At a Certain Point.
Sooner or later you have to throw in the towel. You've had enough abuse. The aches and pains pile on top of each other. It isn't fun anymore. The risk/reward calculation just doesn't add up. Taking a fall could have consequences extending far into the future. You have to quit and move onto something else.
Sooner or later, I have to give up and go back to the trainer.
Looks like sooner it is. The temperatures dropped too quickly, over twenty degrees in the space of a couple days. The windshield is crusted over every morning. Puddles are staying frozen well into the day. The ground is getting colder too, so that the chances of any on-road moisture being ice is greatly increased.
I could finish my disc gravel road bike. The wider tires would likely help. I could dig out the 700x42c studded tires I bought years ago for my "monstercross" bike and rode a grand total of four times. I could add layer upon layer, digging deep into my vast collection of cycling kit for insulating layers. I could develop a tolerance for riding in the cold, just like all of my fat-biking compatriots do. Some of them even lean forward into the experience.
Problem is, I don't want to. The gravel bike certainly needs to be built, but I don't have the room to really work on it at the moment. By the time I clear the space, it's window of utility will be past. The studded tires weigh 40 lbs each, and roll about as well as cinderblocks. To say performance is blunted would be an understatement. If I do manage to get them rolling, the cold wind saps all of my enthusiasm for going fast- at least until all exposed skin is slathered with a protective layer of phlegm which is conveniently and continuously dispensed by my nose.
At a certain point, all I'm getting out of the experience is junk miles. I could spend a quarter of the time sweating away in the trainer dungeon and get the same benefits without quite as much snot. I have to be honest and realize when all progress is starting to go backwards.
I think it's time for me to quit.
Sooner or later, I have to give up and go back to the trainer.
Looks like sooner it is. The temperatures dropped too quickly, over twenty degrees in the space of a couple days. The windshield is crusted over every morning. Puddles are staying frozen well into the day. The ground is getting colder too, so that the chances of any on-road moisture being ice is greatly increased.
I could finish my disc gravel road bike. The wider tires would likely help. I could dig out the 700x42c studded tires I bought years ago for my "monstercross" bike and rode a grand total of four times. I could add layer upon layer, digging deep into my vast collection of cycling kit for insulating layers. I could develop a tolerance for riding in the cold, just like all of my fat-biking compatriots do. Some of them even lean forward into the experience.
Problem is, I don't want to. The gravel bike certainly needs to be built, but I don't have the room to really work on it at the moment. By the time I clear the space, it's window of utility will be past. The studded tires weigh 40 lbs each, and roll about as well as cinderblocks. To say performance is blunted would be an understatement. If I do manage to get them rolling, the cold wind saps all of my enthusiasm for going fast- at least until all exposed skin is slathered with a protective layer of phlegm which is conveniently and continuously dispensed by my nose.
At a certain point, all I'm getting out of the experience is junk miles. I could spend a quarter of the time sweating away in the trainer dungeon and get the same benefits without quite as much snot. I have to be honest and realize when all progress is starting to go backwards.
I think it's time for me to quit.
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