Give Me Air!

Today’s Ride: 20km—Mineral Springs

Weather: Sunny, hot

I recently finished William Fotheringham’s biography of the great Fausto Coppi. A very moving read, which I recommend. Coppi died from malaria in 1960 (malaria = bad air). And reportedly called for air near the end. I’m not dying (well, we’re all dying, right?), but have spent the past couple of weeks miserable with a bout of sinusitis, which is just unpleasant, and made all the worse on the bike when you desperately want to take in more air and can’t. I’m working at about 75-80% capacity at the moment, which makes riding possible, but exertions difficult. Hopefully, I can remedy the situation by Thursday.

Summer is here. Taking in even a short ride like this one without any drinks on board is foolish. I didn’t take anything to drink with me, and was suffering at the top of Wilson. Not badly, but would have been quite happy to take a swig of water or energy drink at that point. The pace wasn’t heavy (see previous paragraph—not the malaria bit, but the sinusitis part), but with a number of riders climbing, it was hard not to want to hunt them down. I resisted, but my pace and bigger gear meant I was eating them up anyway. And with limited oxygen, was huffing and puffing more than I should have done. And thirsty. Espresso at Café Domestique was most welcome, post-ride.