I just feel the need to make a record of this; Two days ago on Wednesday August 5, I went to ride my bike on the Medina River Natural habitat Trail on South Texas 16 (Palo Alto Rd), because I like pedaling on the uneven road and going through the switchbacks that the place offers.
When I left the house the time was about 15 minutes before 12 noon and the temperature was about 88 ° degrees, partly cloudy, breeze and in fact it look like rain was possible, in other words it was perfect weather for biking.
By the time I arrived to the start of the trail it was 12:30, the sun was at its highest position and radiantly hot, that should have been my first clue to abort the trip.
The parking lot was deserted, with the exception of two vehicles whose occupants were about to leave, which should have been translated to me as "you are going to be all alone in the trails", second clue to rescind the plans, and equally disregarded by my cerebral cortex.
2 1/2 miles down I got to the end of the road and stop to rest again because I started to feel a little shaky, again waited about 6 minutes and not feeling any better got on the bike and started my way back, thinking that was not well and if I was going to pass out in the middle of nowhere, I would not be found soon. To top it off, as soon as I mounted the bike my phone indicated that it was about to die, it was down to 5% of battery life, so I stopped the GPS feature to conserve a little.
about 3 miles on the return I noticed that even though I was very hot I was not sweating anymore, looking at my arms, my skin was completely dry and I was shivering. I had to dismount when I got to a switchback going uphill and ket thinking that I didn't want to pass out there in a desolated part of the park, and why was I feeling this odd?. I concluded that my body was so hot internally that my system was trying to cool off and in the process, stopped my glands from secreting sweat and prevent dehydration among other things perhaps.
I could not believe that with an ambiance temperature of 98° degrees and a heat Index of 102°, pedaling fast and hard, with the sun bearing on my back, I was not drenched in sweat, something was amiss, I thought.
Mindful of the critical situation, I visualized getting to my car and driving off to a convenience store and getting me a couple of big cold bottles of Fiji water to drink and pour over my head, that was my immediate goal. Still about half of the trail to make it to my car thinking about reaching my goal took my mind away from panicking. I have never experienced something like it, I haven't researched the subject yet, but I thought the i needed to put it down in words while still fresh in my mind, now a-days I can't afford to "leave it for later" at the risk of forgetting minute details as I describe them here.
It was only as I approached the entrance to the trail that I encounter the first human, a man about my age riding a smaller bicycle, then about ten minutes after another guy also in a bike passed me back.
I finally made it to my car and as I tried to start it up, the security "theft-lock" system set in and I just turned the key to "accessory" got out, and went to a small shade not far to wait for it to reset, set the timer on my iPod player and as soon as it went off, got in the car started up and took off.
While I was driving on Texas 16 by the Poteet Flea Mkt. I realized that I had left my gloves in the helmet, which was hanging from the bike handles. I didn't want to stop until I could get to the convenience store, which I did.
There's a Valero convenience store on Zarzamora and IH 35 access road, I left the engine running to avoid the security lock up again and went inside, got my two bottles of water and two bananas, went to my car and ate one banana right away. Within a 3 to five minutes I felt alive again.
I can't wait to go back again, only better prepared, if I remember to take the obvious provisions and safety measures. Happy trails!!!
When I left the house the time was about 15 minutes before 12 noon and the temperature was about 88 ° degrees, partly cloudy, breeze and in fact it look like rain was possible, in other words it was perfect weather for biking.
By the time I arrived to the start of the trail it was 12:30, the sun was at its highest position and radiantly hot, that should have been my first clue to abort the trip.
The parking lot was deserted, with the exception of two vehicles whose occupants were about to leave, which should have been translated to me as "you are going to be all alone in the trails", second clue to rescind the plans, and equally disregarded by my cerebral cortex.
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| Biking in the afternoon sun by the Botanical Gardens |
I took off with only a meager sample of water in my bottle and about 5 miles into the ride I started to get a headache and feeling very hot and tired, so I stop at a concrete bench to rest and drink a little water. I contemplated making a U turn and head back but as I had done before, I tell myself that I need to face the challenging odds and get done with it, after all, -I tell myself- I need the exercise .
After about 15 minutes, which is a long break, I usually make only 3 to 5 minute stops, I couldn't cool off quick enough. I decided to complete the ride and got on the saddle and rode on.2 1/2 miles down I got to the end of the road and stop to rest again because I started to feel a little shaky, again waited about 6 minutes and not feeling any better got on the bike and started my way back, thinking that was not well and if I was going to pass out in the middle of nowhere, I would not be found soon. To top it off, as soon as I mounted the bike my phone indicated that it was about to die, it was down to 5% of battery life, so I stopped the GPS feature to conserve a little.
about 3 miles on the return I noticed that even though I was very hot I was not sweating anymore, looking at my arms, my skin was completely dry and I was shivering. I had to dismount when I got to a switchback going uphill and ket thinking that I didn't want to pass out there in a desolated part of the park, and why was I feeling this odd?. I concluded that my body was so hot internally that my system was trying to cool off and in the process, stopped my glands from secreting sweat and prevent dehydration among other things perhaps.
I could not believe that with an ambiance temperature of 98° degrees and a heat Index of 102°, pedaling fast and hard, with the sun bearing on my back, I was not drenched in sweat, something was amiss, I thought.
Mindful of the critical situation, I visualized getting to my car and driving off to a convenience store and getting me a couple of big cold bottles of Fiji water to drink and pour over my head, that was my immediate goal. Still about half of the trail to make it to my car thinking about reaching my goal took my mind away from panicking. I have never experienced something like it, I haven't researched the subject yet, but I thought the i needed to put it down in words while still fresh in my mind, now a-days I can't afford to "leave it for later" at the risk of forgetting minute details as I describe them here.
It was only as I approached the entrance to the trail that I encounter the first human, a man about my age riding a smaller bicycle, then about ten minutes after another guy also in a bike passed me back.
I finally made it to my car and as I tried to start it up, the security "theft-lock" system set in and I just turned the key to "accessory" got out, and went to a small shade not far to wait for it to reset, set the timer on my iPod player and as soon as it went off, got in the car started up and took off.
While I was driving on Texas 16 by the Poteet Flea Mkt. I realized that I had left my gloves in the helmet, which was hanging from the bike handles. I didn't want to stop until I could get to the convenience store, which I did.
There's a Valero convenience store on Zarzamora and IH 35 access road, I left the engine running to avoid the security lock up again and went inside, got my two bottles of water and two bananas, went to my car and ate one banana right away. Within a 3 to five minutes I felt alive again.
I can't wait to go back again, only better prepared, if I remember to take the obvious provisions and safety measures. Happy trails!!!
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| Tribute to the fallen rider. |
