Lakythia and I had planned on going for a ride today. But the temperature didn't rise much higher than my (American) shoe size and the wind gusted to speeds not much lower than my age. So we opted for brunch--dim sum in Chinatown, to be exact--instead.
Now I am going to reveal one of the mysteries o the human race. Or, perhaps, I'm simply going to tell you something you'd always suspected. You've probably noticed that it's usually the men who think it's too warm and the women who think it's too cold. Well, I've noticed that my sensitivity to cold, while still not as acute as that of other women I know, has certainly increased since I started taking estrogen, and intensified after my surgery. Before I underwent my transformation, I was one of those guys who, it seemed. always felt too hot.
It's definitely hormonal. I've read that estrogen increases sensitivity to cold and testosterone to heat. I noticed that my sensitivity to cold increased after my estrogen dosage was increased about three months after I started taking it. And, since my surgery, the level of estrogen in my body at any given time has increased, and most of the testosterone is gone.
At least I know that neither training nor diets, nor anything else, will return me to being someone who cycled in shorts on all but the coldest days. However, I'm hoping that increasing my mileage will bring back some of the strength I lost. I've been told that I would have lost some of the hill-climbing ability I once had simply from age. but I don't want to use that--or the hormones--as an excuse.
Then again, I enjoy my rides more than I did. Perhaps that has to do with the changes, too.
Anyway, if the wind dies down, I think I'll go for a ride tomorrow: It's a holiday. Perhaps I can make it a memorial to Charlie.
