Many Are Cold, but Few Are Frozen

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01/02/2011: "Many Are Cold, but Few Are Frozen"

Sure, Twin Citians may laugh at us feeling cold with temps in the forties (Fahrenheit) here in LA, but it's a fact that when you live in a warm place, you don't invest a lot of money into warm-weather gear. So it felt pretty cold when I rolled out on my way to Pasadena to join the Véloe Retro Rose Bowl Ride this morning. Especially as I had foolishly chosen to wear my MTB shoes, which are great for climbing, with their stiff steel shank--but which are also designed to pass lots of cooling air over your tootsies. This they did most admirably today, and even the hilly eighteen miles from home to Rose bowl never warmed my toes up.

Rain was in the forecast, and, this being southern california, only eight riders showed up in total, but off we went--and enjoyed a sweet ride to Beantown, the Sierra Madre coffeehouse where we regroup and grab a cuppa. At that moment, it began to sprinkle, ever so lightly, so half the crew bugged out for home or car a few miles away. The rest of us enjoyed the hot brew and some filling pastries, and then headed off into the rain.

I've been dragging around what appears to be a mild virus, so I hopped Metro trains from north Pasadena to Wilshire & Western, where it was raining hard enough that I donned the rain cape for the three or four miles home. Fourth Street was a wonderful ride--the trees lush and green from recent wetness, the lawns thick and soft, the streets wet and the air gentle. If I hadn't been sick I would have kept on riding. A few bucks' worth of very simple technology makes a huge difference in the weather. And the day seemed to have warmed up with the arrival of the rainfall. A very good day.