June 29, 2013

   First, mapmyride.com is an awesome tool!  I'm using is extensively not only to get estimates of my miles and calories burned but also track my intake of food...excellent, especially since I'm only doing their free version, which also works on my iPad (with a few bugs).
   So, with heading into the final stretch of being two years since I began cycling, I ended this week with three rides but reaching 111 miles with two rides between 44 and 45 miles each!  I'm still spending a little time on the paths, but the bulk of my rides are on the roads now.  Which is how I almost got hit by a car yesterday within my first five miles!
   The light had turned red as I was heading west, so I stopped like a good cyclist should, and of course a car came up next to me.  When the light changed green, I clipped in and began forward.  No surprise, I don't accelerate as fast as the car, and a woman who's going east and turning left pulls out and clearly is paying no attention to me on my bright white bike with my bright white cuffs on my shorts and my bright white helmet...I'd become invisible!  When she finally glanced at me (did she see me yet?), I was swerving not to be hit by her.  But the worst: even as she seemed to finally look at me she didn't slow down!  Two weeks greener on the bike, and I would've probably gone down in my attempt to avoid her...  On a bike, all you have is your voice, and I found myself spewing a few epithets at her as I was pretty shaken up.  Literally as I was shaking.  It was all I could do to throw in the towel and call it good, especially when the ride before that seems to be the one I finally overdid and learned that just because I can does not mean I should.
   The previous long ride on Wednesday saw me getting out on the bike as it the temperatures were climbing (it was already 72 at 7am).  Instead of getting right to the hills, I wanted to make sure I got the distance and so started on the paths, which put me facing the hills about 30 minutes and ten minutes more than if I'd just gone straight there.  So I tackled the hills, but the problem is that I find if there's another cyclist ahead or behind me, I feel inclined to stay caught up or not be passed, so I push myself.  And I did it fine.  I was wearing out, but I was holding my own okay, huffing up the hills.  The being able to actually grab my water bottle without stopping is great to keep going (bad for not getting breaks).  As I finally reach the top of the last major hill, I reward myself by pulling over and getting a drink.  Then almost passing out!  I was dizzy and the world was fading to a tunnel!  I was that cyclist with their head down over their handlebars as I prayed that the world would stop spinning and I'd stay upright.  To their credit, several others asked me if I was okay.  I wasn't, but I laughed and said the hill kicked my butt.  Truthfully, if it hadn't been only gravel on the shoulder in an area known for snakes, I'd have lain down!  As it was, if I couldn't lift my head without wanting to vomit soon, I was going to call for a ride because the last thing I wanted was to get on only to pass out and crash.  But finally, I got enough water in me and cooled down enough to continue.  And I continued for another 20 miles, but I did run out of water in both bottles before I completely got home.  I took the next two days to recover, and when I did head out, except for nearly being hit by a car, I was super cautious about not going too hard and drinking enough.
   And yesterday's ride was also my first time going out despite a bike event...the MS150, which is an awesome cause as a fundraiser.  They cross through the west side of town, and I was worried about getting waylaid by the herds of rides.  My wife assured me that it wouldn't be a problem because they'd be spread out enough.  We were both right.  Going, I did have to wait for a few to pass before I crossed the road they were heading north on as I headed west, but they were well-spread out.  Coming back, though, I went in to head south and saw a long stretch of them and had a hard time turning off the road at the intersection because they were so bunched and so constant, plus the traffic cop seemed to have forgotten to look behind him to see cars and other cyclists waiting.  I did feel a little conspicuous as I was heading home after a long recreational, only-for-me ride while there were all these other people who were doing a ride to celebrate their collection of donations and to bring awareness to people suffering MS...made me feel a bit like a loser.  I was passed by several others out on their roadie rides, though, and they were more conspicuous, plus rude in that not a single one of them announced himself as he passed me!  I wonder when common courtesy fades as you move from being a road cyclist to a roadie?  I don't intend to find out....

June 14, 2013

   I remember last summer when I thought it was hardly worth going out if I didn't get at least twenty miles.  It was my second summer cycling, but I don't know if it was sincerely the case or if I was just making up an excuse for not going out.  I have been struggling to get out five times a week (I have to get up by no later than 5:45am to be on the bike at no later than 6:10 to be back by no later than 7:10 so my wife can head to work), but I'm doing better this year with the idea that any mileage is good mileage during the week, so about 11.5 miles a day on average has been good with the weekend being whatever I can get in.
   Along with a new outlook, I've gone back to some old routes, specifically going out onto the country road that connects to my subdivision.  It was not quite two years ago when I started going that way with my Walmart special, but I avoided it last year except to see how the hybrid handled the same route the other bike.  But I've gone back to it, and I realize now that it's actually a great route because it's a perfectly straight road with some  hills and very little traffic (which is good, because it's also got very little shoulder).  What just dawned on me this morning while on the ride, though, is it's not just a quick seven miles (round trip), but it also give me a chance to practice things like going down on the drops and pulling the water bottle without stopping--with little traffic, it doesn't matter if I swerve a little bit in trying these new mundane activities.  Of course, the other side of it reinforces the idea that I am having to learn the road bike!  And that plays into going out daily, too, I guess, because it's practicing those things so I can do it smoothly.  I know that it's a matter of learning how the center of gravity and shifting of balances work, which is what creates the learning curve I'm experiencing.
   I also switched my bike saddle...I'd bought a new one for my hybrid because the stock seat I'd put back onto it was like riding around on a giant cushion.  I've realized, though, that it's a bit sleeker, a bit firmer than the one I've been using, so I ended up switching them out, so the slightly larger and more cushioned saddle is back on the hybrid.  I'm imagining that by Christmas, I'll be ready for something sleeker, but I also want to keep a saddle with the anatomical cut-out...numbness and pain and other more serious issues don't sound appealing, and if that saddle has the best chance of avoiding these problems, then it's worth it!  Unfortunately, the more I get into it, the more expensive the items I want and need...right now, though, this saddle is working and isn't so thick-looking.  It does declare itself a Nishiki, but that's fine.
    So, here's hoping for some nice long rides this weekend!  Happy riding :)

June 9, 2013

Upon my return after 45 miles!

   I finally broke 40 miles again and then some by a bit!  I actually made it basically to 45, which was quite an undertaking!  I began with breaking the pin inside my Presta valve!  Thankfully, it stayed in place and held air through the ride.  I've discvered the wonders of using MapMyRide.com to track my mileage and calories.  I've enjoyed using the mapping tool, so I planned the ride ahead of time to make sure I had something that was about 40 miles.  It and my cyclocomputer are usually within .5 - 1 mile of each other, so I figure that's pretty good.  I know the cyclocomputer can be affected by how I corner and any side stops I make versus the online tool, that's using stalite imagery and average mileage input.
   So, once I decided to try the ride, I started out the ride with my old ride out into the country and back then out to the greenway as I made my way to the highway.  The road I take up to the Foothills Highway is definitely hilly.  It's amazing what a hill looks like compared to a bike, and by the time I got there, I'd already truly gone 20 miles, so it kicked my butt to get up some of those hills, but no snakes or flats this time, so that was a bonus!
   I did get passed a few times on the climb up then on the ride back down.  I'd say only about 50% of people announce themselves as they come up on you, which I find surprising and rude.  On the greenway, people mostly do, but it's so much more dangerous out on the road going much faster in much more dangerous conditions with cars and cliffs...
   The only other downside is that I forgot my protein bar, so I was pretty much starving by the time I got home.  I need to make sure that a bar begins being part of my regular equipment when I leave.  I've also gotten very good at changing the tubes on the bikes.  Unfortunately.
   Now if the scale would start reflecting all my hard work....