Welcome to Hades
The last few days have had a heat index well over 100 degrees in the DC area. It’s brutal outside. I recall the feeling of getting in a shower when I was in college. We forgot to pay the heating bill as college students often do. It was February in Boston. The cold water took my breath away. I had a similar experience when I walked out of my air conditioned house to get the newspaper this morning. The heat and humidity felt like someone had shoved me in the chest. Oof.
I’ve often thought that DC has reverse winter. Growing up in the northeastern US, I was used to that one week period in late January or early February with wind chills well below zero. You could tell how cold it was by feeling the inside of your nose freeze. You just had to give up and stay indoors. (My brother Joe and I got cabin fever one time and went for a run on a loop route. About half way along the route, Joe told me not to touch my ears; they were frozen. Unlike Joe, I was running marathons at the time. I took off and ran the last mile in record time, jumped in the car and started the heat. Let’s just say the thawing process was rather painful.)
Of course, this crazy weather hasn’t stopped me from riding. I keep plugging away, averaging just under 40 miles per day this month. Back in May I bought some GU electrolyte fizzie pills for use on the bike. They tasted too sweet but I kept them in the house. I have been using them as an after-ride drink. They do a decent job of keeping leg cramps at night at bay. (I use Nuun tablets for on-bike use. Mark from my 2019 and 2022 tours swears by them. So I gave them a try and quite like them.)
More Little Changes
As I mentioned a few days ago, I raised the saddle on The Mule and found that I had much better power transfer to the pedals. I recently noticed that my new-ish bike touring shoes were giving me sore feet so I switched back to my stiffer mountain bike shoes. My feet are less achy and I get a tad more power transfer from them as well. I have also lost five or ten pounds since the start of my ill-fated bike tour. The combination of these three factors have made for a marked improvement in my riding. I remember the frustration I was having trying to climb hills, even the small ones, all during the tour. I think that if I had made these three changes, I would have faired much better. Less walking at least.
One other thing I neglected to do on my Mo Mo tour was to rest. In retrospect I should have take a day off in Damascus, Elk Garden, or The Breaks. I was gassed when I got to Hazard, KY and didn’t realize it. I guess one of the advantages of riding with other people is the feedback you get. (In 2022, riding with Mark and Corey, we took a day off in Missoula. We had no trouble climbing over the mountains from there to Astoria.)
More on Dogs
I confess to fantasizing about going back to Kentucky, buying some bear spray, and riding through dog alley. Go ahead, Fido, make my day.
My bike-journal reading has turned up some alarming dog attacks. One bike tourist was crossing Louisiana and was attacked by packs of dogs. Twice motor vehicles came by and hit the dogs. Yikes. The same rider reports that the dog problem is just as bad in east Texas.
Another couple of alarming journals describe loose dogs attacking bike tourists along the Great Rivers South route in Kentucky and Tennessee. Knowing what I know now, I’m not touring in the rural south without bear spray. Lots of it.
Finally, I found a recent post on Cycleblaze about a tour in Montana disturbing. The riders were planning on riding along the beautiful Clark Fork River which I rode along side in 2018. Before they got to the main road, the lead rider was attacked by big dogs. One bit her leg and she crashed breaking her collarbone. It never once occurred to me that such a thing could have happened to me in Montana on my cross country ride. I saw one loose dog in 4,300 miles. .
Lotuses and Lilies
On Friday, the 5th, I rode in the heat to Friday Coffee Club in DC. I didn’t expect anybody to be there as the city was all but shut down for a four-day weekend. To my surprise I was joined by Michael, Mike, and Miles. After the confab, I rode across DC to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens which is smack dab on the Anacostia River Trail. Every July, ponds with Lotuses and water lilies bloom. It’s quite a show. I had told a friend who is new to DC that this was a must see event. I think I was about a week early. There were a few blossoms here and there but nothing like next week will bring. My friend won’t be riding there. She tore a rotator cuff. It’s the kind of injury old people and baseball pitchers suffer, not 28-year-old women. Go figure.
Along the way, The Mule passed yet another landmark. I’ll keep riding it until I stretch the chain to hell and have to get a new chain and cassette. Then I’ll let the bike hospital make it as good as new.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
It has been disgustingly hot here too. In the low 90’s the last few days with more to come. I hate it. We also don’t have AC because we usually only have about a week or so of REALLY hot weather and just haven’t felt the need for it. It’s hit or miss for a house in Washington to have AC. Lately I think my cat has been overheating though, so it may be time.
Love to hear the small changes have made a big impact on the biking. It’s night and day when this happens. Do not love to hear about the people getting attacked by the dogs. I feel so bad for that woman who had to end her tour from a broken collar bone (I broke mine when I was 13, it’s not a fun injury) and deep bite. I was infuriated to read that the owner seemed to blame her for the attack. Sometimes I really dislike human beings.