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[thisnewday]

With a current reading of 24 degrees, we're seeing our coldest temperatures to date, this fall in the 'Cuse. There's also an inch or two of snow on the ground, but that should disappear in the next day or so, due to temperatures forecast to reach the low to mid-50s.

So the white stuff on the ground is not what has finally brought this biking season to an end for me. It's that nasty residue of white out on the road which will remain after the snow has melted away, the calcium chloride spread there overnight by the highway department to melt the ice which formed as temperatures were dropping.

I'd previously decided, after getting the end-of-season tuneup on the bike, that I wouldn't be taking it out again once the roads had been treated with those corrosion-inducing compounds, and I'm gonna stick with that plan. (Not to mention the possible health consequences of breathing the stuff.)

Anyway, I guess this is it. The bike goes to the basement and I transition to a stationary fitness routine on the mag trainer. And even though I've been preparing for this for a couple of months, now, I'm still struggling with the sense of what I'm losing by having to following through with it.

Because, you know, the bicycle has been one of the few things that's gotten me out of the house, these last few months, and one of the most effective physical and mental health regimens I've ever been fortunate enough to have in my life.

But now I guess it's time to move on to what's next and to feel equally fortunate that there is, in fact, something that's next.

My best to everyone... 

LPK
Dreamwidth
11.18.2020

Comments

[halfmoon_mollie1]

Not the same...I DID go walking today and it didn't matter which way I headed the wind was in my face. Easier to walk in that nasty stuff than to bike in it, I'm sure.

I did about 6.5 miles. Find a way to get out of the house, even if you just walk to the end of your driveway and back. It really DOES help.

[thisnewday]

"It really DOES help."

Yes, I agree. One of my sisters, who lives in Nevada and is an advocate for exercise in the outdoors, suggested I get snowshoes.

I almost didn't want to tell her, but when my daughter and I were clearing out the house in the city, we came across 3 sets of brand new snowshoes which I'd gotten, years ago, for Helen, our grandson, and myself.

I can't even remember, perhaps don't want to remember, what turn life took that resulted in them never having been used.

Whatever it was, we donated them and that was that.

Now I'm wondering if maybe--

Anyway, thanks for the counsel and cudos on your own impressive 6.5 miles...

[halfmoon_mollie1]

I lived, for a few years, next door to The Golf Course. Friends 'lent' me snowshoes, and I who hated 'playing outside', LOVED them. Of course, all I had to do was strap them on. I don't know if you'd have to drive (for example)to Green Lakes or Beaver Lake to use them. That was also before I had my knee surgery. Perhaps you could rent a pair somewhere and use them a few times.

[thisnewday]

Ah, your mention of the knee surgery is actually relevant to my situation as well. A few years back, I had my knee "scoped" due to a partially-torn meniscus and some other damage. Since then, I've been very careful about any activity that might create "leverage" against that knee.

Because, the next time, it would likely mean a full replacement. And that leverage could easily be exerted by something like a ski or snowshoe. Which is why I love the bike. For all of its other obvious risks, it uses a stable, predictable range of motion to generate effort. Anyway, it was a good thought and I appreciate it...