Cycling Issues
As I continue training for my century ride, there are several recurring issues that play a part in my rides throughout the week.

Issue #1 - Knee pain
I have bad knees, from sports injuries during my glory days on the the jr. high basketball team and my highschool tennis team, further damaged by the Great Bike Incident (see Biking and The Incident) several years ago when I saved some lives and landed on my knee. Had my knees held up better through all the athleticism and heroics, I'd likely now be a famous professional basketball player for the WNBA, a tennis pro, and winner of the Tour de France.

Consequently, when I ride long distances now my knee doth complain profusely. Sometimes it behaves, and I mistakenly think I've been miraculously healed via a secret bionic knee transplant. Other times, I'm about ready to rip it off and continue pedaling with one good leg. I am determined not to let my knees keep me from riding and completing my century. I just need to figure out how to fill my Camelback with the right concoction of Powerade and morphine, so I can steadily sip and dull the pain throughout the ride.

Issue #2 - Wind
I hate wind. Even when the weather man tells me there is no wind, at the lake there is always wind. Wind is omnipresent. It blows debris into my eyes, somehow managing to swirl inside and around my protective cycling sunglasses worn for the sole purpose of shielding my eyes from debris. Thus, the wind renders me unable to see for all the blinking and eye-watering attempts to rid my eye of said debris. Wind hits me from the side in big gusts, trying to knock me over. It pushes against me as I pedal forward. Wind is not my friend.

The thing with wind is that unless it's a tornado, it should pretty much blow one way or the other. When cycling around the lake, I tend to think there should be one windy side to the lake. If the wind blows from the north, as I ride on the side of the lake pointing north, it makes sense I will encounter some wind resistance. My solace in that is to look forward to the other side of the lake where I should experience the wind at my back. So, imagine my frustration as I pedal several laps around the lake, finding that every side of the lake seems to be the windy side of the lake. If I didn't know better, I'd say the wind follows me just to taunt me. And blow things into my eye.

Issue #3 - Snot
Yes, snot. When biking outside my nose runs uncontrollably. I don't understand it. I don't have a cold, and my allergies are under control. So I ask, why all the snot? I could really do without it. I almost hyperventilate from breathing hard due to riding hard, plus continuously sniffing to keep the snot from trailing down my chin. It's disgusting. Even using my gloves to wipe the snot tends to mostly just smear it. I'm sure I make quite a spectacle, sniffing around the lake, trying to control the snot without breaking form.

Of all the issues, the snot is the biggest annoyance. The knee is aching, the wind is blowing, but the snot is flowing faster and in greater volumes than I can handle. I need to fashion some sort of device, attaching to my helmet, as a hands-free snot catcher.

It's a good thing I really love cycling. Otherwise it wouldn't make sense to spend so much time perfecting a painful, windy, snot-filled hobby.

C.T.