightly less, and I felt a little more confident so was able to go a little faster (especially uphill, I do love hills). Once again, my thumbs hurt all day yesterday after thawing out. A friend suggested getting silk glove liners and I remembered that I’d bought a pair last year on clearance but not in time for that run.

I dug them out for this morning's ride. Normally I wouldn't ride back to back but the weather for the next 10 days looks like crap for cycling: rain tomorrow, snow on Saturday, and temps in the low to mid 20s through at least next Saturday. But today it was 40F with less wind. I also felt a lot more confident shifting gears and just riding in general. The silk glove liners helped some, but it’s clear I need better cold weather cycling gloves. 

That I’m even trying this is kind of a big deal. When I was 12, I had a pretty bad bike accident—I fell and hit the left side of my head on the curb and was unconscious. When I woke up, I was three blocks from where I’d fallen and a stranger was standing over me asking me loudly if I were OK. Being 12, I’d had the whole stranger danger drilled into me so I remember being really scared of him, and telling him I was fine. He asked where I lived and honestly it took a bit to remember. While I did keep cycling as a kid, I was always so very afraid I would crash like that again.

I think the fear will grow less as I get more proficient. It's hard being so bad at something, but I'm determined to master this.