Ride Reports - Where You Defied the Weather

[Jay]

Some of my most memorable rides involved bad weather.  I recall many moments from a ride close to 20 years ago, where halfway into a 60k ride it started snowing, a lot.  I rode home 30km in what accumulated to 5cm of snow, on 35mm tires.  I used a small backpack with a water bladder and the hose froze and I was out of water/food.  I stayed upright. I smiled most of the time (when I wasn't displaying fear when cornering), and realized that such rides can bring one a lot of joy.  On the flip side, I probably had 20-30 rides last year in perfect weather...can't recall one detail.

I would love to read your ride reports where defied the weather.  I have one below, from this morning's ride.

"Winter's Revenge"

Distance: 40km

Elevation: 400m

Temperature: -2C to +1C

Disclaimers: no photos (use your visualization skills!); lot's of talk about non-riv bike

I woke up at 6am and checked the latest weather report on my phone while lying in bed: snow/rain showers starting at 8am, wind gusts up to 50km.  The radar showed a blue/green blob heading towards me.  

On Friday I had taken the afternoon off to ride, it was 15C with very little wind.  Had a great ride on Leo (Roadini; aka Goldilocks).  Didn't ride yesterday (Saturday).  Rest of the week looks pretty bad (and I'm working, so limited time to ride).  I had to ride this morning...

Went downstairs and checked out the current conditions: it was still dark, moderate wind, dry roads.  I made tea and did my morning loosening up (stretching) routine as I contemplated which bike to take, scouring the multiple weather sites.  Leo, with her rim brakes, double drive train, and 43mm smooth tires, or the Fargo with her 2.2" tires, mech discs, 1x.  I'm a bit "soft" when it comes to my bikes so I opted for the Fargo (just couldn't put Leo through what might be some crappy weather).  Neither bike has fenders (but they're on my future acquisition list).

I rolled out in the dark, just as the sky was brightening.  It rained last night but as the wind was picking up and I was riding right into it, I took some shortcuts on tree-lined gravel paths sheltered from the wind.  After 30 minutes the wind was a steady 20-30km/h and I can see dark clouds in the distance.  They were not all too distant though, as within a few more km it started snowing.  As it was just below 0C the snow switched between soft flakes to hard pellets, but wasn't all that bad at that moment.

I wanted to keep riding as I felt a lot of confidence on the Fargo, with her wide tires and disc brakes.  I only had one small water bottle, so I decided that I was going to ride a bit longer and another bottle would be nice, and maybe a snack, so I chose my route and rode further west, away from home (into the wind and weather system that was now upon me, but with a halfway point in mind in a town with shops).

After a small roadside break, the wind started gusting to 50km and the snow pellets were coming down strong, and sideways; thankfully the snow was melting, leaving the roads very wet, but not slippery (at this point I was glad Leo was at home, clean and out of trouble).  Next few km were uphill, into the wind, with the snow at its strongest point.  I pulled up my neck gaiter to cover my cheeks from the sharp pellets.  I rang my bell a few times and laughed out loud; a very clear moment I'll recall for some time.

At the halfway point I turned right into town and caught some tailwind, and a bit of sun.  I filled my water bottle and bought a Snickers at a gas station.  Still snowing but not as bad.  The wind also died down a bit; of course, I'm now riding home, down hill and down wind.  Last 20km home were on soaked roads, riding through puddles at times, but as it was still early, very little traffic and the sun ahead of me, peaking through the clouds here and there.

When I got home the chain was dripping in black gunk.  A quick wipe with a shop rag and I brought the Fargo down to the basement for cleaning.  I've never had a bike so easy to clean: huge clearances mean wiping down the frame is a breeze.  One chain ring is easier to clean than two.   I look over to Leo, happy again that she stayed home.

I'm thankful I have the Fargo as it's not just my trail bike (I don't like/own flat bar mountain bikes, so this bike's main role is no non-technical trails in town), but is also my all-weather bike (to a certain point, but studded tires and fenders may be installed next winter).  If I didn't have the Fargo I probably would have still went for the ride on Leo, but when the weather turned I would have been thinking too much (rim brakes, cornering on slick-ish tires, and the clean up afterwards, of this beautiful bike), and may have turned around early.  I'm fortunate to own a few bikes.

That's it!  I realize this was far from epic, but I got a lot out of the ride (mentally) and wanted to share.  I look forward to reading your tales, epic or otherwise ;-)

[Patrick Moore]

Nothing epic here either, but I'll play. This incident sticks in my memory as one of those incidents that you laugh about for the rest of your life.

Probably 30 years ago, young, spry 38 or 39 year old, working in Gallup, Four Corners NM, outskirts of the Navajo Reservation. Took long lunch break, early April, for ride. Spring winds had Sprung up. Winter layoff; fat, tired, and weak. Took the hotrodded 1991 Specialized Stumpjumper Team with "road" wheelset (1 of 3: road, commuting, dirt): 559X 0.9" Specialized Turbos, 48/38/26 triple (Topline?) and 12-19 7 speed cassette, (22 mm tires on 19 mm OW rims = 24" diameter X 48/12 = 96" high). Rode east on Rte 66 with howling spring westerly behind me, big ring and small cogs, 27-28 mph, thought, "Not bad, not bad, I'm in good shape!" 12-13 miles to where 66 disappeared into eastbound I-14. Turned around to go back.

NM spring westerlies are beasts!

Tailwind became headwind. Started in 38, used up cassette, admitted defeat and got into the 26. Plugged away, ran out of water, plugged away until I got back to office. 

Exhausted, red eye from dust and wind, cramps in quads and calves, and also abdominals. Cramped standing up, bent over, cramped bending over. Had local-access TV show that evening (Gallup, NM; small time doesn't begin to describe it, but I was PR Director for the area HC system). Went on air at ~6 pm with cramps and red eyes. Never learned about the Nielsen ratings.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Jay]

Where riding and work meet to make for interesting stories is memorable indeed.  That sounds so different from where I live, other than the wind.

My first bike as an adult was a Kona Blast, and I had two wheel sets.  I remember trying to keep up with my brother in law one day with the road wheels, a 40k road ride in windy conditions, him on his new Trek road bike (trying to ride like Lance lol); I was about 40 pounds heavier but that didn't matter, I was going to suffer on that bike, against him on his road bike.

[John G]

Visual ride report of a day that ended in pretty hard rain.  About 6 minutes into the video the rain came. at 9:40 we're making wakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRgZG5d10ZY

Cheers,

 John G

Union Bridge, MD

[Nick Payne]

About 40 years ago, when I was a racing cyclist, I rode in an early season spring race (three laps of a 50km circuit) that started in nice sunny conditions with the temperature somewhere around 60-65F, so we all started in shorts and short sleeves. Towards the end of the second lap, the wind started to pick up and rather black clouds started rolling in, and shortly after we started the final lap, it started to rain and the temperature dropped quite noticeably. With about 30km left it started to hail and the wind increased and the temperature dropped further. By the time we finished (in dribs and drabs, my wife who was at the finish line told me that the largest bunch she saw finishing was three or four riders), there was several inches of hail on the ground, and my fingers were so cold that I couldn't feel what I was touching. I was shaking uncontrollably, and had real trouble undoing my toestraps so that I could get my feet out of the pedals. I saw some cyclists who couldn't manage to get their toestraps loosened at all - when they came to a halt, they just toppled over sideways. It's by far the coldest I can remember getting on a bike in over half a century of cycling.

Nick Payne

[Jay]

I liked your video John - thanks for sharing.  Looked like a nice route.

Nick - good proof of what I wrote about ride memories, that was 40 years ago and you shared some good details that I could easily visualize.

[John Rinker]

Short Version: While technically not riding at the time, I was on a ride circumnavigating Yakushima Island when I was flooded out of my tent and forced to setup camp for 16 hours in an accessible toilet in Japan.

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Longer Read: Yakushima, an island off the southern tip of Kyushu in Japan is home to the oldest cedar (sugi) trees on the planet and it boasts the highest annual rainfall in Japan, between 4 and 10 meters per year. That's right, meters!

In the Spring of 2021 I went back to Yakushima for a second ride around the island. For several weeks before the trip I began to watch the weather. According the the Japanese weather reports, which are the most reliable I've ever used, a big rain was coming during my second night there. 

So, I began to plan for this. After I get off the ferry and visit Shiratani Gorge where some of the oldest cedars on the island reside on steep slopes, I would head for Anbo. From my last visit, I remembered a beautiful public park high above the town. Camping in public parks is permitted- well, not frowned upon- and in Japan such parks are replete with amenities like 'The World's Cleanest Public Restrooms'. This would be where I'd weather the predicted 12-15cm of rain. 

Fast forward several weeks and I'm riding into the park I remembered. What made it most memorable is a world-class 400m running track. On a remote island! In a town of about 8000 people! I find a spot on the lawn among the blossoming cherry trees(sakura), and there's a small gazebo. My tent is on the lawn and ready for rain, but if things go sideways I'll duck into the gazebo.

Right on time, a light rain begins while I cook dinner and the sun goes down. I eat then walk around in the drizzle to enjoy the sakura at twilight. As the rain picks up its pace, I tuck my bike and gear in the gazebo and zip myself into my cozy tent. The rain dances on the taut nylon and soon I'm asleep.

In the dream my tent is flowing down hill towards a small cluster of houses. When the tent comes to a stop, I unzip the fly and a couple of old friends are there looking over a map. As I greet them I feel as though I'm on a waterbed. Suddenly, I'm awake in darkness and pelting rain. My old friends are gone as is the cluster of houses. But I still feel like I'm on a waterbed. I reach both arms beyond my pad and feel the tent's waterproof floor. The coated fabric ripples. Now I'm fully awake sloshing about the waterbed, deflating the air mattress and stuffing clothes and sleeping bag into a nylon sack before the water seeps through the floor.

I unzip the tent and dash through the torrent for the gazebo with all my gear. The gazebo is sturdy but old and the roof has not been looked after.  As much rain falls on my bike and me as on the tent. Eariler, I scoped out the bathroom about 600m away (Plan C), and now stuffed everything in my Wald, hopped on the bike and pedalled (paddled?) through a 5cm of pond that stretched from the gazebo to the restroom on the other side of the running track. I'd come back for my tent in daylight.

The toilets offered a men's and a women's rooms. In between was a larger room for wheelchair access. Certainly this was the least used of the rooms, so I'd sleep here. I slid back the door to reveal, even in the dark, a gleaming facility (much cleaner I'm certain than most hotel rooms in North America.) And dry! I filled my Thermarest, rolled out my sleeping bag and drifted off feeling pretty pleased with myself for having a Plan C. 

The next morning the rain had intensified. I ate breakfast and sipped coffee while I awaited a break in the rain so I could retrieve my tent. The break didn't really come until about 4pm that afternoon. So, I hung out, read, cooked, drank tea and enjoyed the variety of small creatures who also found the wonderful restrooms to be a good Plan C. By 5pm, my sodden tent and I were underway riding along the coast as the receding cumulonimbus captured the pinks and oranges of the glorious sunset. 

As a final note, Yakushima is also quite well known for its cascading waterfalls, and each was positively swollen as I rode from one to the next. 

Cheers, John

[Keith Paugh]

What a rad adventure.

Thanks for posting a link to the rest of the ride write-up.

k.

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[Jay]

I agree - thanks for sharing John.  Japan is on my bucket list (for a trip in general, cycling as part of the trip would be a bonus).