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Category Archives: bike ride
Exciting News….finally!
Well here is an unexpected pleasant bit of news (for me); I had a really good ride!
As you may know from my previous entries, I have been struggling BIG TIME with my cycling. My mind remembers my previous fitness level and how capable I was at all sorts of things. Climbing, sprints, long distance…all of it…I was good once. And for a cyclist to suffer during a contest or training ride is expected. And I was pretty good at that too! Ride to the pain, then ride through it….made me a better rider, it did. But that was then. My NOW? My body rebels at the mere <i>thought</i> of going faster, harder, or longer. I suffer, but that’s about it.
Yes, the suffering has been great, and I still know how to get there, but the results have been pretty much the same. Every ride begins with me hoping for a shred of evidence of my past strength, but ends with me wondering when something good is going to happen. Every. Single. Day.
I saddle up and struggle to get comfortable. Then it is SNAFU….and nothing to report. Oh sure, there is an occasional glimpse of power like when I tuck into the TT position and TRY to go fast. But that always ends with my heart POUNDING like a drum during the High School fight song, sweat pouring down my face like someone dumped a bucket of water on my head, and my legs SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER to stop or at least slow down. Dutifully I wind it down and plod the rest of the way to work or home. Every day. And you know wut? It’s getting old!
Yesterday’s Ride
Which is why yesterday’s ride was so much a pleasure that I am pounding out this note. First, I took the sunrise photo….wait a second, that was a little later in the ride. First, I had a nice little warm up…..no wait, that was before I realized it was going to be a good day! The first thing I did was…wow, I’m writing myself into a corner. Back in a sec…..
Much time has passed. Cup of coffee in hand, a Saturday morning happening all around, and a clear mind. OK, here is how the ride happened; I started the day off at 5:30 am with a shower, got some breakfast and pondered the day. The weather has been trending hotter and hotter until yesterday when we actually busted a hundred degrees. So it’s been hot. I’ve also been having trouble with my weight. After 9 months of being off the bike, I gained 16 pounds. This is understandable (not acceptable, but I’m past that). So after being ON the bike for almost three months, I thought I might have some success to share. Alas, that is not the case, as I am down only 6 pounds (might be the beer, or my darn sweet tooth…don’t know for certain). Anyway, clocking the scale at 186, I am still carrying 10 lbs. too many. So I’m working on that too.
But I stopped after my morning cereal and thought, “today is going to be a good day”. And way back in the 80’s I learned from Jack and Gary Kinder, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” So what happens today is my fault. I can make it or break it. Today is my day. It’s up to me.
So I got in the closet and dressed for success. Instead of riding shorts, I put on my bibs. These provide excellent comfort and do not allow any chafing in the seat area. They also wick away moisture really well and just make for an all around better feeling outfit for a long ride. And today was going to be that 18 mile ride in to work and eighteen mile back home; with the return during the 100 degree sunny afternoon. Comfort would be important.
The day got going with some really good energy, a good vibe, and some hope for a good ride. I was a little late out the door so I decided to cut corners if I could. Having shed some demons by giving myself a little pep talk is a good thing to do anytime you can do it, and by golly I did it, so lets get this thing underway! I pushed off and here we go.
I ride back behind my old High School, note the darkness all around, and quietly thank the manufacturer for the light I bought a couple of years ago. I can see the street really well and I’m fairly certain drivers and anyone looking my way won’t miss the glowing orb coming toward them. I’m seriously lit up!
Then it is past the old bridge on Norris and I’m taking back roads all the way over to the bike trail at Watt Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard. In a zig zag pattern I’m crossing Marconi Avenue, then Arden Way, and then I’m across Fair Oaks Blvd. before dropping down onto the bike trail. And here is where I have a decision to make, do I continue on for the sake of getting the full 18 miles or do I take the shortcut through Sacramento State University and arrive to work on time. Since I started my ride ten minutes late, I take the shortcut. It cuts the ride by about 4 miles and will easily save a few minutes, so I’ll be okay on time.
Morning Rides are BEST!
This is why I ride a bike...Sunrise over the American River
The ride gets started up again and I am noticing I have some “legs” today. But the streets of downtown are waiting for me and I don’t really feel like going hard, so I continue on to work and arrive in the bike lock-up room at the designated time of 7:20. Here it is Friday and an 8 hour shift awaits.
The workday is over and here is the good part; time to ride! Like I’ve said before, “work is the thing I do between rides.”
Warm up with a ride through the streets of Old Sacramento. There’s Fannie Anne’s on the right, there’s the old candy shop, here comes the Train Depot. People are everywhere walking the planks out in front of the shops, I have only a few cars to contend with, and it’s on to the bike trail. Here comes Discovery Park, and just like that it is behind me. I decide to test my legs.
And here is where it gets REALLY good. I tuck in to the Time Trial position. Elbows are resting on the handlebars and my hands lightly hold the shifter cables out in front of the bike. My neck has been getting better and better at holding my head up to see the road streaming in front of me and the bike is in its highest gear selection. This is a hard test and you can get going around 28 to 32 mph…..and that is what I am going! Mile one comes and goes. My heart rate is hammering out a nice tempo, my mouth is agape and pulling in air for my lungs to process the coveted oxygen, and my legs are busy just doing their job of mashing the pedals toward the ground again and again; today with power!
Huh? What is happening?? My mind is REELING! Is this really going on? Like a finely tuned athlete, I am SCORCHING the bike path and seriously LOVING IT! This is very similar to some of the efforts I was able to do before Cancer came a calling on my prostate!!
Mile two is here and yes, I am spent. But I should be! Maybe I should not have gone so hard for so long, but I did….and here I am to talk about it. I survived the test! And my brain is now thinking (and worrying just a little) about how I’m going to get the rest of the way home. And instead of LISTENING TO THAT CRAP, I motored home, pushing it the entire way. My ride of 18 miles was completed in just less than the 70 minutes it has been taking me. Pre-surgery I was doing this regularly at 60 minutes, and I am very pleased with the results of this ride of 58 minutes!
The take-away here? Never, ever, stop trying. Strive to do something and then give yourself a chance to be the winner you are.
Today is your day….what are you going to do with it?
Believe it. Do it. Begin now.
My Ride with Zach
Bicycle Race!
Zach is the 18 year old son of a friend of mine. And he challenged me to a race. On bicycles. This entry is about that ride.
First of all, Zach is 18 years old. And he does NOT ride a bike very often. To say he HAS a bike would be stretching the truth a bit, as the bike he has is quite old, is best suited for trail riding, and does not fit him very well. For Zach to use this bike in a race would also be an adventure in curiosity, as perhaps his ability to survive an outing of more than 20 miles would be like watching a slow motion de-evolution of an otherwise capable boy. And I was correct. More about that in a minute.
How it began
This story began as many do, with a group of people talking about a thing, that leads to another thing, and someone challenges someone and BAM! just like that a race is born. It happened in Hawaii for the IronMan Triathlon some 33 years ago and it happened in Walnut Grove just last weekend while camping. And, like in Hawaii, I had nothing to do with the conversation.
Really, I was just sitting there.
So Zach was talking about youthful things and alluded to his sheer ability to survive about anything. Well, when a mouth gets to motoring, there seems to be no stopping it, and Zach was certainly getting chatty. And it seems the conversation got revved up like a big ol’ V8 engine when Zach dropped the pedal to the floor, let gasoline fill the chamber and NO2 got mixed in from the highly pressurized tank, and something came out of his mouth that sounded like “I could beat you in a bicyle race.”
I was like, “what? You talkin’ to me??”
A smile formed; first in my eyes, then on my lips. The gears began turning. We all knew how this would play out, but Zach had a learning moment coming to him….courtesy of me.
The Ride
Our “race” would begin at Bannister Park on Sunday, at 9:00 a.m. This was changed, and we began at Zach’s Place. And the race became a ride. And the challenge of the race went away. Now it would just be a brash 18 year old kid riding the bike trail with some old guy trying to get another fitness ride under his belt. So the ride took us down a couple of residential streets for a mile and a half, a mile on Fair Oaks Blvd, and we would attain Bannister Park then continue on to the American River Bike Trail (ARBT) proper. Following the ARBT for about 13 miles would take us up to Beals Point where we would have a breather and turn around for the ride home.
The entire ride logged in at 32.02 miles and it took 2:55. Our speed was a sizzling average of 10.9 mph and total climb was 1492′.
Learning Moment
The big learning moment for Zach may have come early in the ride, perhaps as early as 15 minutes into the ride. Now, these are his words……and when he was reporting them to his Dad, sister, and I…we were laughing so hard I may not have heard them correctly. So here you go, my version of what Zach said about the ride.
“The first ten minutes go by and I’m hanging with Dave, thinking this is going to be easy. The next ten minutes I’m thinking this is getting hard! The first hour goes by and I can’t believe what I’ve gotten myself into. The next hour was like an out-of-body experience and I’m up there floating along watching this guy down there, struggling to keep up and wondering how he is going to make it. The next hour I was begging God to just take me!”
I may not have gotten this right….Zach, any help?
Anyway, Zach bit off more than he could chew and by throwing the gauntlet at my feet in front of all those people….well, there was just some part of me that wanted to really show him how difficult it can be to ride competitively and dare him to keep up! And another part of me that wanted him to enjoy the ride so he could challenge me another day. I think we attained both.
The lesson? That is easy….don’t open your mouth and have it write checks your body can’t cash.
Thanks for visiting!
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- checking out the dam
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- Stopping for some water and a little relaxation
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- just leaving the bike trail to go over the lake and check out the goo at Bicycles Plus in Folsom
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- Rainbow Bridge was the only way in and out of this side of Folsom for years.
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- Folsom bike shop. This is a mandatory stop if you want to drool over new bikes and gear
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- overlooking kayaks
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- The Bike Trail is a beautiful place for man and machine!
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- On our way up to Beals Point
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- Nimbus Dam Aquatic Center on a busy Sunday
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- We stopped to see if there were any fish available
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- Rafters putting in for a day on the river
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- This photo was captured near the end of the ride
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- Bannister Park was the entry and exit point we used to get on to the bike trail
Auburn, CA at Garmin Connect – Details
This is a map of today's ride to Auburn
And it was a great test of my new Neuvation wheels. NICE! They are stiff and quick to respond. Compared to the 5 year old Bontragers I have been riding these things are built to race!
The ride-specs are available for your review too. Check it at this link: Ride to Auburn – Ride Details.
I’ll probable have something to say about the ride but for now, I must rest.
New stuff
New ride:
I had the pleasure of taking another “ride of distance” today. This one measured 45 miles and took 3 hours from start to finish. I had a couple of 5 minute water/recovery stops and then cooled down with a nice spin for the final 4 miles. To top off this nice ride, the Garmin cycle computer tells me I burned 2703 calories. On Saturday my ride took 5 hours to cover 67 miles (had 2,600′ of climb) and the calorie burn is listed at 4041.
New Focus:
Build muscle. What I need to do now is convince my body that is the “new normal” and it better get cookin’ up the muscle recipe to build the necessary fibers to maintain my habit! Or ELSE! Just cuz I was off the bike for NINE MONTHS, does NOT mean I’m going to allow my body to get soft(er). But I am here to tell you, right now it hurts. I have been back on the bike for a little less than a month and it hurts. My whole body is in pain from head to toe. All the support systems are seriously stressed, and it hurts like crazy. All day. Of course you know that means I’ll be ignoring the pain, putting down more miles, more often. All to help the systems understand this is serious and you best come on-line with some expediency. That’s just the way it is in the Land of Dave. Comply or be crushed!
New mantra:
Ouch. (Say it slowly and repeat often for best effect.)
New favorite saying:
Rode hard, put away wet.
New goal:
Auburn, CA.
A Trip Down Memory Lane: My First Bicycle
The morning ritual around here is pretty easy. As I wake up and get moving, the second stop is the kitchen. Most of the time I clean up anything sitting on the counter from last nights dinner and get the coffee brewing so as to re-balance the caffeine/blood mixture coursing through my veins. Once the coffee is inside my belly, all is right with the world.
Our coffee machine was a very expensive item sitting on the shelf at StarBucks about ten years ago. It was a beautiful thing with a stainless steel carafe, an automatic timer, and a black shapely exterior. To say it has earned its keep in our kitchen would be a vast understatement as it has saved this household a LOT of money. As the maker of superior, rich, dark coffee every morning I would have paid more than the $100 asking price had I known how reliable it would be through the years. A very good buy!
The machine, known in our house as “The Maker”, has a clock on it too. But that clock gets used mostly as a timer instead of a clock because it doesn’t stay plugged in. Do you know about phantom energy? Leaving something with a clock inside plugged in uses energy you must pay the Electric Company dearly for its use. Wasteful. Anyway, for those of us who are challenged by the count of time a clock provides a morning race occurs with every brewing of the grounds. Here is how it goes: when The Maker is plugged into the wall, the 60 count begins, and my frantic grab is for the Brita water pitcher. A stream of H2o magically funnels into the top of the water reservoir at a very high flow rate. That complete, it is over to the freezer to apprehend the container which keeps the coffee in a constant state of ready. Rip its’ top off, then a quick swipe into the silverware drawer where I will grab a tablespoon to measure out the scientifically perfect amount of coffee into the metal-screened filter. Then, I am back at The Maker scooping 8 kinda-sorta heaping spoonfuls in. A push of the ON button and the race is over. If the clock still reads 12:01, I am Winner, and still Champion of the kitchen! Otherwise, I hang my head and await further instructions.
This morning as I celebrated the first victory of the morning, I was watching the clock tick off the number 12:07, kinda spaced for a minute or five, and there it was, the memory of my first bike.
I think I was 8 years old. At that time I stood about four foot something, just like all the other kids in the neighborhood growing up. In my family I was right plum stuck in the middle of five children. YES, Mom and Dad were super busy! And NO, we are not Catholic. Anyway, with two older siblings and two younger, it was a great childhood for a kid named Dave. My family went like this: boy, girl, ME, girl, boy. My older brother is 3 years older, and my older sister 2. The younger sister is two years my junior, and the youngest is 10 years less than me, so he wasn’t there for My First Bike.
And getting back to the story, my first bike wasn’t even mine; it was my older sisters! She had just received it from Dad and Mom for her birthday (I’m guessing) and it was sitting in its usual parking space on the front porch. We lived in this great house (only when I got older did I realize the house wasn’t all that big until Dad put his carpenter’s apron on and learned how to construct a house after he came home from work each day) on almost an acre of lawn in a neighborhood zoned for residential/farm. The houses were (still are) spaced nicely apart and all had big trees. Some of our neighbors had horses, pigs, sheep, and chickens….lots of chickens…..so there was always something to do, some adventure to have, or just a fun place to get older! And the front porch was the place for anything important. As a kid growing up McClellan wanting to keep track of your stuff, you left it where you could see it. That place was the front porch. Until Dad came home, then everything went in back.
So my older sister left her new bike on the front porch. And her watchful eyes maintained a very liberal “safety zone” around it. She would magically appear, as if out of thin air, if you were too close. And so it went.
And I told you I was like, 4 foot sumthin’ right? That bike was super tall and I don’t recall if my head even made it to the handlebars! As I am standing there on the front porch – this is just before my eyes rolled back in my head and a demon possession occurred – just outside the “safety zone”, taking in all the colors the shiny blue paint was reflecting into my eyes, and I really don’t remember how I came to get on the bike and go for a ride. But I remember riding that bike down the street with my sister running after me. I was laughing maniacally with my head spinning around trying to see which side she would attack from next, and I was veering from side of the road to side of the road, and all the neighbors were probably wondering when I would fall.
I didn’t fall that day. That would be much later.
My first bike. And it wasn’t even mine!
Good times.
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 ……………….
WordPress for Windows Phone
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!
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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