A Very Cold Ride

This morning I set out on my weekend long bike ride. I had to do 3hrs 10mins followed by a 20min run straight off the bike. I've done this now a few times, so I thought it wouldn't be too much of a drama. How wrong I was.

I neglected to have a proper check of the weather, which turned out to be a big mistake. It was one of the coldest rides I've ever done. Unbeknown to me, a cold snap from Scandinavia had hit the U.K, making this particular Saturday a chilly one. Add to that the wind chill and I was having a really bad time.

I had my gloves on and luckily, I had taken a spare pair of thin running gloves, just 'in case'. I started the ride and within an hour I knew it was going to be a bad one. My toes had gone numb and I my figures were starting to go numb. I pulled over for my usual toilet break and popped on the spare pair. I now had two pairs of gloves on and double the air insulation. I should have been sorted right...?

Wrong. It helped for about half an hour but by that point, an hour and half into the ride the cold had hit me hard. I couldn't feel my feet, never mind the toes and my fingers were numb with next to no dexterity. It was at this point I made the worst decision I think I have ever made on the bike.

I had planned my route as I normally do, on my little Garmin Edge. I was following it and turned down a small B road with a sign saying, 'Road Closed - Flood'. In my head, for some reason, I thought this doesn't apply to me I'm on a bike. So, I carried on. First big mistake. I cycled down the lane and saw the reason for the sign. The fields either side of the road had flooded, but up to this point the road was fairly clear as it was on higher ground. The road then dipped for about 400 meters and in the dip was, the 'flood'. I stopped and went through the thought process of whether or not to continue.

Not realising how deep it was, I decided to carry on regardless, I'd come this far, right? I think I got about 4 pedal stokes in before I nearly fell off. Quickly unclipping, I managed to get off the bike. The water was up to my knee by this point. So, I thought what to do again. I was already wet, my feet were already cold and numb and I come this far, right?

Again, I carried on, I was completely off the bike now pushing it through the 'flood'. The water ended up half way up my thigh at the deepest point. At this point I didn't really realise how cold I actually was. I got back on the bike and carried on.

You'll never believe me, but round the next corner, there was another 400 meter stretch of 'flood'. At this point a tractor was making his way through. I pulled the bike to the side let him pass and contemplated life. I have no idea what he must have thought. I now had a decision, carry on through the next 'flood' or go back through the last 'flood'. I had come this far, right?

I got through the two stretches of water and carried on, trying to act like nothing had happened. It did however have a big impact on me. I still had an hour to go. Because I was so cold, I hadn't really been drinking or eating. I had to stop to get an energy bar out of my pocket because my hands were so cold and numb. All I wanted to do was get home now. I had made the worst decision ever going through the water.

I had to keep stopping to shake my hands out to try and get a little blood in them, they were that numb it was becoming dangerous. I couldn't feel the brakes, I couldn't feel the gears to change them and I didn't know if I was gripping the handle bars properly. The second pair of gloves were not doing what they had done before.

I’d had enough and ended up stopping to set my Garmin to take me the quickest way home. I think it got confused and it ended up adding an extra 3 miles on to the ride. This just added to my woes. I did, finally, make it back in 3 and a half hours. On the way back, while constantly shivering and praying I was gripping the handle bars properly, I had decided to give the 20min run a miss. I needed to get warm.

When I did get back, it was emotional. My hands had no dexterity, it took me what felt like an age to remove shoes and clothes. Parts of my feet had actually gone blue. I did eventually get warm enough to write this post, but it took a long time. Looking back, lessons will be learned from this ride, study the weather and do not ride down closed roads