I got out of work early, and I decided to stop by the bank first. (Fisrt mistake.)
I spent more time at the bank, than I had planned. I got back to my house just before 3 o'clock.
I got dressed to ride. Short sleave lightweight jersey, shorts and socks. i decided to wear my Giro helmet (as opposed to my TT lid wich would have been much warmer.) Mistake number 2.
The temprature was mid fifties. A little nippy, but not too bad.
I haven't had much time yet for bike riding this year, so I decided to go twenty. (I probably only should have gone fifteen.)
The first ten miles were great. Absolutely no wind what so ever. (When you are out in the middle of nowhere, that's a great thing.)
My third mistake was judging in the weather. I could see a front coming in. (About five miles out at this point.) The first, the really dark clouds, passed over without any problems. So I kept riding.
I decided I needed to turn around after ten miles, didn't want to tempt my fate. After about one minute and ten seconds (could have been less, I don't remember.) The rain hit. The temprature dropped. And worst of all, the wind came in, cold.
The temprature dropped at least ten to fifteen degrees. The rain was that little stinging droplet type. And the wind instantly picked up in speed and gusts. I think the weather man said something like thirty-to forty mile an hour winds with fifty+ mph gusts.
At this point I'm in it for the long haul. It was to windy even for me to go into the aerobars. The oil roads got super slick, but most of all, I was friggen cold. I think I was managing to pull about fifteen miles an hour, maybe. The rain started coming down harder.
I got passed by a few cars with their wipers on full blast. My shoes filled up with water, and my m-frames started to fog. That was all great, and then I realized I couldn't hear anything out of my left ear. It was completly full of water. Cold water.
I got an ice cream headache, and I could feel in my mouth where I got my wisdom teeth taken out last year. Kinda freaky.
I didn't realize how cold I was until I got back into town (about four miles to go at this point.) I couldn't shift gears, and my fingers were to stiff to even pull the brakes. I stopped on the side of the road nd looked in bewilderment as I couldn't flex my fingers. I couldn't feel them. I tried poking my arm, couldn't feel that either.
Ever so gingerly I got back on my bike and continued my ride home. At this point my core body temp had dropped so far I was starting to feel sick, and I hurt all over. Every bump I hit felt like it went straight into my bones. I couldn't really see straight, and I was just hoping and praying that the cars would leave me alone.
I got home and I couldn't even get my helmet un clipped. I managed to get my shoes off. and that was it. I jumped in the shower and I had to put it all the way on cold. Even then, it still felt to warm. I managed to get the rest of my bike clothing off. I put on a sweater and pants and curled up with a blanket for about half-an-hour. My teeth chattered so hard, that I thought I was going to crack a tooth. I was shivering in wierd too. I would shiver and it would build up to where my whole vody was shaking, and then it would die off for about ten seconds and do nothing, and then it would come back.
I finally got warm enough to get back in the shower.
I took my shirt off and noticed something in the mirror. I was was shivering in waves. You could see it in the muscles on my chest. It would start at the bottom and do waves all the way up my body.
Forty five minutes, and no more hot water later, I finally got back to normal.
I did a few weight last night and noticed I was not nearly as strong as I am normally. I cut that short and came home and went to bed.
That was one of those days that make you question why you do it. I don't know, I don't have time to think about it. I gottta go ride now. See ya.