Boulder Memories: The Day I wore a bag on my head and down my shirt with hospital gloves on my hands'

When the temperature goes from 38c at the bottom of a 90min climb (the last of the five I did that day) to torrential rain/thunderstorms and 6c at the top; and all you have is hot-weather gear you need to improvise. Otherwise that 1100m vertical descent in 6c rain is going to be a recipe for hypothermia. 

I stopped at the general store to buy a garbage bag to put down shirt, a plastic bag to put on head and some hospital gloves to keep hands warm. Don't think I've ever been so cold on a bike...the smile didn't last. Picture taken at the top of Ward with a friend/fellow sufferer I met at the General Store. I liked his makeshift idea of keeping warm. 

The descent in the cold with numb hands, shocking visibility and on slippery roads should have scared the life out of me, but I just wanted to get home. Plus I think I became so delirious with cold/exhaustion, I lost most of my cognitive ability.

It was a long day in the saddle (especially back then when my fitness/bike training was moderate at best). 

Oh yes did I mention there were people firing a gun at the side of the road, presumably to hunt something in the nearby forest....still in a thunderstorm with no-one else around it was VERY scary!

To cap it off I got a puncture 500m from home! 

Riding my bike has allowed me to see/experience some incredible things. Some days you won't forget, either for good or bad reasons. I won't forget this day, for all the right reasons!

Ride Stats:

• Time:   5.31hrs
• Distance:   136ks
• Elevation Gain:   2445m
• Temp Range:   4 - 38c
• TSS:   283
• Max Speed:   88.8