Cold Riding
*editor's note: Don't follow everything you read or hear. You just may have fun! Beware of the following reading though*
The idea came from an email from a friend. I was sitting there one morning checking and exchanging emails before breakfast and emailed my friend ~S~ and told him that I had been off the bike for a few days now due to this stinking cold I have. His response was..."I love riding when I am sick, it gets the gravy flowing". I thought about that for awhile, laughing to myself. Knowing that is really does contradict any and all the basic learning and advice. But then I thought about the past. What did I do in the past when I had a cold? Quit riding? Ride easy? What?
Simple answer. I kept riding...and took good meds. So why now, should I choose the path of righteous knowledge. Get out there and tear it up I thought. After some careful preparation, cheerios for breakfast, a fruit bar, an apple...some hot tea with honey and a touch of brandy (medicinal purposes of course). I tossed on the baggy shorts and grabbed a torn and ratty Tee out of the work bin. Peered at the temperature which was now climbing into the lower 70s...Summer colds are the worst I thought! They always seem to hit me on a stretch of days off work too as if to give you that extra little kick to the groin.
So down to the basement, grab the Bob Jackson fixie and head out the door. Spinning off easy I slowly crest the tiny rise by my home and begin the gentle sloping descent. Easily backpedalling to control the speed I go around the corner and down the straights with ease. No problem so far, no ill effects. Nice day actually. Not too humid. Gentle breeze. Not so bad at all...why did I hold off so long? Down the roadway I spin, turning those pedals around and around and enjoying the view...only slight bronchiole irritation so far. Nothing at all what I expected.
Onto the main road I begin to churn out some speed. getting up on the hoods and bearing down for a slight hill, up and over and no problem yet other than some runny eyes. Looking good I thought, the sweet smells around me of blooming flowers mixed with the fresh scent of pines. All the foilage is so rich and green from the rain, the water running swiftly in the stream at the side of the roadway. birds out enjoying...lovely day. cough cough...nothing major. Slight tickle is all. Take a sip from the water bottle and vanquish that scratchy icky feeling.
Ahh, better. nothing like a good taste of cold water before a climb. Just before the start of the climb, I shoot a snot rocket off to the side...oh. bad timing. Not the usual solid shot...more like a long stringy trailing...you get the point. Good thing I have this ratty ole Tee on today. a little snuggle on the sleeve and all is better.
Now to get back to the task at hand. Slowly stand to begin the climb and enjoy the lovely view once on top, cranking those pedals forward...feel the lungs burn on the climb...feel them burn quite bad in comparison with normal...feel that cough erupt into a lengthy vibration in my chest as the juices and gravy must surely start to flow...The burn. My God, the burn. I sit back down and begin to slow the climbing pace to keep in check with my health. Trying desperately to keep that cough under some control...a quick sip but that's no good when gasping for air through pinholes in my nose...Then it happens at the top.
Over the top I come and look out to see the view of the farms and fields, the rows of crops, the well defined lines in the soil. The views I see all the time and enjoy on these fixie rides. But I can't see a damn thing through my clouded and watering eyes. The fluids flow from my nose like a siv. My nose erupts like Mt Etna in copius amounts of "gravy" with deep rich green colors as I cough, sputter, and spit to clear my mouth and throat. God...that hurt. I head homeward!
The above scenario is carried out on two more climbs as I approach my home. Each with increasing violence of eruptions. The vibration in my chest can surely be measured on the richter scale and I can tell you clearly where the epicenter is!! I finally stammer into the driveway, pausing at the door to stoop over my silent steed and wretch and gulp for breaths. What the hell was I thinking! Into the house I clamber up the stairs...feels almost like another climb. Tea...I need tea. I feel like I should have a Sherpa bringing me some magic brew to make me all better! Now I know how Jon Krakauer felt "into the thin air".
Hot tea, warm soup. A hot bath...and the symptoms are all but subsiding. The cold is still there...but it doesn't seem so bad. Now, this can be one of two things. One, it could be that the ride actually improved my condition by working some of those nasty microbial viruses out OR two, and most likely the reason, I am the same as before I rode but compared with that ride...I feel a hell of a lot better and more thankful I stopped!!
So Here I am now, days later. Still riding it up daily, enjoying the hot and humid days outside and tearing up the trails. And what of the cold? Just a minor dry hacking persistent cough, some sinus congestion in the morning and night, runny nose...well, Alright, the freakin' thing is still hanging on like a baby to his mom's breast but I am getting better and I sure as the day I was born, am enjoying the riding!!! Fixie on!