Winter West 87 Scout
1/24/2021
Tbh, I didn’t look at the weather report until a few days prior. Temps never rose above 28ºF but, coupled with the relentless wind, real feel temps hovered in the low single digits. I don’t know how Alan rode with only a bandana while I was wearing two neck buffs with medical tape on my cheeks and nose. Initial talk of a Catskill overnighter had shifted into a more local jaunt but road miles inevitably became trails and, of course, I was more than happy to scout a few more options for the West 87 route I’ve been working on. Still need to figure out my water/nutrition system for colder overnighters. With heavier gloves, it’s quite the task to eat and drink on the bike. For more than half of the ride, Alan ferried two frozen water bottles!
We were mostly in lizard brain mode, occassionally zapped back to life after carb-heavy snack breaks. I blew through 10kcal (4lbs of food!) yet was hungry the entire time. Propioception was dulled and I must have crashed more times this weekend than all of last year. It’s remarkable how my camera is relatively intact and functional. I have to admit, shooting with a shell mitt is near impossible but I’m happy to have captured what I did.
