March 21, 2013

   It's amazing to me that it still hasn't even been a full two years since I started cycling.  In some ways, it doesn't feel like something I was terrified of doing for twenty-five years.  This hasn't been a good season for getting out on the bike, for sure.  Between ridiculous wind, cold, and sporadically predicted snow, it's been too easy to chicken out.  I have the gear for the cold...but I do hate going out in wind.  Despite it all, though, I'd see cyclists on the road on the way home from work, and I've been looking more and more at their road bikes, feeling that my poor hybrid wasn't really ever going to be able to compete.
   And then I did it.  That niggling thought became a full fledged desire, and we found a good bike on sale: a 24-speed Diamondback Podium 1 road bike.  It took some doing to get as the Dick's Sporting Goods by us is small and has nothing, and the next one closer only had a 54...I need a 56.  So my wife helped me out and called a store closer into Denver, and they had and held one last night.  So we left right from work, piling the kids into the car, and braving Denver rush hour to get down there.  It was getting dark by the time we headed back with my new bike strapped to the back of the car.  The first time I very timidly got onto it, I found the seat to be way too high, so I spent some time adjusting last night, but that was it.
     I knew a couple things going into it this time, among them being that the bike itself was only part of the cost.  Thankfully, found some SPD clipless pedals to replace its stock toe-clip pedals, at Amazon as well as a couple bottle cages.  I have mountain bike shoes that will do for a time, and thankfully I thought to put the stock hybrid saddle back on the Nashiki Montour and use the purchased saddle onto the new one to replace the very rigid racer saddle...I was actually surprised when I took it off and found that it wasn't much lighter than the one I put on!
    So today, I got it all adjusted, so sans my bike shoes and water bottles, I took off.  Right away, I found the clips are harder to get into than I thought (I'm impressed my wife makes them work so easily); I spent too much time trying to get my right foot into the darn thing!  It was a bit windy, but I found it bothered me less as my profile was lower.  I also quickly discovered I'm right back to where I was not even two years ago with the inability to do too much shifting of my hands as I need to get used to my and the bike's balance (I won't misjudge so badly again!).  But best and most of all, I discovered that the bike handled very well and was definitely a lot of faster...which is also terrifying.  Part terror and part exhilaration, I was rather tremulous when I got home.  The web of my hand between my thumbs and index fingers is sore from holding onto the bars, which is unexpected.
   I'm going to keep my hybrid as it'll be great for family outings and can handle rougher roads that the road bike can, but the road bike will now be my main bike.
   A quick comparison of two years ago and now:

Barely able to stay upright and find my balance when on a bike for the first time in 25 years....

Taking off on my first ride through the neighborhood on my new road bike....

February 10, 2013...on the trainer

Well into year two of riding, this winter hasn't been a very conducive one to getting out on the bike.  It's not been so much the snow, which we've had very little of, as the cold and the wind.  I also am finding that if I don't get out for some time, it starts to feel like an upward battle to get momentum going again to get out.  Of course, once I do, I have a great time and feel refreshed.  When I don't get out, I get mad at myself and feel lazy...I have gear for going out in the cold, but I really do hate the wind.  And, of course, every weekend that's a bit cold but otherwise okay that I don't go out, the next is one that's too windy or, in this weekend's case, I'm recovering from being sick.

The trainer is definitely helping with keeping in shape, but it's a different kind of experience.  I've been bringing it into the house and watching television.  What I've found is that it's a lot harder to get going as it's a fluid trainer, so the back wheel has to get the roller going.  It also makes you heat up without making your own breeze like out on the road, so I have to keep a fan on me.  I've ended up using the shorts I first got and aren't my favorites while I work out, and I use the back pockets of my old jersey for the remote and the telephone.  Because of the "whirring" of the trainer, I'm actually using headphones to hear the television better!  It's a great way to catch up on some of my shows on Blu-Ray!  Of course, it's a mess of cords, but it's also nice when I'm not feeling 100% to be able to stop whenever I want without having to face getting all the way back home from somewhere on the trails.  Of course, I can't wait until I can get out on the path more regularly....

December 2, 2012 and 40 miles

   I'm finding this winter more challenging than last for some reason.  I don't know if it's that it starts cold then gets warm (as opposed to just staying cold) or what it is, but once I don't go regularly, it's almost like I have to get motivated all over again to get out and remind myself how calming it is to be out on the bike.  Part of it, too, is that I know that it takes time to go, and right now, I don't always feel like I can give up that time.

After getting forty miles in!

   Despite my difficulties, I did get myself out on the bike this last weekend (the first one of December) and went out to meet my family at the local winter farmers' market.  After wandering around, I then joined them for lunch then took off from there.  Before initially setting out, I was all bundled and ready to go, then I went outside and was immediately too warm.  I went back in and switched only to still be too warm in tights and had to switch to a lighter long sleeve jersey and lighter base layer and my bib knickers.  I was still a touch cold as I set out, but I just had to remind myself that it was heading into the low 60s.  By the time I left lunch, I'd switched the long sleeve jersey for a short sleeve.

   Getting on my way was a little chilly, but once I was going, I was set and returned to the greenway.  Along they way, I was very proud of myself as I passed a woman who was walking her bike.  I went up to a bit to loop back and asked her if she was okay, to which she said I was the first man to ask her and that she'd been wondering if chivalry was dead.  Of course, she had a racer road bike, so my spare tube wouldn't work.  She'd already called her husband to meet her, otherwise I could've helped her patch the tube if she'd needed, though I've not worked with such skinny tires...I'm not sure how ones that thin aren't always just popped!

   At the end of the greenway, I was faced with getting back on the road and heading home or lengthening the ride.  With being at about 30 miles, I couldn't help but extend it and headed out into the country!  A fire's been burning in the mountains, and the country town I passed through is a bit closer to the foothills and thus had more smoke that made my lungs hurt to the point I almost called my wife.  It's a very popular road for serious cyclists, so I've avoided it because I don't want me and my hybrid bike to be judged, but ultimately, I did it.  I was passed once by a guy whose calves were larger relaxed than mine are flexed, but otherwise, not too bad.  Of course, it seemed most people were passing south as I headed north...I think they were returning from treks up into the mountains.  I'll take what I can get.

   When I finally got home, I took a bit of a meandering ride through the neighborhood that ultimately put me at just over 40 miles, something I haven't done very often, and hadn't done since summer.  I ended up really feeling every one of those miles, but it was worth it!  Strangely, I've felt absolutely starved all week, but I've been picking reasonable snacks and not allowing myself to take larger portions to compensate, and the only thing I can think of is the ride staying with me all week.  I'd hoped to ride to work this Wednesday (it's late start for the kids, but we start at the usual time for meetings), but it's just too dark when it's not even dawn until seven.  Still, it was a good ride and a good week...everyone tells me my mood is better when I get my ride(s) in, and I'm thinking they're right.

   This weekend is supposed to snow and be frigid, so probably no ride, but who knows?...

November 6, 2012

   I think I need to go back and read over last fall's blogs because I'm really struggling to get out on the bike right now.  I want to, but it seems easier to not.  In fact, there were several weeks that I had some very legitimate and not so legitimate reasons to not go out on it, including the death of my grandmother then getting sick, but the more I put it off, the more difficult it was to just get back on.  I think I was afraid of how challenging it was going to be, though I also fear losing the muscle tone in my legs, which is unlike I've ever had before.
   Ultimately, my wife had to practically force me out the door last week, and it ended up being a lot of fun, though I barely made it to 14 miles.  Today, I hurried home and got out and made it 19.5 miles, so now I'm getting into the mindset of outdoing what I did last to work up toward 40 miles again.  The catch is that the weather is changing, which I am finding difficult to deal with.  Tonight, it was about 63 degrees when I left with bib knickers and a short sleeved shirt but taking my skull cap, long-fingered gloves, and arm warmers, all of which ended up on by the time I got home.  I also ended up getting home in the dark at 5pm, which I didn't really care for but did okay with.  It was 52 when I got home, and what I had on was certainly at the point of not being quite enough but okay to that point.
   So, despite the challenges of weather, I do plan and hope to keep getting out, but I'm finding it way harder to do so this year.  It may be the weather but also getting overwhelmed at how many other things that I need to get done.  But I must get out on the bike, so I just need to buck up and not be a wuss...

September 30, 2012 (and 2000 miles later...)

   Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been just over a year since I started cycling!  There are still days I struggle to get in the miles I want, and I still don't know if I feel comfortable going out where it seems to be the domain of the truly avid cyclists, but I do hold my own as I do my thing around town.  I've been regularly breaking 40 miles (though not today; only about 31) and have been consciously trying to maintain higher speeds.

   So, while out today (with the family meeting me after I'd been out for about two hours), I hit 2000 miles on this bike!  There were about 400 miles I put on the first bike, but from the time I got this bike to now has been about one year, so the 2000 miles has been just on this bike and just in the last twelve months!  That's amazing to me...

   I did notice a little chain slipping on the seventh gear when I had the two kids in the trailer, but it might be the weight of the kids in the trailer meaning I need to go to a lower gear.  I'll need to do some research to figure it out to make sure it's not because I'm in need of putting on a new chain.

   I do find I'm mixed about the coming of fall...mornings are getting cooler, but the days are still getting into pleasant temperatures.  While I'm actually going to be glad when the days are the same later as the morning (so not having to pull off leg and arm warmers), I know that a lot of snow or super cold days will keep me home, and I don't want to not get out on the bike!  I do plan, though, to get out and bike to work on Wednesday, so we'll see how that turns out....

   Anyway, so here's me from a year ago to now:

And better, here's the view from our picnic spot today:

September 2, 2012

As always, it gets more difficult to write anything as school resumes, but I keep trying to bike.  Today was the third time that I've made it to over 40 miles, and today was a hot day, and as I headed home, I found myself going slower and slower, and that last bit of the climb before heading down to home was a bit brutal...it reminded me of my first 20-miler!  I did get to take a moment to rest because the chain guard fell off my front cogs!  I know many more experienced cyclists view having one as a bit wimpy, so I'm torn...my first reaction was to take it to Dick's to get it fixed/replaced. Oh well...I guess I can see how it works.  I just need to remember to think about shifting more....

To add to my 40 miles rides, I was able to get in a couple weeks that totaled over 100 miles.  I know that it's going to be more and more challenging with school resuming, but once it starts cooling down in the evening, maybe it'll be easier to get in at least a short ride during the week.  The weekends are a bit more challenging (in mostly good ways) because that's when the whole family is going out, and I simply can't get all of them for more than 15-20 miles, which is still awesome, especially when I have the kids in the trailer.  I actually went on a shorter ride with my wife yesterday where we went up to the local farmers' market and back, both with backpacks.  My wife couldn't believe how heavy hers was with all the vegetables, then I showed her my backpack when we got to the car...it was about the same weight, and not the first time it was so heavy (or heavier), and not even close to pulling two children in a trailer!

The thoughts of eventually getting a road bike continue to bounce around...I really don't know how much I want one because I actually want them or because there are certain rides that I've never seen anyone on a hybrid bike to do...this sport is strange about things like peer pressure, which is where I think leg shaving comes from more than anything else (no, still haven't gone that far!).

We've also used our Capital One Venture Card reward points to get a free Wii fit bundle, so for the last few weeks, I've added that to my routine, which does help during the week.  I'm surprised at how much it's actually helped!  And it's something the 3-year-old likes and can do (with some help)....so, we continue to try in all sorts of ways to get and stay fit!

July 21, 2012

It's amazing to look back on the year.  On July 9, it was officially 365 days since my very first ride on the bike.  So, on the ninth this year, I decided--after 25 miles--to recreate my first ride, so from in front of the house, I headed out onto the greenway in the neighborhood and looped back.  I remember how last year, it left me sweaty, hot, and tired.  It was triumph, but I didn't have a bike computer at that point to know how far I went.  So this year, as I returned home, I don't know how surprised I was to discover that it was only 1.2 miles!

To follow up, last week, I went 100 miles over the course of the week for the first time ever.  My bike computer decided to reset when I dropped it, so I know it was around 32.5 miles, but I wasn't 100%, so I decided that on Sunday to go several miles beyond what I needed to make sure there was no doubt that I'd done it.  But that accumulation left my legs tired and sore, so I didn't make it out on Monday or Tuesday, but those two days left me refreshed and ready to start again!  Of course, life wasn't cooperating as much.

Until today, the longest ride I'd gotten in was about 25 miles, and that was only once.  But today, for another new personal record, I made it to 37 miles!  I was more hot than anything else as I reached the end of the greenway, but I decided to take my 28 miles and double back until I reached at least 30 before heading home.

My highlights for this last week are seeing a turtle sitting on a log, a doe run across the path, many garter snakes slithering on the path, and a scary dude in kilt that looked like he was right out of Brave Heart.  I also had a flat back tire while out on the path and instead of getting all greasy just had my dad (who was watching the kids) come and get me.

I can't believe my biking season is coming to another close with the return to school.  I've got to make sure to get out as often as is reasonable....