I went into this weekend thinking that I’d get to spend Monday w/ my boys. As it turns out, my boys were already signed up and excited to go skating w/ kids club.

So now that I have day to myself, what will I do? I know, I’ll do a 25mi ride! It’d be my longest ride yet, but my
body is ready. Let’s go!

I figured out a route. I checked the weather. Um, okay it’s going to be cold. Sub freezing cold.

Hmm, let’s see if my bride will go for it… wow, she’s on board, sweet!

So this morning I take my boys out to breakfast, drop them off at kids club then head home to get ready.

Food & Water? Check.
Inhaler? Check.
Layered Clothing? Check.
Let’s go.

Drive to my starting point. Put on my cleats, and outerwear. Take the bike off the rack. Lock up the van and hit the trail.

For the first 5-10 minutes I was feeling strong but cold. Then my body furnace kicked in and I was nice and toasty. Well my upper body was.

Lesson 1) wear a wind pant over tights when riding in subfreezing temps.

At about the 15 minute mark the asthma decided it wasn’t going to play nice, so I slowed my pace and tried to get things under control. By the 20 minute mark I knew the asthma was going to win. So I turned around and started the trek back to the van.

It was slow going but I made it back to the van and spent the next hour getting myself back to normal. asthma sucks.

Lesson 2) when your bride & rt & rn tell you that she’ll support you riding but only if the temps are above freezing. listen to her. she really does now what she’s talking about, even if you’re stubborn and don’t want to hear/listen to it.

I’m dejected. I was excited and pumped to do 25mi. I’m ready and physically fit to do it, but my asthma had to trump me today. I’m not sure what I could do different. I wore my balaclava, but it wasn’t enough… I hate having my body fail me! I hate playing the asthma card!

So today’s ride was a failure. Probably the first of many as I figure out how to keep the asthma in check. I need to do some cold weather asthma research to see if there is anything else I can do to keep my asthma in check. Can I train my asthma to like the cold? Or do I wait for warmer weather?