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Category Archives: bicycling
65 Miles
what a ride!
Yesterday, I finally got a ride of significant distance.
More inna minnit….
OK, I’m back. Posted that little bit via Windows Phone 7. Nice feature!
The ride of “significant distance” was a 65 mile slow ride to hell and back. By that I mean – it hurt. And I am dead serious. I think the ride lasted about 15 miles too long and I knew it because I was plodding along at about 16 mph instead of my “new” usual speed of 18 mph.
Oh, and my Garmin 305 is sporadically functioning, and this is most likely due to its lack of use over the last 9 months. So there’s that.
Anyway, back to the ride. It got started nicely with some really nice weather. A little cool at 62 degrees and a bit breezy as well. But hey, I was going for ride, was dressed, the chain was lubed, and off I went. Mark the time at 9:00 am.
At 9:10 I was logging mile #5 and off the street working in his garage is a friend of mine. Detour #1. I pulled over and we talked for about 20 minutes.
9:30, I excused myself and took off down the road. The American River Bike Trail was the next destination ……………….
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Goals are made to be broken
Yes, goals are made to be broken and I am here to report the successful squashing of another goal. And this is something to crow about from the top of a tall building! Here it is:
Riding goal this week: 100 miles
Actual riding mileage: 130 miles
This is how it happened. For each of three rides, I used the American River Bike Trail. It is familiar and there are zero cars to worry about. The first ride was a round trip to Beal’s Point, 40 miles covered. The second ride was an out-and-back to downtown Sacramento for a coffee at my favorite shop, Chocolate Fish Coffee. That was 40 miles, and I was beat like a rented mule from the effort. The third ride was a 50 mile trip up to Beal’s Point again (the little hills “make me strong like ox”. Say this with a russian accent and clench your fist to get the full 3D movie effect), this time with an add-on over to Douglas Blvd, and it felt great! It felt great to be on the bike, felt great to battle the wind, and felt awesome to turn the crank with some strength.
As a disclaimer, I am a L O N G way from being strong enough to brag about my riding prowess. But the ability to actually generate some power while riding, if only for a short distance, is a thing of beauty indeed! And, to further keep you fully informed about my current riding strength and stamina (or lack thereof), I was passed on ride #2 by an old dude on a squeaky mountain bike, and today a gal blew by me on the way up a small rise like I was an old dude on a mountain bike. OUCH, I have to adjust my thinking!
In spite of getting trounced by these obviously fit and healthy individuals, I still loved being out on the trail and fully enjoyed the ride. It felt great to be back!
Now then, where is that building? I got me some crowing to do!
Hello World!
I’m back.
Yes, my existence is all about a lot of things, but riding and getting healthy and making my legs take me places instead of sitting around thinking about stuff is what I am now focused on. The medical emergency of my recent past, is in my recent past. It has been locked up until it can be of use at a later time. Maybe I’ll be able to use the memory as an incentive to do something new and/or impossible. Or maybe I’ll help someone get their PSA blood test done so they don’t have to go through what I did. Hmm, have you checked YOUR PSA? If you haven’t, do it. It could save your life! Anyway, my rides have always helped me deal with what’s going on. Stuff like projects, life changing news, family situations, work….all sorts of stuff gets ironed out on these rides. And I have got to say, I have missed the rides!
Since you are here for a visit, you most likely know I am a bicycling fanatic and charting a fresh hundred miles a week is fairly average for me. Commuting to work, riding with friends, and challenging myself can really add up. If you didn’t know this before, now you do.
And this week, different than the past 36 weeks, I logged a couple of rides. Tuesday, July 12th, the ride was an up-and-back to Beal’s Point at Folsom Lake. This is a ride of 40 miles and has little tiny hills to climb when you get close to the Lake. Today, July 14th, the journey was a round trip from my house to downtown Sacramento. The ride is pancake-flat and winds on for just about 40 miles as well. Saturday, the plan is to get another 20 miles making the total mileage for the week a nice round hunskie (100).
And just in case anyone is reading this and wondering how David feels after today’s ride, it is like this; OUCH. The legs complained the entire way home. I told them to SHUT UP (just like Jens Voigt does, but he’s a pro and his legs probably listen). The lower back was guilty of noises too, and the neck is just about able to look up at the ceiling again. But you know what was giving out the most nonsense? My butt. Man-o-man, from the time I got on the bike to the time I called it done….that thing was hurtin’ for certain! Which is really unusual. Back about 9 months ago, when I last rode, I could sit on a 2×4 for 100 miles without too much complaining. But that was then…..
It amazes me how the body gets used to doing something physically demanding. I used to build fences and decks, and a trellis every now and again. In the heat of Summer it was nothing to begin a job at 7:30 a.m. and pound away until dinner. Yes, I was seriously hot at the end of a day and yes, I was tired and a little sore too. But it was never too much for my body and I was ready for more the next day. Amazing.
And riding a bicycle is like that too. Your arms get used to holding you up for hours on end, your neck takes care of all the bobble-headed things your skull goes through – including holding up a helmet all day. Your legs go hard when they must, and your lungs burn and your heart beats so hard it feels as if it could come out of your chest! And so on and so on.
Well, today’s ride today was almost too much and I could have easily quit at mile 30. There are a couple of shortcuts a rider can take which will easily cut 10 miles off this ride. Anytime I am riding late and need to make up time I take it, so it’s not like it’s some confusing route or something. But quitting just ain’t my bag and I really need these miles. And some of these so-called base miles best be a challenge if I am going to ride the way I want to!
Which is what today’s ride was all about: the challenge. And I did it. And I liked it!
Seriously; I’m back. Hello out there!
PS I’m not bald anymore, I still have really short hair, but I’m not bald. It’s not that I didn’t like the look, it just takes too much time! To those of you who shave your head, I tip my hat to you…..you look mahvelous!
Top Secret. SHHHHhhhh!!!
Be vewy vewy quiet……please. Nobody tell my Urologist! Today I did a no-no and went for a ride on my bike. I RODE my bicycle today. CashFlow is out of the house!
OK, there, it’s out, and it is a Secret no more. I don’t feel better about telling that lie yet though. Oh wait, I haven’t really told a lie, it’s just that I went against doctor’s orders. Against his very direct statement, “you can ride your bike after 6 weeks. Not sooner.” Bother.
Here is what I know. The Six Week Rule (SWR) is all about letting the previously abused-during-surgery parts and pieces fall back into place and let them realize they have a little more room than before. And to let the tube that was cut and sewn back together get healed up again for long-term duty. And previous to the newly made-up SWR I’m pretty sure he also said everything looks good, and to just go about life. So, I changed the SWR to the new and improved FWR (Five Week Rule). And then I went for a ride.
And it was good.
I am here to tell you, it was REAL good! Now, I say that because I’m not bleeding, and I didn’t fall off the bike, and I didn’t hurt my muscles too much by riding hard, and so far so good…..and it FELT really good while I was on the bike. Now that I am off, it feels as if I went for a ride. No aches or pains to report, and nothing went Bump while I was out.
Oh sure, I forgot some things about riding a bike. As an example, I forgot:
- about the bike seat penetrating my butt like I was a new convict at the prison just after Lights Out
- about how much energy is required to actually move forward faster than granny using her walker to get across Fair Oaks Blvd
- how difficult it is to haul the added 12 pounds around when you’ve been off the bike for NINE MONTHS!
- how great it is to be back on the bike
So I knew this is how it would be too….but that doesn’t make it any easier! And I have to think CashFlow (the name of my bike) didn’t know what happened.
Don't leave me alone too long.....things happen!
After months of slumber some dude who looked like the previous owner is pumping up the tires for the first time in months, and lubing the chain, and adjusting and primping the derailleurs, and it seemed like time for a ride! But the dude who climbed on to do the pedaling was fat and didn’t seem to know how to miss a pot-hole in the road, and couldn’t possibly have been the same guy. I felt bad for making CashFlow carry my fat butt around Carmichael!
And now I am happy to report, in spite of riding sans prostate (or perhaps BECAUSE of it), my life just got better…..again. Man it’s good to be me!
PS – on a dare from my nephew, I shaved my head. Picture that!
The Plan
One of my riding cohorts, a friend from way back in High School, asked about the plan to get myself back to health, what is my diversion (this bLog is my diversion!), and what about the bike? I am happy to report, I do have a plan. I want to begin that plan. Must begin that plan.
Here is the “plan” for recovery:
- May 31 – remove catheter, re-learn bladder control, light exercise/walking, no heavy lifting
- June 07 – commence driving, continue exercise with lifting restrictions
- June 20 – PSA test
- June 28 – visit Dr Chan for review – permission to ride my bike
IF everything goes as planned, I will be riding again by month end (June 28). Endorphins await!
Oh sure, there is more to it than what I have written here. Good sleep, eat loads of veggies and not much meat, drink plenty of fluids, and try to follow doctor’s orders. Other than that, I’m just taking it easy and allowing my body to heal….and that takes time.
Bicycling: first ride
I got in a bike ride over the weekend. Here it is Super Bowl Sunday and my day involved nothing about watching a football game. wow, am I demented or what?!
This is the first time I have been on a bicycle since October 9th of last year when I had a kidney stone. This was a huge ordeal where, after 2 months, I ended up having surgery to have the darn thing removed. Ugh. Learning moment: drink your water. Don’t add protein.
Back to the weekend ride; preparation included installing my new saddle, cleaning the major chunks of goo from the ride last October, and pumping up the tires. After that, it was all about getting my riding gear on and mentally preparing for the upcoming effort. Then, I headed out the door and off to the American River Bike Trail, just 4 miles away from home.
It was a little windy with the gusts kicking up over 20mph, and I resolved to go against the wind early to enjoy the fruits of my labor and an easy return trip home. This ride was only to see what kind of shape I had deteriorated to, not as a normal ride which would tell me how long it took to get from point A to point B and give me an idea of my level of fitness. Good plan? It sure turned out that way!
So off I went; wind in the face, pavement rattling under the wheels, feet spinning wildly, and that familiar feeling of freedom tweaking my emotions. The thousands of bicycle miles I have logged in the recent past help me easily contol my expectations. And since this is the seasons First Ride, I expect to go about 25 miles, experience much discomfort (new seat and unused squishy muscles) and hurt when finished. And by “hurt” I mean the hurt is everywhere. And by “everywhere” I mean deep, inside pain in every muscle group that only goes away with time. And for the record, I was not disappointed in either catagory.
I ended up riding 34 miles and learned a few things:
- the new seat needs to be re-positioned forward about an inch
- my old butt needs about a month of riding before it is going to feel okay after a ride
- I have gotten very good at changing tubes on the rear tire
The first two points were pretty well known. I knew the seat was not perfectly set. I could see it lined up properly and had the correct angle, but sitting on a saddle for a few minutes and actually riding on it is very different. You learn things when you sit for a while, and you know what I learned? Riding a bicycle is hard work and you best get yourself as comfortable as possible! So the seat is going to be tweaked until it is just right, and that might take a few rides to until it is perfect. The part about “my old butt” needing some time in the saddle is pretty much self-explanatory. I’m just lucky to have not gained a bunch of weight while I was off eating and drinking for the past 4 months. So there’s that…..
The bullet point above: “changing tubes on the rear tire” is a bit of a quandry. Going back to the last time I rode the bike it was giving me trouble. During Levi’s Gran Fondo, which is a difficult 103 mile ride put on by road racing superstar Levi Leipheimer, and was the last time I was at a really good fitness level able to enjoy such an event. Anyway, I had two brand new tires on the bike and suffered two rear-wheel flats during the ride….with one of them happening while speeding down an 18% decent to the ocean! Yep, that is a scary time to have a tire go soft and could have caused major damage to me and CashFlow (my bike).
Out on the bike trail having a flat is only “inconvenient”. You don’t really have a problem unless you are in a pace-line with other riders or are pushing the limits of centrifugal force inside a turn. Get a flat during this time and you will find it can really hurt! Other than that, you have to stop, get out of the way, and change a tube. No big deal.
On this little trip to the town of Folsom and back, I had to do this not once, not twice, but thrice (is that how you spell it?). The first tire change came at mile 6.5.
“OK” I thought, “the bike has been sitting, waiting for four months, this is expected.”
The next one happened on the way back somewhere around mile 25. Since I used an old tube from last season I was not surprised. Not happy about it, but not surprised. And I promised myself I would look at what is causing the problem when I get home.
The third malfunction happened at mile 35, and really annoyed me. The ride began sometime around 2:30 and here it was almost 4:30, the sun was going down, and there was about 1 hour of sun remaining in the day. And, there were mosquitoes flying about….and I HATE mosquitoes! Especially early in the season when they can be especially ravenous.
So, flat #3. Clock ticking. Sun going down. Mosquitoes. And I am beat. The ride has given me great pause. Here I am riding at about 17 mph and not feeling particularly well after just 30 miles. I have been feeling “not strong” for about 15 miles. I mean, what kind of shape was I in to enjoy the previous ride? Wow. Anyway, back to this repair. The wheel is off, I am swatting at and/or getting bit by flying adversaries I can pay little attention to, the inside tire has nothing poking inside to cause a flat, and I am only interested in finishing this thing out. Now the new tube is seated, tire is hooked to the inside rim, air is going in, and that all familiar 90 pounds of air is holding the rubber taut once again. The wheel is back on the bike and adjusted to the middle of its track, and off I go down the trail again.
For the record, I did not complete the ride as expected. With the sun casting its yellow/orange hues all around, I used the cell phone to call the wife for a pickup at the park. She complied and I was comfortably inside a car after just 34 miles. Heckuva way to start the season!
The bike is now back in the rack and will receive my full attention before the next ride. Might be a couple of days though….I still hurt!
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