Started my intensive riding this weekend. Did a really nice sixteen mile ride on Saturday that took me across the Missouri river. It was fantastic. I'm planning on doing varied distances and courses to help me get in better shape. Today will be about 12 miles, mostly flat.
The best part about Saturday, I have to admit, is a particularly cruel climb to get to the first bridge that will take you over the river. It's a trail that's pretty flat, but then you hit this thing that is like suddenly going up two painful stair cases. I felt good because I just leaned into it and kept a steady pace and made it up without too much pain. Plus I passed a bunch of people.
Overall it was a good ride.
The only bad thing, and this was more apparent on Sunday (shorter but harder ride) is that I seem to be getting exercise induced headaches. I'll talk to my doc about them on Friday, but it's seriously pissing me off.
Anyway . . . Here's a song to fit the theme.
Gary,
ReplyDeleteKeep it up...one thing you may want to check is how hard your gripping the bar. I expect you've already read about this in Bicycling or some such but a lot of people ride with their shoulders hunched up aorund their ears and their arms pretty rigid and stiff; especailly on road rides.
The Downhill Physicist
Hmm. I may be a huncher. I'll try and pay more attention (too wet to ride safely today).
ReplyDeleteAfter I wrote that, I did an experiment and altered my warm up to increase my heart rate more slowly and that helped tremendously. Both days I had intense headaches, I hit hills pretty early on and yesterday I closed with hills instead. That helped. I do see the doc tomorrow and will ask him, in case it's something vascular.
And, tonight, while picking up a bike rack for the family, I drooled over some cool road bikes. Sigh. Someday. Maybe I'll be a two bike guy. The MTB for the trails, and the road bike for my impending midlife crisis.
Actually, why stop at two?
ReplyDeleteI have four, five if you count the original road frama I bought five years ago before upgrading to an S-Works.
I've got the old MTB which is now used as the urban assualt bike, the racing hardtail MTB that's so scary fast that it...well...sacres me, the racing road bike that serves as my training workhorse as well and finally my Ferrari red P3 time trial bike that is as harsh and demanding a mistress as any man can have and still actually keep his lungs in his body. I'm thinking of building the old frame back up as a single speed.
As far as the mid-life crisis goes, why wait for that? Besides, for what you're doing you want that sick, sexy Specialized Tri-Cross bike. It was made for you with it's silky, sweet siren song of being everything you want it to be..fast, rugged, curvaceous, a trophy for your legs.
The Downhill Physicist
P.S.-Please, please please don't let your wife come and kill me now that I've induced you to carnal lust for the elegant machine.
I want it. And, as fate would have it, a bike shop only a few miles away happens to carry Specialized and has a tri-cross that I have a feeling they might let me touch.
ReplyDeleteI now have a goal. Plus, I bet the gears would better match my riding style. Even now sometimes I get going to a point where I'm comfortably outcranking my lowest gear. Clearly I need to upgrade.
And, with all the components I want . . . 1600, I'd bet. Start working out my piggy bank.
You were right, by the way. Hunching. I kept catching myself today, and I felt much better. I'm going to check and adjust tomorrow to see if my saddle/handle bar set up is encouraging the hunch.
And, for the record, I'd wrap myself in cork tape if I could.
Mmmm...cork tape...actually, not to sound like a Specialized shill but the Specialized Phat tape is...phat. I ride without gloves a lot now and no numbness.
ReplyDeleteGlad to heat the hunching tip helped.