Share the Wisdom Wednesdays (on Thursdays): Part Four

Four weeks into Share the Wisdom Wednesdays (on Thursdays). I should be getting a paycheck soon.

This one falls under the "do as I say and do but didn't do at one point until it was too late and now I suffer the consequences" category.

If I could travel back in time and tell my younger self two things, but only two things...

1. Take care of your teeth.  They will cost you money, time, pain and all the things I generally hate dealing with.  Floss, brush, rinse... a few minutes in the bathroom VS losing time in the form of dentist appointments and wasted time at work earning money to pay for you teeth that could be better spent on bikes.  Are you hearing me, young Dick?  Don't just go from the bar to Taco Bell to bed.  Take the extra steps necessary to enjoy good dental health for many years to come.

2. Cover your knees.  Not in general, as I wear shorts year round for casual purposes, but when riding a bike at temps @ 50°.  I realize this is colder than the experts recommend, but this is non-expert, time-traveling me trying to convince an idiotic younger me that I came back from the future and the only advice I have is about teeth and knees.

I used to never cover my knees.  Sometime way back in college, I took to wearing shorts all year round, despite living/bike commuting in Youngstown, OH.  When I joined the cycling team during my (second) senior year, I remember being told that the coach would be pissed if he saw me riding around in 20°+ weather with my knees as bare and exposed as a leaked celebrity selfie... of course he wouldn't come up with such an analogy back in 1991.

Fast forward five years, and I was still doing it.  In 1996, I started working as a messenger in Charlotte.  Hardly anywhere near as brutal as Ohio... just a lot more exposure as far as time in the saddle every day goes.  When Big Worm started working the scene in 1998, he also used his "Northern blood" to stay warm.  Thus began the "Who can wear SPD sandals the deepest into winter?" and the "Why are my heels cracking and bleeding?" days.

Back in 2004, I had taken to single speed mountain biking full-time.  All the geared mountain bikes were gone, and I was fully committed.  This is also when I decided to do my first SS endurance race, actually "train" for it by upping my morning mileage, and I took the brake off my fixed gear IN THE SAME MONTH.

And then my right knee started to hurt.  Of course I ignored it.  These things take care of themselves if you can ignore them long enough.

I don't remember how long I did nothing about my problem... but when my left knee decided to join in, I finally figured out it was time to start covering my knees.

And when I did, I noticed the difference... and when I forgot, I paid for it.

Sixty degrees may seem on the warm side for covering one's knees. I hate that I have to, but perhaps if I had covered them when I was younger... ummmmm... you know, when it was 25° outside, maybe I could pull it off.

But I can't now.

I regret not taking better care of my knees, but I think I've suffered enough in the past to finally let it sink ALL THE WAY in.  Too many days wearing a knee warmer around the house, stiff knees in movie theaters, race-ruining moments, popping ibuprofen... so many good times.

My parameters for knee covering should probably not be the same as yours.  Since my right knee is more sensitive, I'll cover it below 65° if I think the temps will stay there, below 60° if I think there's a chance it might warm up.  I'll cover both if it's below 60° and not looking like it will improve.  Something like that.  Like this blog, I kinda make things up as I go along.

So there you have it.  Knee warmers can save you a lot of pain and suffering in the long run, so do yourself a favor and...

1. Buy them.

2.  Wear them.

3. ... and floss and brush and rinse.