| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 2327.1 | | LJOHUB::CRITZ | | Mon Jun 22 1992 09:54 | 12 |
| Bob,
Welcome back.
Plano, Texas happens to be the home of Lance Armstrong. Many
people are saying he may be the next Greg LeMond, although
Lance claims he would rather be the first Lance Armstrong.
He'll be riding in the road race in Barcelona this year during
the Olympics.
Scott
|
| 2327.2 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | We will miss you, Simon | Mon Jun 22 1992 10:23 | 28 |
| re: .1
Thanks.
There was an article about Lance and another Plano rider that was selected as an
alternate for the Olympics, in the local paper Sunday. I believe that Lance
moved to Austin recently for a better training environment. There aren't
a whole lot of hills in North Central Texas. In fact, the man who founded
Plano, named it Plano because he thought (mistakenly) that Plano was the Spanish
word for 'flat'.
A local club has a Wednesday evening chowdog ride. It is supposed to be an
easy 15-20 mile ride beginning and ending at various restaurants where dinner
is served after the ride. I was all ready to do it last Wednesday, but when
the temperature hit 96, with a THI of 102, and the winds were 23 gusting to
35, I wimped out :-)
I re-road the 10 mile fun ride circuit with my daughter on Saturday. She gave
up after 5 miles and headed home. I finished the rest and due to the fact that
we started from home instead of the official start-finish, I rode 11 miles
before it was over. Since I did the last 6 miles by myself, I got my average
speed up to 11 MPH. With Nicole, it is usually around 10. I went out last
night by myself, intending to do the whole 11 miles, but I think I was too
tired from Saturday, so I stopped at 7.5 miles and an average speed of 12.6 MPH.
My legs are still a little sore this morning. I guess I'd better knock it off
for a few days. Am I pushing myself too hard?
Bob
|
| 2327.3 | | LJOHUB::CRITZ | | Mon Jun 22 1992 10:55 | 19 |
| RE: Not many hills...
I used to live in Lubbock. The first major town west of
there is called Levelland. They weren't kidding, either.
RE: Pushing...
In my very humble opinion, you may be pushing it a little.
If you haven't ridden much (which seems to be the case), and
then you start riding at, what appears to be, your limit, you're
going to feel it real quick. Until you get used to riding again,
I would take a rest day between rides. Make sure you get adequate
sleep.
Of course, I don't know the whole situation, but, in the beginning,
I would be somewhat cautious and listen to what my body is telling
me.
Scott
|
| 2327.4 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | We will miss you, Simon | Mon Jun 22 1992 12:02 | 18 |
| re: .3
Yes, I haven't ridden for a while. After I rode the 10-mile fun ride last week
end, I felt like I could have gone farther.
One of my problems is that I can't really set up a real regular schedule for
riding. I rode yesterday because I'm not sure if I can ride any day this week.
Granted, this week is a little unusual with my wife having surgery and company
coming in from out of town, but I'm putting off things I should be doing to
accommodate those things.
I would like to ride 3 times a week. The 20 mile ride is in early August.
I hope it starts REAL early. In August, we start having lows in the 80's and
highs in the 100's. Is it an unrealistic goal to try to be ready to do the
20 mile ride in August? I don't want to burn out, but at the same time, I
don't want to baby myself.
Bob
|
| 2327.5 | | JURA::PELAZ::MACFADYEN | Only scratching the surface | Mon Jun 22 1992 15:38 | 6 |
| I think once you're used to riding regularly again, 20 miles won't seem such
a difficult target. One of the pleasures of cycling is guilt-free eating, so
regular breaks to eat and drink will punctuate the ride nicely. Stick with it.
Rod
|
| 2327.6 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | We will miss you, Simon | Mon Jun 22 1992 16:39 | 7 |
| >regular breaks to eat and drink will punctuate the ride nicely. Stick with it.
Ummm. Do you mean actually stopping? I usually just drink from the water
bottle as I'm riding. As far as eating goes, I don't get hungry when I ride,
just thirsty.
Bob
|
| 2327.7 | | DANGER::JBELL | Aleph naught bottles of beer on the wall... | Mon Jun 22 1992 16:54 | 7 |
| > As far as eating goes, I don't get hungry when I ride...
It starts to get important after 20 to 30 miles.
Do a dir/title = bonk
-Jeff
|
| 2327.8 | ONLY OUT OF CHOICE... | WMOIS::GIROUARD_C | | Tue Jun 23 1992 07:54 | 9 |
| Technically speaking, your body can store close to two hours of fuel.
So you really don't need to worry about "in-ride" restoration of carbo-
hydrates or essential elements, e.g. potassium, zinc, etc...
Water is actually plenty for 30-40 miler.
My $.02
Chip
|
| 2327.9 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | We will miss you, Simon | Tue Jun 23 1992 09:57 | 14 |
| Thanks for all the words of wisdom and encouragement. Can anyone tell me if
2900+ participants in a rally is a small, medium, or large rally? I'm trying
to put things in perspective. I felt that the event was well organized and
run, (with the exception of announcer who kept getting the follow-me arrow
colors mixed up...maybe he was color-blind :-) On the 10 mile fun ride, you
would have had to work real hard to take a wrong turn. I could have ignored
the map, arrows, and the other riders and just ridden straight ahead until
somebody waved a flag at me and pointed in a direction and I would have done
just fine. Since this was my first rally, I have nothing to compare it to, but
it exceeded my uninformed minimum expectations.
I hope the longer routes were as well supported.
Bob
|
| 2327.10 | fairly large | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Tue Jun 23 1992 11:55 | 8 |
| Bob, 2900 is fairly large for a bike rally. There are some
larger events, of course, such as the Hotter Than Hell Hundred,
but not many. Paris-Brest-Paris 1991 had 3100 entrants.
Continued good luck with your biking!
PS: The Hotter Than Hell Hundred is not far from you - in Wichita
Falls! Something to think about.
|
| 2327.11 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | We will miss you, Simon | Tue Jun 23 1992 14:37 | 7 |
| > PS: The Hotter Than Hell Hundred is not far from you - in Wichita
> Falls! Something to think about.
I know all about that. It makes the local news here in Dallas. Definately
NOT this year!
Bob
|
| 2327.12 | Or maybe sent by mail? | NCBOOT::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Fri Jun 26 1992 00:10 | 10 |
| I have some information that MAY be useful to new/learning/average
riders. I excerpted a bunch of information from "Richard's Riding for
Fitness" for my own use including scheduling, training, eating, and
such. I've given copies to a couple of local people who are new or
average riders like myself.
I can post it in here but I'm not sure of the legitimacy since I did
the excerpts without the author's permission... Is this a problem in a
notes conference? The other local people that have read it have said
they found it useful...
|
| 2327.13 | FEDERAL OFFENSE? | WMOIS::GIROUARD_C | | Fri Jun 26 1992 07:17 | 3 |
| It's only a problem if you get caught! :-)
Chip
|
| 2327.14 | give it a go | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Fri Jun 26 1992 08:50 | 11 |
|
Try an excerpt out on us and see. In a certain HYDRA-based
Notes conference, excerpts are permitted on the defense that
they are not readily available to the public (viz., they're
from newspaper articles, not in books).
But another rationale is that people reading your excerpts
may be encouraged to go out and buy the book, which the
publisher probably wouldn't mind at all. :-)
-john
|
| 2327.15 | Ok, but if I get caught I'm naming names! | 35625::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Mon Jun 29 1992 17:11 | 13 |
| OKEY DOKEY... The next reply is my attempt at gleaning the pearls from
several hundred pages of text. The excerpt is about 800 formatted
lines. Hope something in here helps. Everybody feel free to take
exception and disagree (as if I needed to ENCOURAGE all you
holy-warriors)...
I used the ideas about nutrition in there for the MS150 and found them
to work for me. After the 75 mile first day I felt good enough to add
another 25 miles for a century. And, despite awful headwinds (gusts
over 50 mph according to the radio) I managed to crawl into the
endpoint after another 77 miles the second day. Also, the leg massage
really does seem to help with soreness.
to crawl into the end
|
| 2327.16 | | 35625::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Mon Jun 29 1992 17:16 | 914 |
| RIDING FOR FITNESS
These are excepts from John Schubert's book "Richard's Cycling
for Fitness". Most of this is information you already know,
but there may be something in here that will help you get more
enjoyment from riding.
1.1 Graceful Riding
Graceful riding starts with pedaling smoothly, so you aren't
fighting your own oscillations for control of the bike. Spin
with your legs without upper body motion.
Smooth riding is not difficult, however, correct saddle adjust-
ment is imperative. Start with the traditional saddle height
and adjust from there as necessary. Traditional saddle height
is at a position where your knee is not quite fully extended at
the bottom of the pedal stroke. To find this position get on the
bike, put your heels on the pedals, and turn the cranks. (you'll
have to turn them backwards if a person, and not a stand, is
holding the bike upright). If you have to rock your hips from
side to side to reach the bottom portion of the pedal stroke,
your saddle is too high. Lower it just to the point where you
don't have to rock.
Saddle tilt should be set with the saddle parallel to the
ground. You'll probably leave it that way although some cy-
clists prefer to have the nose of the saddle pointing upward
slightly. A nose that is tilted down is a sign of trouble. Some
saddles are too high, and the nose pointed down to relieve the
Riding For Fitness 1
pressure on the crotch. Then the ride is constantly bracing to
avoid sliding into the handlebars.
Other than that, you have to pay attention to isolating upper
from lower body continuous movement. This is a skill learned by
staying seated, churning your legs, and making sure your torso
is motionless. Initially you'll only be able to do this at 60-
70 rpm, but with practice you'll be comfortable and smooth at
higher cadences and cruising at 90 or 95 rpm will feel natural.
A brisk cadence is your best friend. Most good riders cruise
at 90 or 95 rpm. The biggest benefit is that your knees take
less stress when you spin faster in a low gear (turn the cranks
quickly and easily) instead of pushing a high gear (turn the
cranks slowly with great effort). Many people have had to stop
riding because they damaged their knees by mashing big gears.
The second benefit is metabolic: you'll last longer and feel
fresher if you maintain a brisk cadence. The lower pedal effort
which accompanies a lower gear and fast cadence allows your
muscles to work well under their aerobic threshold, and use fats
(which your body has in virtually unlimited supply) for fuel.
Higher muscle efforts, such as mashing big gears, use precious
stores of glucose - when when your glucose is gone, you're ready
to drop.
In addition to using glucose, higher efforts produce lactic
acid which causes a burning sensation in the muscles. Novice
cyclists, once they've gone beyond riding a couple miles at a
time, often run into problems with stamina because they use up
all the body's stores of glucose.
Toe clips and straps, or shoe-cleat systems (such as Look) are
essential for pedaling at a quick cadence. Without a fastening
method you'll have trouble keeping your feet on the pedals.
Without something to keep your feet on the pedals you have to
expend energy and attention to keep your feet from sliding off
the pedals. Toe clips save energy, and cleats or clipless shoes
increase the energy savings and efficiency of pedaling.
2 Riding For Fitness
Gearing is important to maintain a good cadence. At a given
ground speed you're best off with whatever gear gives you a
brisk cadence in the 90s. Much slower than that and you are
in a zone of high forces on a slowly moving knee joint, which
spells trouble. Much faster, and the muscles generate lactic
acid faster than blood circulation can wash it away - which
hurts.
Maintain your cadence by shifting up and down to match the
terrain. Even small changes in terrain necessitate shifting.
For example, climbing a 1% grade - something so small it isn't
even visible takes 14% more work than the same speed on flat
ground.
1.2 Elements of a Workout
Anything is hard work if you do it long enough. The beauty of
bike riding is that it doesn't have to feel like hard work. A
typical early season ride can be anywhere from 15 to 50 miles.
Novices will need to work up to 15 mile rides, but it doesn't
take long. 15 miles is a good minimum to warm up, get in some
good pedaling, and warm down. Shorter rides won't hurt, but for
basic aerobic capacity and endurance, a minimum of one hour, or
15 miles, brings big dividends.
At the start of the ride put the bike in a pretty low gear (40
or 50 inches) and start warming up. Twiddle for about 2 minutes
then upshift to another low gear. This slow start gets your
blood pumping and muscles warm and loose. It helps you go faster
later on because active blood circulation carries away lactic
acid from your muscles. If you go hard from the first stroke
and build up lactic acid before you have blood circulation, your
body will be trying to catch up for the duration of your ride.
To calculate gear inches take the number of teeth on the chain-
ring (large ring where the pedals are) and divide by the number
of teeth on the freewheel (gear in the back) and multiply by 27.
Riding For Fitness 3
For example, a chainring of 38 teeth and a freewheel of 21 teeth
gives us a measurement of
(38 / 21) * 27 = 48.8 inches
In general, MOST mountain, hybrid, and touring bikes have gear
setups of 28, 38, 48 tooth chainrings and 13,15,17,19,21,24,28
freewheels
so using the 38/24 combination gives a gear inches of 42.75.
Either this gear or the 38/21 above would be good for warming
up.
After another 2 minutes upshift again into a gear for normal
cruising speed. Remember to keep your cadence around 95 and the
pressure you're putting on the pedals should be slight enough
that you can barely feel it. This description of cadence and
pedal effort is the most important objective for a new cyclist.
You shouldn't hit full cruising effort until 10 or 15 minutes
have passed. A long warmup builds a good foundation for a good
workout.
In the early season you should never hit that full effort. Early
season workouts are to build duration on the bike and develop a
nice, quick spin. Also, gentle early-season riding for longer
duration helps you get used to the bike. Every rider needs to
firm up their behind so the saddle feels comfortable. With
practice you improve. The body adapts. The distances you can
comfortably ride increase.
1.3 Fuels for Riding
Glucose and fat are the body's two basic fuels. Glucose is the
primary fuel of intense aerobic activity, so the harder you
ride, the more glucose you consume. Fats, on the other hand, are
fuels for lower intensity aerobic activity. By burning fats you
stretch your glucose stores to let you ride farther. One effect
of working well within your aerobic capacity is to train your
4 Riding For Fitness
body to burn fats. Another effect is to increase glucose stores
in the muscles.
Training your body to burn fat is important because the body's
natural tendency is to use the limited supply of glucose first
since it is more easily released. You combat this tendency with
long, low-key, steady state rides that train the metabolism
to burn fat more readily. If you deplete your glucose supply
you get the bonk - total exhaustion. You feel just dreadful,
little better than road kill. You don't need to bonk to train
your body to burn fat. Easy rides also train your nervous system
and synapses to use additional muscle fibers. Again this takes
effect in longer rides.
While riding it is difficult to distinguish the deceptively
subtle changes in sensation you get from changes in workload. If
you are cruising at an effort level below your maximum aerobic
capacity and you upshift, maintaining the same cadence, to a
point slightly above your aerobic capacity, after a minute or
two the big changes become noticeable: deep breaths, a pounding
heart, and the realization that you've just burned up glucose
anaerobically and generated a bunch of lactic acid (when you go
anaerobic you consume almost all glucose).
After a few weeks of gentle training you may want to expend
higher effort, go faster, and experience the lactic acid burn.
Remember the long warmup still applies, but once you're warm,
you'll go faster and harder. This generally means the same
cadence, higher gears, and being on the edge of that burning
feeling in the legs. What you want to do is steady mileage
near your aerobic threshold. You'll be right at the point where
breath is just a little short. If you extend too far you'll only
be able to keep it up for a minute or two. Then the lactic acid
will bring you down to reality.
Whenever you do a workout you absolutely MUST warm down. For the
last 15 minutes of your ride ease down to the level of the first
15 minutes. A warmdown helps you recover faster for the next
ride because your blood circulation remains brisk while your
Riding For Fitness 5
muscles' productions of pollutants subsides. It gives your body
a chance to clean out the crud.
1.4 Massaging
After you've finished the ride the best thing you can do to
make yourself feel better is a leg massage. After a long ride
there's a huge supply of metabolic slag left in the muscles.
Warming down helps pump the slag out, but a lot remains. A
massage helps push it out into the bloodstream where it can
be carried away. Here's how: Lie on your back with your rump
near a wall and your legs extended upward, heels resting on the
wall. Bend one knee towards your chest and massage that leg's
calf. Always work toward the heart, kneading the muscle and
shaking it occasionally for variety. Switch legs and repeat. Now
do the same for both thighs. An effective massage can be done in
five minutes and it will hasten your recovery by a day or two.
Below is a BASIC schedule to start building endurance and en-
hance fitness (you can do more rides if time allows)
1.5 Schedule
1.5.1 Week 1 - total, 52 miles
o Sunday: 20 miles, easy early-season pace - long but relaxed
pace
o Wednesday: 12 miles, easy early-season pace - easy pace
o Saturday: 20 miles easy early-season pace - longest hardest
workout
6 Riding For Fitness
1.5.2 Week 2 - total, 57 miles
o Sunday: 20 miles, easy
o Wednesday: 12 miles, easy
o Saturday: 25 miles easy, with a slight surge in the middle 5
miles and long warmdown
1.5.3 Week 3 - total 63 miles
o Sunday: 20 miles, easy
o Wednesday: 13 miles, easy but getting faster
o Saturday: 30 miles easy, with a 5 mile surge and long warm-
down
1.5.4 Week 4 - 74 miles
o Sunday: 25 miles, easy
o Wednesday: 14 miles, easy but faster still
o Saturday: 35 miles with a good surge and warmdown
This schedule would enable you to comfortable finish a ride as
long as a metric century (62 miles) comfortably (although not
quickly) or ride 30-35 miles per day and feel fresh every day.
You'll need a rest stop, and should give yourself a leg massage.
1.6 The engine
When you pant like gangbusters and your pulse skyrockets, your
body systems are trying to deliver more oxygen to the muscle
cells. Improving your aerobic capacity makes more oxygen avail-
able to the blood, and shortens and minimizes the inevitable
lactic acid buildup.
Riding For Fitness 7
When you're within your aerobic range, your pulse increases at
about the rate your speed increases. When you go anaerobic the
pulse rate increase steepens drastically.
The pot of gold at the end of the riding rainbow is the ability
to feel comfortable, with snap still left in the legs, after 80,
90, or 100 miles. If you hammer on 15 mile rides you'll always
be tired and full of lactic acid at the end and you won't feel
like tackling long rides.
Undertraining is a problem in that it slows you down and makes
you more susceptible to injury. Then when you go out for longer
distances and push you have problems with soreness, stiffness,
and pain.
1.6.1 Stretching
If you are not naturally limber and don't compensate by stretch-
ing you can have problems. You can easily pull a muscle and
injure yourself. You should stretch the
o Hamstring - put one foot on a table. Hold the hips still,
bend over, and try to touch your toes.
o Quad stretch - Lie on your stomach and bend one knee, bring-
ing your foot up to your rear end. Reach behind you and grasp
the ankle. Raise the thigh as far off the floor as you can.
o Groin stretch - Sit on the floor and bring the soles of your
feet together in front of you. Try to lower your knees to the
floor.
o Wall stretch - stand 2 feet from a wall, put your hands flat
on the wall in front of you and lean into the wall while
keeping your feet flat on the floor. This stretches the
calves and Achilles tendons.
8 Riding For Fitness
1.6.2 Heartrate
A rule of thumb for training is that your maximum, never-exceed
heart rate is 220 minus your age. For a 40-year-old that puts
the absolute maximum at 180 beats.
For training, the maximum aerobic threshold is about 85 percent
of maximum or 153 for a 40-year-old.
The minimum rate for good aerobic training is traditionally 70
percent of the maximum rate, or 126 for a 40year-old.
These number are overly simple, but provide somewhat of a guide.
A sedentary person may go anaerobic at 50 percent. An untrained
individual may get good training at 70 percent at the beginning
of training and need to go to 75 percent after a month.
There is no substitute for listening to your body. The pulse you
target on your rides depends on your goals. If you are trying
to burn fat on a long ride, you need to be near the 70 percent
figure. To increase aerobic capacity, you need to stay close to
the 85 percent.
1.6.3 Body Temperature
As you exercise you body generates heat - possibly as much s
1500 watts. For every calorie which turns the pedals, two heat
up your body. In winter or spring this extra heat is welcome.
But in summer you need to get rid of extra heat. Perspiration
helps with this. Cooling the body places a big demand on the
circulatory system. Take it easy for your first few rides when
hot weather arrives.
Heatstroke is the ultimate hot-weather danger. If your body's
core temperature goes high enough you can poach your brain.
Signs of oncoming heat stroke are hard to miss. You'll be
painfully overheated, with hot, red skin. But you may feel a
chill. Other signs are throbbing pressure in the head, deterio-
rating vision, breathing and thinking. The cure: put the victim
Riding For Fitness 9
in the shock position with feet elevated, and cool with ice and
fluids. Preventing heatstroke is simple - DRINK LOTS. Dehydra-
tion is often a precursor to heatstroke because it limits your
body's ability to rid itself of heat.
1.7 Eating and Drinking
When you ride a bike you must make a habit of eating and drink-
ing frequently, or you won't replenish yourself in time. Sen-
sations of hunger and thirst come to late to do any good. Typ-
ically, you don't feel thirsty until you've sweated away half
a gallon of water. You can't drink that much at one time; your
stomach has to receive the water a few swallows at a time in
order to pass it on to the bloodstream. And by the time you're
half a gallon of water down, your body is already feeling nasty
side effects. Blood plasma has reduced in volume and thickened,
hampering its ability to handle the demands of cooling your body
and feeding your muscles.
These effects kick in at an early level. Most people are in
full stride before the loss of enough water to trigger thirst.
Sweating away 2 percent of body weight is enough to impair
performance. With the blood circulation hampered, nutrients
and oxygen can't reach the muscles and waste products can't get
out of them. The natural cooling system is reduced because of
the loss of fluid. On a hot day, its a set up for heat stroke.
Similarly, hunger only sets in after you've largely depleted
your glycogen reserves. Riding effort stays the same until
reserves are almost gone - and then, abruptly, you'll feel
hungry and fatigued. On longer rides, unless you add sugar and
carbohydrates to stay fresh in those later miles, the dreaded
bonk arrives.
If you do eat and drink properly as you ride, the resulting
boost to performance can be nearly unbelievable. Long distance
riders who have refined their diets from roadside cheeseburgers
10 Riding For Fitness
to sophisticated all-nutrients-included liquids never get dehy-
drated or bonk: instead they sometimes ride their last 100 or
more miles averaging 20 mph. If they can do that you can ride
without bonking, even without special food.
1.7.1 Hydration
Your first priority is to drink enough water to stay hydrated.
On a hot day its nearly impossible to stay even with your sweat-
ing. The best you can do is lessen the dehydration during the
course of the ride. A conservative estimate of warm weather
sweating is 5 pints (or 5 pounds) per hour. In hot weather it
doesn't matter how little or how much visible perspiration you
see on your skin.
For long summer rides carry two of the quart-size water bottles,
Ideally, you'd empty both of them during a one-hour ride. There
is no physiological reason to save water for later. Your body
will go ahead and sweat water just as profligately whether or
not you drink now or save those last swallows for later.
The colder water is, the better it tastes. It also helps cool
your overheated body core and is absorbed into the bloodstream
more quickly.
1.7.2 Sugar
When you ride, blood and muscle stores of glucose drop. Con-
suming sugar can help or hinder, depending on how you do it.
The classic example of hindering is when you consume a heavily
sugared drink minutes before starting a ride. It only takes 5-7
minutes for sugar to get from mouth into the bloodstream. Once
there it may increase blood sugar level beyond the body's toler-
ance. Your body responds by dumping insulin (which neutralizes
sugar) into the bloodstream. The insulin installs the blood glu-
cose in muscle cells from where it cannot be removed. This would
be fine if it only stored the glucose in the leg muscles but it
Riding For Fitness 11
doesn't. You arm and back muscles also get supplied with non-
transferable glucose. Meanwhile, the blood sugar level is lower
than before. To add insult to injury, the insulin reduces your
ability to use fat for fuel. Instead, drink the sugary fluids an
hour before starting the ride. This gives the blood levels of
insulin and glucose time to become normal.
When you consume sugar during a ride, the sugar goes directly
to the working muscles and spares the precious muscle stores of
glucose.
But how should you take in that sugar? Candy bars are out -
they're full of energy- robbing fat, and take too long to
digest. Fruit is a mixed blessing. It tastes good and satis-
fies hunger pangs, but its fiber sits in the stomach, possibly
hindering water absorption. And you don't really get enough
calories from a piece of fruit... On the other hand, a juicy
pear is much more appetizing than a lukewarm, dilute, cola!
Sugared drinks such as exercise fluid replacement drinks have
always been controversial because of their high sugar content.
Conventional wisdom is the sugar water in high concentration
sits in hour stomach. Neither the sugar or the water can get
into the bloodstream to benefit you. For these reasons people
often dilute these drinks by at least one, and up to three,
parts water, particularly in hot weather. For do-it-yourselfers,
a tablespoon of sugar in 12 ounces of water is a typical recom-
mendation.
A new theory says that drinks with up to 15 percent sugar
(Gatorade is 5 percent; cola 10) are readily absorbed into the
bloodstream... Experiment and see what works for you.
There are three kinds of sugar: glucose, fructose, and sucrose.
Fructose, or fruit sugar, produces the smallest insulin reac-
tion. Glucose produces the greatest. Sucrose, table sugar, is a
50/50 mix of the two. Fructose can be purchases in powdered form
or you can buy apples, pears, and bananas.
12 Riding For Fitness
The worst news is ice cream. Most bike riders LIVE for ice
cream. But almost half of ice cream's calories are in the form
of fat, and the act of digesting that fat - like fat from candy
bars drains energy from your system. You can't draw on that fat
energy until the following day, after you've digested it.
On strategy for longer rides is to eat a solid breakfast at
least an hour (preferably 2) before riding (pancakes and syrup
- no meat), stick to fruit early in the day, and an hour or so
before the end of the ride have a cola.
1.7.3 Electolytes
Most people get far more salt than they need. After a day of
riding, often more water than salt has been lost to sweat and
the salt level has increased - not decreased.
1.7.4 Eating
A good diet for exercising is high in complex carbohydrates,
low in fat, and moderate in protein. Fat slows you down while
you digest it. Excess protein can slow you down too since it is
difficult and energy-absorbing to digest, and requires extra
water. And excess protein, cannot be stored. Instead it is
laboriously convert into... fat!
Eat moderate quantities of protein. Meat eaters needn't worry;
they automatically get enough. Enjoy pasta, non-fried potatoes,
breads, fruit, and vegetables. Don't be fanatic about avoiding
fat. You need some.
A nice pasta dinner is about the best you can do the night
before the ride. Milk is a poor breakfast beverage on ride days.
Pancakes make a good pre-ride breakfast; whole-grain fibrous
cereal with milk isn't so good. Eggs are the worst possible
breakfast for good ride performance, even though protein in the
morning is normally good for you.
Riding For Fitness 13
Eat a least an hour before starting your ride and avoid food for
45 minutes after the ride begins.
Forget carbohydrate loading - its too easy to screw up. Enjoy
a nice pasta dinner the night before the ride and enjoy those
bananas and energy drinks during the ride.
1.8 The long and winding road
Some cyclists are drawn to the challenge of a longer ride. Some
people like to go inn-to-inn touring and enjoy the miles between
gourmet meals each day. Other prefer self-contained touring with
a sleeping bag, tent, and cookstove.
Long rides can be done comfortably, with little or no strain.
If you feel energetic you'll push the pace a bit. But there is
no need for anaerobic agony. Most workouts should enable you
to feel strong all day, and leave you no more tired than long,
brisk walks. Riding a century (100 miles) is the cyclists answer
to a 26-mile marathon. The difference is in wear and tear on the
participant. A marathoner takes weeks to recover; with proper
training you can ride a century and feel very few side effects
the following day.
1.8.1 Touring
Bicycle touring should be a string of picnics, stops a quaint
inns and/or camping in lakeside forests, meandering on sunny
country roads, good evening meals, photography, and local lore.
All too often it turns into an endless bike ride. Many tourists
ride on sooty four-lane highways, stay in Motel 6s or camp-
grounds built for RVs, and never see any sights more exotic than
a Burger King.
Plan ahead. Do some homework in the library and find out about
the area you're going to. You'll enjoy the trip more.
14 Riding For Fitness
1.9 Training for a Metric Century
The next goal is training for a brisk, comfortable metric 62-
mile century or a multi-day ride of 40 miles/day. The goal is to
feel absolutely comfortable on those tours.
Changes in distance ridden should be gradual. Big jumps from
week to week should be avoided. A sensible rule of thumb is to
increase your mileage no more than 10 percent a week.
1.9.1 Weeks 5 and 6 - total, 88 miles each
o Sunday: 25 miles, easy twiddle - low gears and spin
o Tuesday: 14 miles, maintain brisk pace, medium gears after
short warmup
o Thursday: 14 miles, like Tuesday
o Saturday: 35 miles, 5-mile warmup, 20 miles maintaining
stiff, even tempo, 10-mile warmdown
Give yourself two weeks to adjust to the higher mileage. Keep
with the hard ride on Saturday with a light ride on Sunday. It
is better do do a light ride, rather than a rest day, on the day
after a hard ride. The light ride loosens you up.
Saturday's stiff, even tempo is a self-administered test to see
if you know how fast you can comfortably pedal for a sustained
period of time. If you find yourself fatiguing and slowing down,
then you tried to maintain too high an effort. If you never
feel winded, you didn't try hard enough. You learn what a stiff
effort level feels like and how to shift to stay at that level.
The midweek rides are at a brisk tempo since you'll be rested.
REMEMBER: you can add additional rides during the week at either
the easy twiddle or brisk pace but remember to rest.
Riding For Fitness 15
1.9.2 Weeks 7 and 8 - total, 93 miles each
o Sunday: 25 miles, easy twiddle
o Tuesday: 14 miles, brisk pace
o Thursday: 14 miles, like Tuesday
o Saturday: 40 miles, 5-mile warmup, 25 miles maintaining
stiff, even tempo, 10-mile warmdown. For week 8 you can
change this to intersperse two miles hard (maximum aerobic
speed), two easy, two hard... for 20 miles tapering off to a
long warmdown.
The second week works you a bit harder with the 2-mile surges at
the aerobic limit - this teaches you your anaerobic threshold is
and helps you ride faster. Slowing after 2 miles to an easy pace
is very important so you don't tire out.
1.9.3 Week 9 - total, 100 miles
o Sunday: 27 miles, easy twiddle
o Tuesday: 14 miles, brisk pace
o Thursday: 14 miles, like Tuesday
o Saturday: 45 miles, 5-mile warmup, 25 miles brisk, 15-mile
warmdown
You've now built a fine base and raised you mileage to three
digits. You now have the endurance to ride long distances and/or
tour for days; and don't have to worry about getting the bonk
with 20 miles to go!
Training can continue beyond this point depending on your
goals... For most people, being able to comfortably perform
at the level above meets their desires and provides fitness...
16 Riding For Fitness
1.10 The 100-mile Century
1.10.1 Weeks 10 and 11 - total, 110 miles each
o Sunday: 25 miles, easy twiddle
o Tuesday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Thursday: 15 miles, like Tuesday
o Saturday: 55 miles, 5-mile warmup, 40 miles brisk, 10-mile
warmdown
1.10.2 Weeks 12 and 13 - total, 120 miles each
o Sunday: 30 miles, easy twiddle
o Tuesday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Thursday: 15 miles, like Tuesday
o Saturday: 60 miles, 10-mile warmup, 40 miles brisk, 10-mile
warmdown
1.10.3 Week 14 - total, 110 miles each
o Sunday: 25 miles, easy twiddle with one 2-mile stretch at max
aerobic
o Tuesday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Thursday: 15 miles, like Tuesday
o Saturday: 45 miles, 10-mile warmup, 20 miles divided into
5 sets of 4-miles per set. Each set has 2 miles at maxi-
mum aerobic speed, two recovering at easy twiddle. 15-mile
warmdown.
This week reduces mileage but has more high-effort riding. This
builds aerobic capacity and ability to perform well in climbs.
Riding For Fitness 17
1.10.4 Weeks 15 and 16 - total, 135 miles each
Sunday: 30 miles, easy twiddle Tuesday: 15 miles, brisk pace
Thursday: 15 miles, like Tuesday Saturday: 75 miles, 10-mile
warmup, 55 miles brisk, 10-mile warmdown
Now you're ready to complete a 100-mile century or tour comfort-
ably 50-65 miles/day.
1.11 Training to Higher Levels
This last set of training rides let you eat centuries for break-
fast
1.11.1 Weeks 17 and 18 - total, 150 miles each
o Sunday: 30 miles, easy twiddle
o Monday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Wednesday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Friday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Saturday: 75 miles, 10-mile warmup, 55 miles brisk, 10-mile
warmdown
Added another day ride during the week
1.11.2 Weeks 19, 20 and 21 - total, 160 miles each
o Sunday: 35 miles, easy twiddle
o Monday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Wednesday: 15 miles, brisk pace
o Friday: 15 miles, brisk pace
18 Riding For Fitness
o Saturday: 80 miles, 10-mile warmup, 60 miles brisk, 10-mile
warmdown
Be careful to note your body's condition. If it demands a rest
be realistic and cut back your mileage. for a week or two.
One way to avoid overtraining is to deliberately cutback your
mileage.
Riding For Fitness 19
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|
| 2327.17 | No questions, just a minor progress report... | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Thu Jul 16 1992 09:46 | 9 |
| Well, I've sent off my registration for 3 more rallies. One in August and
2 in September. I briefly thought about the HTHH, but it's too far away to
go just to ride for 30 minutes. They have a 10K ride which would be too short,
but the next step up is 25 miles and I'm not sure I'm ready for that in 100+
heat. So I guess I'll wait until next year for it. I think I'm ready to bump
up my 10 mile circuit a few miles, so I'm going to try and ride an ~2 mile
section of the circuit a second time.
Bob
|
| 2327.18 | Improving, but not as fast as I'd like... | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Thu Jul 30 1992 15:44 | 17 |
| Well, I seem to have a lot of trouble with a THI > 100. Last week I
went out and wanted to add 2 miles to my 10 mile ride and struggled
home after 8 miles:-( I had tried to prepare myself for it by filling
one water bottle with water and the other with Gatorade and alternating
drinking between them.
Last night the THI was only in the low to mid 90's, so I decided to try
again. Did the same thing with the water bottles and went 13+ miles at
an average speed of 12.5 mph. I felt like I could have done 15 miles
if I pushed it, but I didn't want to try. I've got a rally on 8/15,
but I don't know if I can be up to 20 miles then or not. I'm still
only able to ride once a week on the average:-( I don't know if I'll
be able to ride this weekend or not. I've got to put down a bunch of
sod in my yard Saturday.
Bob
|
| 2327.19 | To Ride More, Commute by Bike | LHOTSE::DAHL | Customers do not buy architectures | Fri Jul 31 1992 10:35 | 9 |
| RE: <<< Note 2327.18 by SCAACT::AINSLEY "Less than 150 kts is TOO slow" >>>
> I'm still only able to ride once a week on the average
Is commuting to work by bike a possibility? I get 90% (literally) of my riding
done this way. Without commuting, I would only be able to ride once a week as
well. My commute route is moderately hilly and so it provides a good training
opportunity.
-- Tom
|
| 2327.20 | Advice from an old, fat guy who remembers 20 can be tough | NCBOOT::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Fri Jul 31 1992 11:03 | 73 |
| > Well, I seem to have a lot of trouble with a THI > 100.
You aren't alone. I think ALL of us who aren't in super shape (as
opposed to you bionic riders who climb things like Mt. Washington :^))
have problems with heat and humidity.
>Last week I went out and wanted to add 2 miles to my 10 mile ride and
>struggled home after 8 miles:-(
It has been extremely cool here in Mpls this year but I can remember
wilting on hot days last year (and I'm talking about a THI in the 90s
not >100). I don't know how rapidly dehydration can come on, but if
you didn't have enough liquid in your system (hadn't kept well hydrated
prior to riding) when you started riding I think you could experience
problems very quickly.
>Last night the THI was only in the low to mid 90's, so I decided to try
>again. Did the same thing with the water bottles and went 13+ miles at
>an average speed of 12.5 mph.
Sounds like you are progressing pretty well, especially considering
your limited time available for riding. When I started it took me
several weeks to get up to 15 miles, and I was riding 2-3 times/week,
and even longer to average 12.5 mph (I still have days when I don't
average 12.5!).
>I've got a rally on 8/15, but I don't know if I can be up to 20 miles
>then or not.
A lot of riding is mental. If you read any of the notes in here about
demanding rides people do (the Mt. Washington climb, or RAAM come to
mind right now), I think you'll find that a lot of what the riders are
doing is getting mentally ready to exert themselves and extend beyond
what they may normally do. For you or I the same thing applies on a
smaller scale. It may be as demanding for you to go 20 miles on your
rally as for Chip or Norm to climb Mt. Washington, or John to ride in
the RAAM... This is certainly not to take anything away from their
accomplishments (of which I am quite jealous!), but don't minimize what
your are doing. Everything is relative! Prepare yourself, your bike,
and be mentally geared toward the ride.
One thing you might consider for the 20 miles... you KNOW you can go
13 miles at 12.5 mph. You can consciously lay out a plan for the
longer ride, breaking it up into 5 mile chunks. Decide how fast you'll
do the first 5 miles - I recommend taking it very easy, spinning, and
warming up - maybe averaging no more than 10 mph for example. The next
5 you can speed up slightly, maybe up to 11 on average for that 5 (10.5
mph average for the first 10 miles). The next 5 you can either keep
the same or speed up slightly again. The final 5 miles you should
treat like the first 5, spin easily in a low gear, taking it easy, and
gliding into the end. Evaluate how your body feels at the end of each
chunk, and modify your plan based on that.
I did this for the MS 150, determined how fast I'd ride each 20 mile
chunk, how often I'd eat, etc. It worked really well for me, and at
the end of the 75 miles on Saturday I felt good enough to go out for
another 25 to make a century of it.
Remember, the prize is in arriving at the end, not necessarily in
getting there first! If the temperature is warm, DRINK, DRINK, DRINK.
Drink a lot of water before the ride, and constantly during the ride.
On days when it's been hotter here I've gone through a large water
bottle every 10 miles! And STILL been thirsty at the end of the ride.
>I'm still only able to ride once a week on the average:-( I don't know
>if I'll be able to ride this weekend or not. I've got to put down a
>bunch of sod in my yard Saturday.
Ah, blow it off! You can put down sod in the dark! Early Saturday
mornings are for RIDING! When the air is still, temps cool, the
birds are singing, the sun is just coming over the horizon - thats the
perfect time to be on a bike trail someplace away from the traffic,
riding through woods along a river... I gotta get outta this office!
|
| 2327.21 | | RUSTIE::NALE | Sue Nale Mildrum | Fri Jul 31 1992 11:28 | 19 |
| I think that you're doing fine considering you're only able to ride once per
week. If you could add one or two more rides, even short ones, per week I
think you'd see much faster improvement.
It's sorta like when I took up downhill skiing. For the first year I only
skiied maybe once every three weeks. It seemed like I *never* got any better!
The next season I took weekly lessons. Just being on the skis at least once
per week made me improve so much! It's like your body needs to do the activity
with fair regularity to get any better.
You've still got a couple weeks to your rally. If you could do a couple 15
milers and a couple 7 milers or so, I bet you'll be able to handle the 20.
You'll find a little extra energy the day of the rally, just from the
excitement.
Don't get discouraged: just keep at it!
Good luck,
Sue
|
| 2327.22 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Fri Jul 31 1992 12:04 | 8 |
| re: the past few
Thanks for the encouragement. I may just try the 20 miler...
As far as riding to work, It's between 16 & 18 miles in very congested
traffic and there are no shower facilities here at work.
Bob
|
| 2327.23 | Sponging? | RVNDEL::MCCARTHY | | Fri Jul 31 1992 12:58 | 10 |
|
Hi
When I worked at RAYTHEON in Bedford MA they had showers at the
main building but I worked 5 miles from there. So I'd take
a sponge bath. I'd use the sink in a rest room and sponge myself
down. Then I'd be ready for the civilized world.
It was about a 16 mile ride in. I got the idea from another
cyclist. He use to ride in all types of weather (except snow).
His wife said he was a bear if he didn't get to ride 8^)
|
| 2327.24 | Digression on Average Speeds | LHOTSE::DAHL | Customers do not buy architectures | Fri Jul 31 1992 16:50 | 24 |
| RE: <<< Note 2327.20 by NCBOOT::PEREZ "Trust, but ALWAYS verify!" >>>
This may be a nit pick to some, but an eye-opener to others.
> [first 5 miles] maybe averaging no more than 10 mph for example. The next
> 5 you can speed up slightly, maybe up to 11 on average for that 5 (10.5
> mph average for the first 10 miles).
Incorrect; the average speed will not be 10.5 MPH. If the two legs had the same
TIME, then the average would be the mid-point of the two speeds. But since in
this case the two legs have the same DISTANCE, the average is weighted toward
the slow-leg's speed.
For this case the average is 10.48 MPH. That's close enough to 10.5 so as not
to really matter. But when the speeds of the two legs differ more radically,
the average speed skews much more toward the slow end. For example, let's say
the two legs are: one up a 5 mile hill at 10 MPH, and one down at 30 MPH. The
average speed for such a trip would be 14.99 MPH, a bunch slower than the
"expected" 20 MPH mid-point between the two leg speeds.
This really shows that in order to put up a good average speed on a hilly or
windy loop or out-and-back, work hard on the up-hill/into-the-wind part. You
want to minimize your time spent going slowly.
-- Tom
|
| 2327.25 | :-) | NOVA::FISHER | Rdb/VMS Dinosaur | Mon Aug 03 1992 06:57 | 5 |
| For whomever might be interested. the same arithmetic works on
riding with headwinds and tailwinds because you spend longer riding
slower.
ed
|
| 2327.26 | Going for it! | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Tue Aug 11 1992 09:49 | 13 |
| Well, yesterday we had our first 100 degree day of the summer in
Dallas. That's rather unusual as we usually get our first one in June
or July. Since it was so hot, I decided not to ride my usual route and
instead ride the bike trails and and take it easy. I loaded up both
water bottles and headed out. I got a late start since it was my
daughter's first day back in school. I rode the trails for 30 minutes
and then turned around and headed back towards home. When I got home I
didn't feel really tired and would have ridden farther but it was
almost dark. I did 9.5 miles at an average speed of 10.?. One the
weather last night, they said the high on Saturday is only expected to
be 90!!! Alright! I'm gonna try the 21 mile course at the rally!
Bob
|
| 2327.27 | A new personal best! | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Sat Aug 15 1992 17:43 | 75 |
| ...but of course, it had to be since I've never ridden that far before!
I didn't get much sleep last night. I kept thinking about 21 miles, 21
miles, 21 miles. The alarm went off at 5:25 :-( and I got up, did the
3 S's, ate breakfast, put on my riding clothes and put the water
bottles, helmet, and gloves into the car. I rechecked the security of
my bike and left for Rockwall. When I arrived I got my registration
package, and went to find the restrooms. Yuck. The only restrooms
were one set of mens and womens in the stadium and there was a long
line. I decided to wait until I got to the first rest stop. This was
a 10, 21, 40, and 60 mile race/rally. I figured I'd do my warm up when
they started the 60 milers. About 5 minutes before the race was
supposed to start, the told EVERYBODY to go to the starting line for
the start. Wait a minute. Haven't they heard of staged starts? So
much for any warm up. I headed for the back of the pack so I wouldn't
be in anybodys way and waited for the start. We all started and things
were kinda hairy with a few starts and stops as everyone tried to get
going. I did O.K. I only made 1 awkward move on the bike as I finally
got my right foot into the toe-clips. We headed off onto the access
road for I-30 and immediately hit a hill. Uggh. I was struggling a
bit at this point and wondering if I should take the 10 mile cutoff. I
passed several people in the first 3 miles that had gotten flats.
About 6 miles into the ride my bladder started telling me that it
hoped the first rest area would come up soon. Suddenly the line at the
rest room back at the start didn't seem so long anymore :-) A mile or
so later, I heard ZZTop music getting louder and louder and LOUDER and
thought, "Oh great, some idiot has gotten off the highway in the grass
was coming down the access road". (The police had blocked off the
highway exit ramps to avoid nasty surprises). I realized that the
music was in the same lane as I was! Just as I start to turn and look
behind me, a tandem passes me pulling one of those baby trailers. But
instead of a baby in the trailer, the top was folded closed and there
was a CD boom box playing ZZTop! As I was still struggling, I couldn't
really enjoy the music and they soon left me behind. At about the 8
mile mark, the first rest stop came into view and I sure was glad. But
oh no, there's a line for the rest rooms here too! Arrgggh! I put my
bike down and got in line. 10 minutes later, I emptied my bladder and
drank a couple of glasses of gatorade.
I got back on my bike and started off again. For the first time in the
ride, I felt good. I don't know whether it was due to the rest, the
empty bladder, or just finally getting loosened up. The first 8 miles,
I had a ton of people pass me. The last 13 miles, nobody passed me
except for a tandem that I later caught and passed on a hill. The
route after the first rest stop was hillier than the first part and I
sorta wondered when it was going to end. (I forgot that I was getting
into East Texas, where it's hilly everywhere). There was water at the
point where the 20 and 60 mile routes separated, but I didn't stop as I
still hadn't finished my first water bottle. Before I knew it, the 60
mile route merged with the 20 mile route again and the second rest stop
came up. People kept trying to hand me water, but I just shook my head
and didn't even slow down. One water person said, "You'll be sorry!"
I just chuckled and went on. I went past where the 60 mile route split
off again and up an overpass for I-30 (Granny gear and stand up) and
onto the I-30 access road. I now had the wind at my back. That might
have been something else that made the first 8 miles bad. It was into
the wind, but I don't think the wind was over 10 MPH. I got going and
actually got onto the big chainring for only the third time and
suddenly I saw a sign that said "Finish 1 mile"?????? Huh? Already?
The cateye said 20.x miles, so I guess it was right. The finish was up
a slight grade and about 700 feet before the finish, I realized I was
pedaling really slow. Downshift dummy. I downshifted and shorty
thereafter, crossed the finish line. As I slow down, a woman tries to
hand me some water. I just say no. Why do people want to hand me
water when all I want to do is stop and get off the bike without
hitting anyone or falling down:-)
The end result was 21.55 miles in 1:38:38 for an average speed of 13
MPH. This didn't include the time at the rest area, where I stopped
the cateye and started my watch. I spent 13 minutes at the rest area,
10 of that waiting in line for the rest room.
Next up... 25 miles in Bonham on Sept. 12.
Bob - feeling rather tired now that the adrenalin rush is gone.
|
| 2327.28 | | NOVA::NALE | Sue Nale Mildrum | Mon Aug 17 1992 15:20 | 5 |
| All right! Great job!
Adrenalin is a great thing, huh?
Sue
|
| 2327.29 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Mon Aug 17 1992 15:35 | 15 |
| re: .28
Thanks.
>Adrenalin is a great thing, huh?
Yeah! Now if I could only order it thru Performance or one of the
other mail order places :-)
re: all
Am I boring you folks with these stories?
Bob
|
| 2327.30 | write more! | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Mon Aug 17 1992 15:43 | 11 |
|
> Am I boring you folks...?
No, Bob, my first reaction was that this was a great write-up,
and I'd like to see more. You took a very reasonable approach,
and what you went through is what most riders go through, albeit
for some at greater speeds and or distances.
I enjoyed your story.
-john
|
| 2327.31 | Well done! | ODIXIE::RRODRIGUEZ | Where's that Tour d' France thang? | Mon Aug 17 1992 15:50 | 12 |
|
Some people ride because they like to compete and others seem to ride
for the joy of it. I feel lucky that I ride for both reasons, but
notes like yours remind me that, if I'm not careful, competing can
take the joy right out of it. While cycling is usually a group
activity, the individual personal challenges (victories) shouldn't
be overlooked.
Congratulations!
r�
|
| 2327.32 | And then there's the guilt-free snacking too! | NCBOOT::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Mon Aug 17 1992 16:19 | 6 |
| WAY TO GO, DUDE!
I like hearing stories like yours! Made me smile when you said that
initially lots of people passed, then later none did!
Dave
|
| 2327.33 | | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Mon Aug 17 1992 23:38 | 20 |
| re: .32
>I like hearing stories like yours! Made me smile when you said that
>initially lots of people passed, then later none did!
After I entered it, I re-read it and thought, "I can just hear it now.
Somebody will say, 'The reason nobody passed you after the first rest
stop was because there wasn't anyone else behind you to pass you.'" :-)
I really set myself up for that one, didn't I.
I remember back in May, wondering if I would be able to do 10 miles
with my daughter, and now I just did 21 miles, which is 8 miles farther
than I had ever ridden before. Back then, a century seemed like an
impossible goal. Now...there's a little voice in my head saying,
"Maybe, just maybe I can do it sometime." Perhaps that should be a
goal for next season.
Bob
|
| 2327.34 | Chowdog ride | DLOACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Thu Aug 27 1992 12:32 | 40 |
| One of the local bike clubs has a "Wednesday night chowdog ride" where
a leader makes up a 10-15 mile route and leads it at a 10 - 12 MPH.
They meet at a restaurant and after the ride, they invade the
restaurant and devour everything in sight.
I've been trying to participate in since June. However, either it was
raining, the meeting place was too far away, or I was busy.
Last night, I finally made it to a ride. The woman who was leading the
ride passed out the map and had a slightly longer ride for people who
wanted to go farther/faster. We sent those folks on their way and
started out on our ride. With the combination of a strong cold front
and Hurricane Andrew, the wind was out of the North at ~14 MPH. We
wound our way thru some residential streets in a generally NW direction
and I didn't have any problems keeping up. Then we made the turn North
onto a very straight and long N/S road and I wondered who had grabbed
the back of my bike to slow me down. The leader said, "O.K., we're
going to follow this until we get to Hedgecoxe Rd. Anybody that wants
to go fast, go ahead and we will regroup there." Yeah, right. That's
about a mile and a half up the road. We get there and she goes, "Oh,
we were supposed to go on up to <mumble>." I look and it's another
mile or so and the last 1/2 is uphill:-( Until this time I had just
sort of been riding along with various people in the pack and talking,
not getting any real exercise, so I decided I'd ride with the leader
for a while. We talked and hit the hill and I wasn't having too much
trouble keeping up with her, but I did have to downshift a few times.
I guess she decided to see just what I was made of, because she
suddenly got up off the seat and took off. I wanted to follow her, but
I didn't since I knew we were less that 1/2 the way thru the ride and
didn't want to die before we finished. I was still the first person to
get to the top of the hill after the leader. We turned West and it
seemed like the wind started coming from the NW:-( The rest of the
ride was fun and downwind, except for the last 1/4 mile.
We got back to our cars at the restaurant and I declined an invitation
to join them for dinner as I don't like Chinese food.
I hope I can meet up with them more in the future.
Bob
|
| 2327.35 | Another chowdog ride... | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Thu Sep 03 1992 01:35 | 60 |
| Well, I made it to the chowdog ride again tonight. There were a lot
more people there this week. I guess more people like Italian than
Chinese:-) Anyway, there were at least 30 people. The leader only had
a few maps and handed them out to a few people, including one of the
'fast' riders. (Hint...hint). Unlike last week, there wasn't a longer
route for the fast riders, nor did he start them first. We took off
and it wasn't long before I found myself ahead of everyone except for a
blonde woman. I caught up with her and asked her if she knew where we
were going. She said she knew where up to a certain point because the
leader had told her before he took off to retrieve the fast riders who
had taken a wrong turn. I rode with the blonde for a while and when we
got to the point where she wasn't sure which way to turn, we stopped
and some of the others rode up. Due to the mass confusion and traffic,
most of the people made a quick turn into a school parking lot and I
found myself waiting beside the road with a group of people I hadn't
seen before. We are all wondering where to go, when one of them says,
"Oh, I have a map. Maybe we should read it." Sounds like a winner to
me. He says it says mumble...mumble...and something I recognize, so I
said, "If we are going to mumble, then we have to go that way." We
took off and they started to pull away. I caught up with them at a
traffic light, the guy with the map says,
"Mumble...mumble...recogizable...mumble...recognizable....mumble". The
light changes and we take off. I realize at this point that I have
somehow gotten hooked up with the 'fast' group. Ooops. I figure no
big deal if they leave me, the route will take them right past my house
and I know where one the intersections they were talking about, was
located. If worse comes to worse, I'll just wait there for the rest of
the group to catch up. The last I see of them is when they make the
turn down the street that goes past my house. No problem. I'll just
wait for the 'slow' group when I get to a certain intersection. I
continue on, wave at my house as I go by, and ride up over a hill and
around a bend to the intersection I heard the 'fast' riders mention. I
wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. Hmmmm. Maybe I should go back to
the top of the hill and see if I can see them coming. I go back and I
can't see anyone. I wait a while longer and it's going to be dark
soon. Well, I guess I had better make my own route back to the
restaurant.
I make it back to the restaurant figuring that everyone would be inside
and eating by now, but there are still a few people out in the parking
lot and I see a few cars with empty bike racks. I put my bike up and
wander over to the folks and say, "I must have gotten lost between the
fast group and the slow group." They tell me that not everyone is back
and that someone is going out in a car looking for them. While we are
waiting, I find out where I went wrong. When I went up the hill and
down and around the curve, I should have only gone up the hill and
partway down and made a left long before I came to the curve. Here I
am waiting around the curve and the slow group had gone on by without
me even knowing it.
Everyone finally got back and the rest of us went into the restaurant
and joined the others. I was talking to the guy next to me about what
had happened and when I mentioned the 'fast' group, he said, "You mean
the group of about 4 riders?" I say, "Yeah." He says, "That was the
'fast' 'fast' group." No wonder they left me behind so fast.
Next week, if I go, I'll either stick with the slow group or make sure
I get a map!
Bob
|
| 2327.36 | What a mess... | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Sun Sep 13 1992 22:54 | 124 |
| Here's what DIDN'T happen...
I DIDN'T get a flat.
I DIDN'T crash.
I DIDN'T get attacked by someone's 'pet' animal.
I DIDN'T not finish the ride.
This ride was 50 or so miles away in a place called Bonham, Texas.
Since I had never been there before, I drove up last weekend to make
sure I could find the place. It started at 8:30, so I wanted to be
there no later than 8:00 as I was pre-registered and already had my
ride packet.
It was about an hour drive, so I left my house at 6:45. I saw a few
other vehicles with bikes headed north, but, due to traffic, I was
never behind one very long. As I was driving past an exit, I suddenly
realized that it was my exit! So, I drove about 5 miles up the road to
the next exit and turned around and came back down to my exit. I got
off and started following the route signs, but things didn't look
right, as I was following a state route thru the streets of a small
town. I turned around and got back on the highway and continued north.
A while later, I realized that nothing looked familiar. Oh well, I
knew that if I kept on going, I'd reach route 82 and could follow that
to Bonham, but I had no idea how long that would take. I finally got
to Bonham about 8:15 and still had to get my bike ready, go to the
bathroom (I wasn't going to repeat my mistake of a few weeks ago), and
fill my water bottles. I got my bike ready and as I was standing in
line for the porta-potty, the ride started. That's alright, I'm not in
a race and I'm sure I'll catch up with a group sooner or later. I use
the porta-potty, (Awk, no toilet paper, just what I wanted to do, smush
the remains around in my underwear), can't find any cold water, so I
fill my water bottles up from a not-very-cold water fountain. I get
back on my bike and start off for the starting line. As I cross the
starting line, I start my cateye and check to make sure my distance is
being recorded. It is, but my RPM says ZERO! Huh? I've never had my
cadence not work. I stop and make sure that the sensors are all lined
up and the wires seem to be connected. Just when I'm trying to ride
farther than I ever have, my cadence is gone :-( I switch it over to
MPH and figure I'll need to try and feel my cadence.
About 5 miles out I see a sag wagon loading up a bike and somebody
holding a rather pretzel shaped wheel. A little while later I hear
some riders talking about it, so I ask what happened. The guy had run
into the bike in front of him and not only destroyed his wheel, but
bent his forks and gave him a bit of road rash. Fortunately, he didn't
do anything to the bike he hit.
At about the 6.5 mile mark, my right calf starts cramping, but I'm able
to make it go away by pulling my foot out of the toe-clips and making
funny gestures at the trees with my leg.
This ride wasn't really set up too well for the 25 mile folks, as the
first rest stop isn't until mile 14, and the second one is at mile 19.
At mile 11, my right calf cramps up BAD and I get off the bike RIGHT
NOW. I forget to turn off my cateye and spend a few minutes walking up
and down the road, trying to work out the cramp. It doesn't seem to
get much better, but it's not getting any worse, so I get back on and
start riding again. The wind today is out of the South/South-east at
10-15MPH. Of course, the 14 miles to the first rest stop, are mostly
South/South-east. I get to the rest stop and as I'm drinking down
Exceed? (Whatever it is, it's you-know-what yellow), I hear several
voices shout "LEFT!" and look up just in time to see a whole bunch of
the 100 mile riders go flying by and turn left. I eat a few cookies
and drink some more yellow-stuff. There are still 30 or so riders at
the rest stop as I get back on the bike and realize I forgot to stop
the timer. I turn right and follow the 25 mile sign, thinking I'm more
than 1/2 way there and feeling good after the rest stop. I go several
miles down the road and rest stop 2 comes up on the right. No need
to stop as I've only got 6 more miles to go and I'm feeling pretty
good. A few more miles up the road and I see a sign that says "Rest
stop #6, 1 mile". Hmmm. I didn't think there were 3 rest stops on the
25 mile route. I didn't realize at the time, that most of the people
who had passed me in the past few miles, were not dressed like me, and
were going pretty fast. I decide to stop and the rest stop and get a
drink and eat a cookie. I take off again and a mile or so down the
road, see a group of people dressed like me, coming the other way. I'm
going down hill, so I don't pay much attention to them. I check the
cateye and notice that I should be real close to the finish, but
nothing looks familiar. Oh well, maybe whatever messed up my cadence,
messed up my distance too. As I approach an intersection, a man
shouts, "75 and 100 miles left, 50 miles straight" and a sign says the
same thing. I go straight thru the intersection wondering "What
happened to the 25 mile route????" I didn't have my map, because I
don't have a jersey with pockets and my bike bag is so jammed full with
a tube, etc. that it is a major effort to get my car keys in there too,
so I've left the map in my car. I briefly consider trying to finish
the 50 mile portion of the ride, but I have no idea just how much of
that 50 miles might be left. I turn around and ride back to the
intersection and ask what happened to the 25 mile route. I missed a
turn several miles back :-( Now I know why I saw those other people
dressed like me, going the opposite direction. I guess I wasn't the
only one that missed the turn. I'm told that if I turn right and
follow the road about 5 miles, it will intersect the 25 mile ride. I
decide to do that and as I start off, I realize that I'm going East,
into the wind again :-( About a mile down the road, somebody else
passes me. I don't know whether he was another trail-blazing 25 miler
like me :-), or if he was a longer distance rider that decided to cut
it short. I've now gone thru 1.75 water bottles and wonder if I'll run
out of water before I get back to the finish. Soon, my right AND my
left calves start cramping, but I'm able to work thru it. I eventually
rejoin the 25 mile route and get some "Where-did-you-come-from" looks
from those out on the route. I recognise where I am and realize I only
have about a mile or so to go. I finish the ride and the cateye says I
rode about 34 miles in 2:4? for an average speed of 12.2 MPH with a
maximum speed of 29 MPH.
After I get home, I look at the bike while it is still on the rack to
see if I can see why I had lost my cadence. The wire from the sensor
was mostly ripped off. I had just picked up the bike from the shop
Friday night and hadn't even taken it off the car before I went to the
rally. I left the bike on the rack and a few hours later, took it back
to the bike shop. The bike had been in to have the front wheel trued
and a mysterious creaking noise in either the crank or freewheel area
investigated. They looked at the wire, apologized for messing it up
and replaced the wiring harness. Now I have my cadence back.
I was really tired for several hours and I think that I have found my
limit. The ride next week has a 20K, 50K, 100K, and a 150K route. I'm
not sure I want to try the 50K route, but the 20K will definately be
too short. (Imagine that, me calling a 12 mile route, too short)
I guess I will just have to wait and see how I feel on Saturday
morning.
|
| 2327.37 | | SHALOT::ELLIS | John Lee Ellis - assembly required | Mon Sep 14 1992 09:59 | 4 |
|
Thanks for another adventure! :-)
-j
|
| 2327.38 | | LJOHUB::CRITZ | | Mon Sep 14 1992 10:37 | 9 |
| I noticed that Bob's writing has started to sound like
the writing of other's in this conference. You know,
little amusing statements along with the commentary.
Interesting reading.
Bob, do the 50K/31M ride. You can probably handle it.
Scott
|
| 2327.39 | Grand Prairie | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts is TOO slow | Sun Sep 20 1992 23:17 | 58 |
| Well, I did the 50K. I had a lot less difficulty this time, although I
don't know why.
This ride was near where we lived a few years ago, so I was reasonably
familiar with the territory. I managed to get there early enough to
avoid all the problems of my previous rides. They were staging the
rides, so I had about 20 minutes for my warm up.
We started on time and I took off in the middle of a crowd. This was
billed as a tour and unfortunately, helmets were optional. About a
mile or so into the ride, I saw a woman who gets my vote for most
unusual head gear...She had pink and yellow curlers in her hair! At
first, I thought she had wandered onto the course, but then I saw her
registration number on her back.
The first rest stop came up quickly at about 6 miles. It was well
manned and had 3 porta-lets. Immediately after the rest stop, we took
a turn onto a road that was part of my training route when I lived in
the area. It is relatively flat, but wide open, so we got hit by some
pretty good winds. It then rises over a crest and drops down onto a
1/8 mile bridge across Joe Pool Lake. The wind is always tricky there.
As I rode across, I could see that some parts of the lake had
white-caps and others didn't. Once I crossed the bridge, I hit a hill
that I previously had to take in granny gear. This time, I still had
to take it in granny gear :-) Oh well, wait 'till next year. We then
took a turn into country I had never ridden before.
The second rest stop came up and I discovered it only had 1 bathroom...
in the back of an RV. While waiting in line for about 15 minutes,
someone behind me said, "Are they using it, or rebuilding it." That
just about summed up everyone's feelings. As I started off, something
didn't feel right about my helmet. I had somehow twisted one of the
straps and it wasn't very comfortable. I stopped and fixed the strap.
A few miles up the road, I met and talked with a 9 year old boy who,
with his father, was riding the 50K! He saw my Collin Classic water
bottles and told me he had ridden in that too. I wished him luck and
pushed on.
After the third rest stop, which was the same as the first, I found
myself once more on my old training route. As I came up to the last
down-a-hill-and-almost-right-back-up-a-hill, I shifted up on the big
ring in anticipation of going fast. As I hit the hill, I shifted into
high and started pedaling about as fast as I could. Funny thing
though, I couldn't catch heavy set man who was coasting down the hill
and still pulling away from me! Oh well, as soon as we hit the up
side, I caught and passed him. The stretch back to the finish was up
a hill before leveling off a short distance from the finish line. I
had enough energy left to try and sprint to the end. I ended up with a
2:12 time, good for a 14MPH average.
One thing I learned from this ride was that the training route I had
used 3 years ago, wasn't easy and probably contributed to my dropping
out of riding.
This is my last scheduled organized ride for the year. If I can find
one in October that is less than 50 miles away, I'll sure try to go.
Bob
|
| 2327.40 | 'til next Spring... | SCAACT::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Thu Oct 01 1992 10:18 | 44 |
| Well, last night was the last Wednesday Night Chowdog ride for the
year. We have to stop because it gets dark too early, rather than
because it's cold. We had quite a few people show up, probably > 20.
I dont' know if it was because everyone REALLY likes the Great Outdoors
sub shop, or what :-)
About 2 miles into the ride, we got stopped by The Great Equalizer, no
not the police, a train. I started counting engines, 1....2....3....4
uh-oh, this could be a looong one. I said to myself, "I sure hope they
are just dragging the last 2 engines along for the ride" and told the
ride leader that I thought it was a bit early to schedule a rest
stop:-) Fortunately, I must have been right about the last two engines
as we were only stopped for about 3 minutes.
Our ride took us to the University of Texas at Dallas campus where
there is a looping road that is popular with cyclists and
roller-bladers, and oh yes, pretty, young college students. The plan
had been to do several laps, but due to our late start and the train,
we changed it to be just two loops. As we rounded the turn at an
intersection that marked the beginning/end of the loop, I decided that
since I now knew the route, I'd pick up my pace a bit. I was
approaching a guy on a Trek 700 or 7000 hybrid or mtn bike who was
moving rather slowly and appeared headed for the right side of the
turn, so I decided to turn inside of him. Unfortunately, just as I was
starting to break left behind him, he makes a hard left for the left
side of the loop. Ooops. I grabbed the brakes and broke to the right
to pass him on the outside. As I do that, I hear a "Whoa" from behind
me. I don't know whether the woman behind me had encountered our slow
moving friend of if in my evasive manuever I inadvertently cut her off.
Anyway, nobody crashed, but I probably should have given the slow rider
an "On your left". I'm not used to passing very many people. Usually
when I pass someone, I'm barely going faster than they are. We got a
little bit spread out during the second loop, so we stopped at the end
to regroup. As we started out, our slow friend on the Trek started out
going straight and without warning, wobbled off to the left, causing a
few folks to take evasive action.
We got back to the Great Outdoors without any further incident on our
part. Unfortunately, one of their employees had come in and quit that
night, so they were short handed. It took some people more time to get
their food than it did for most of us to finish the ride. I guess
that's some incentive to get back first.
Bob
|
| 2327.41 | Wow! Both my attitude and performance sure have improved... | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Fri Mar 19 1993 12:38 | 15 |
| Well, things have just about come full circle. I was in the bike shop the other
day and saw the ride packets for the Collin Classic. Less than a year ago, I
was concerned about being able to ride 10 miles. This year, I KNOW I can do
the 40 mile route, even if I've never ridden that far before. It's just a
matter of whether it will take me 4 hours or 3 hours.
This was still the best organized and supported ride I went on all year. From
the list of sponsors, it looks like the post-ride festivities will be just as
good as last year.
If anyone is going to be in the Dallas area on June 12, there will be a 10, 20,
and 40 mile, and 100K ride. The weather should be great and I'd love to have
someone join me as I set a new personal distance record.
Bob
|
| 2327.42 | personal note | NOVA::NALE | Sue Nale Mildrum | Mon Mar 29 1993 11:09 | 16 |
| Hi Bob,
I couldn't send mail to your node, but I really wanted to thank you for your
mail. It was really nice hearing from you!! Thanks for the good wishes.
It really is hard leaving DEC. I don't think I realized how many relationships
I'd built up and will now be missing...
Keep up your biking, Bob. It is so exciting reading about your progress in the
sport. I'm glad you've shared your experience in the file. I'm sure there are
a lot of people just starting out who are going to be inspired by your notes.
I'll bet you'll be doing a century before too long!
Take care 'n keep pedallin'!!!
Sue
|
| 2327.43 | Now if I could only get over this #$%^ cold | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon Mar 29 1993 14:05 | 8 |
| re: .42
The level1 router between DECnet area 45 and the rest of the world was down from
sometime Sunday until sometime this morning.
Thanks for the final words of encouragement.
Bob
|
| 2327.44 | Good week, bad day... | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon May 24 1993 10:40 | 22 |
| Last week I rode more than I ever have ridden in a week before, 18 miles Sunday,
16 miles Monday, 15 miles Wednesday, and 18 miles Saturday. Sunday and Monday
I rode on my own, Wednesday was the usual Chow Dog Ride. Saturday was my
first time with one of the Saturday organized rides. Winds were 15 gusting to
25. Due to that, we all voted for the 'short' route when the ride leader
arrived. When we started out, we went South to get the headwind over with.
We also seemed to hit every traffic light. I'm still having trouble getting
into my A525 pedals, and the scratches on them are proof. Sometimes the pedal
comes up, I put my foot down and 'click' I'm in. Usually, I can't seem
to find the right spot or the pedal comes up upside down, etc and I may be
50 to 100' down the road before I'm in. No fun when crossing a busy
intersection. We had about 5 miles to go when I came up to a light, clicked
out my left foot and promptly fell over on my right side:-( Judging from the
marks on the outside of my left ankle, I scraped it on the chain ring. There's
a big bruise and tiny scrape on the inside of my right thigh about 2 inches
above my knee. I guess some part of the bike hit me there. I also managed to
knock my seat out of alignment. 6 months of riding with the pedals and I had
NEVER fallen over.
Oh well, I'm still hoping to make the 40 mile route on June 12.
Bob
|
| 2327.45 | Happens to the Best Of Us, and Me Too. | LHOTSE::DAHL | Customers do not buy architectures | Mon May 24 1993 11:13 | 11 |
| RE: <<< Note 2327.44 by ROWLET::AINSLEY "Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow!" >>>
My time to confess. I got clipless pedals last June. Until this April I hadn't
fallen over. I was coming up to an intersection, and planning on turning right.
I got to the intersection, and find that most of the roadway on the right is
blocked by a load of wood that had just fallen off a pickup truck. I slow
down. Err, should I go by it? Is the remaining road width clear enough? Is
Jupiter aligned with Mars? Ohhhh dearrrr plop over I go. Fortunately no damage
done; I pick myself up, grin at a motorist who smiles back, and go on my
merry way.
-- Tom
|
| 2327.46 | Cushion your bike with your face: ) | ODIXIE::RRODRIGUEZ | Shake that grits tree! | Mon May 24 1993 11:15 | 25 |
| re:.44
If you have trouble getting used to the strapless bindings,
you're not alone. The technique is a little bit different.
If you were accustomed to straps, you normally unstrapped
your foot by raising it to the top of the crank so you could
grab the strap.
With strapless bindings, it is easier to release your foot if
your knee is straight. If you tend to get set in your ways,
your second nature is your undoing; )
Also, if you are coming up to a traffic light that is
"stale" (about to turn green), twist your foot (heel first),
but leave your toe in. That way, the pedal won't tumble and
you won't have to find it. If you do need to pull-out,
you'll just have to lift rather than "twist-&-lift".
These are tiny suggestions, but you need to remember the old
Southern saying, "When folks go through the swamp, they worry
a bunch about alligators, but they lose alot more blood to
the gnats and mosquitos...". It's the littls things...
r�
|
| 2327.47 | I meant to do that | BICYCL::RYER | This note made from 100% recycled bits. | Mon May 24 1993 11:31 | 11 |
| Oh, Tom! Never, never make eye contact with a motorist after something like
that! 8-}. Sort of like my cats, when they do something "ungraceful", like
jumping for a counter and not making it, they just get up and act like nothing
happened. Then they'll go off somewhere and lick the booboos.
As for clipless, I haven't had any problems with my Shimano 1050's. I got
them about a year ago after several years of toe clips. I always get out of
the left one at lights and such, but I'm still waiting to fall over to the
right, with my right foot still firmly engaged, just like Bob did.
-Patrick
|
| 2327.48 | | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon May 24 1993 12:50 | 9 |
| re: .46
Thanks for the hints. I'll give them a try. Getting out hasn't been a big
problem...It's getting back in.
I still don't understand why I fell to the right when I got out of the left.
I guess I was leaning to the right or something.
Bob
|
| 2327.49 | Collin Classic - 1993 | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon Jun 14 1993 15:36 | 149 |
| Well, the week didn't seem too promising. The weather forcast kept threatening
rain all week and we were experiencing winds of 25 gusting to 35. I didn't ride
Monday or Tuesday due to the threatening weather and high winds. I figured I'd
use the regular Wednesday night ride as my last tuneup before the weekend. We
all gathered at the meeting place Wednesday night and looked at the sky. It
looked as bad as it had the night before, when it didn't rain. We were
debating whether to ride or not, when a cold front came thru. That helped us
make our decision...EAT, forget about riding. About 15 minutes later a nasty
storm came thru and it rained all night. Fortunately, I had picked up my ride
packet on the way to the ride location. On Thursday night, it looked better
than it did on Wednesday, so I decided to try and do a short ride. I got my
ride packet out and decided to ride the 10 mile family fun ride. With the
additional distance to/from my house, it turned out to be a little over 11
miles. I was still debating whether to do the 25 or 40 mile route.
Friday, it rained off and on all day. I went to the pre-ride carbo loading
dinner at the Harvey Hotel and talked with a bunch of people from our bike
club. Two of the people I knew were going to ride sweep on the 40 mile ride,
so I felt better about trying it. I decided that I would let the wind decide
which route I rode. All the routes except for the 10 mile route, finished with
a 10 mile due South section. The 100k folks had what looked like a 20 mile due
South finish. As is usual in Dallas in the summer, the wind would be out of
the South. Given the 35 MPH gusts earlier this week, I wasn't sure if I could
make the final 10 miles into a strong headwind. It started raining Friday
night again. The weather forecast was for Saturday to be partly sunny with
winds out of the South at 5-10 at 7:00 and 10-15 by noon.
Saturday, it was partly cloudy as predicted. Assuming that I was going to do
the 40, I decided to eat something, but I didn't want to eat too much and have
my stomach trying to digest food as I rode. I decided to eat a bagel w/low cal
cream cheese. I got everything loaded into the car and headed over to the High
School where the start/finish was located. Those of you who have been
following this string of notes will remember that this ride is located about a
5 minute drive from my house in Plano, Texas. The 100k riders were scheduled
to start at 8:00 followed by the 40,25, and 10 riders at ~10 minute intervals.
I arrived at 7:15 and spent about 40 minutes riding slowly around in the
parking lot and talked with a few people from the bike club. The winds were as
predicted and the temperature was in the mid to high 70s. A little before 8:00
I decided I would try the 40 mile route and joined the group waiting behind the
40 mile banner. They launched the 100K riders and we moved up to the starting
line. At 8:10 they launched us.
The route went due West for about 10 miles and I had to resist my temptation to
try and keep up with everyone who passed me. A few miles out I saw the SAG
wagon for one of the sponsors, Plano Cycling and Fitness, stopped beside the
road changing a tire for someone. What a discouraging way to start a ride. I
heard later that one of the 100K riders with very skinny tires flatted a few
feet BEFORE the start line. That would have really discouraged me. About 9
miles out, there were some people setting up an 8' step ladder to take pictures
along the shoulder of the road. Shortly thereafter, I heard a "THACK", just
the sound wood makes when it is dropped on asphalt. I looked back and saw a
cyclist and his bike laying on the shoulder of the road. I couldn't see the
ladder, but it wasn't standing. About a mile or so down the road, we came to
an intersection where we were to turn left to go North. (We had already made a
turn North and almost immediately again, East). Everyone was stopping, and as
I pulled up on the right side of a SAG wagon, a woman on the left side did an
imitation of my trick of a few weeks ago, she came to a stop and fell over with
her feet firmly attached to her pedals. At least I didn't have as large an
audience as she did:-) We waited a minute or two and the officer directing
traffic signaled for us to come on thru the intersection and apologized for
delaying us. This was the only time on this route that I had to stop at an
intersection. The various police departments did a very good job of keeping
the intersections open for us.
About a half mile down the road, the 1st rest stop came up. I pulled in and
stopped and looked at my computer. I averaged 16.7 MPH for 11.4 miles! That
was the best I'd ever done for any distance over 5 miles. I drank some
gatorade and ate a package of cheese crackers. I talked with a few people from
the bike club who were already at the stop and was feeling good and thought for
the first time, that I would really finish the 40 mile route!
I decided it was time to get going. I took off and about a mile down the road,
the road went down a hill and then up a another to a higher elevation. About
half way down the hill, I was in my top gear on my small chain ring with my
cateye showing a cadence in the low 100s. Considering the hill ahead, I
decided to get up on the big chain ring to go faster. I rarely ride on the big
chain ring. As I shifted up onto the big chain ring, my chain decided it
needed to tie itself in knots and get a death grip on the crank for good
measure. Fortunately, I didn't lose control, but with my pedals locked in a
horizontal position, I had a hard time getting my feet out as I coasted to a
stop at the bottom of the hill. I got part of the chain untangled, but some of
it was jammed together between the crank and the chain ring. Of course, I had
just lubed my chain 2 days ago, so I was getting plenty greasy messing with
it:-) About 10 minutes after my problem started, a SAG wagon from one of the
bike shops came by and stopped. Between the two of us, we managed to pull the
chain loose from the crank and get everything back in place. I borrowed his
shop rag to get most of the grease off my hands, but I had still made a mess of
my gloves, helmet, and face. By this time, most everyone had passed me and I
was faced with the prospect of finishing the route last:-( At least I was
headed North, with a tailwind. I got going again and started passing a few
people. I WAS NOT GOING TO FINISH LAST!
A few miles up the road, we made the turn East and the tail wind became a cross
wind. I made it to the rest stop, but was rather tired and it didn't help to
know that I was only half way finished:-(. I had water, gatorade, and cookies
at the rest stop. Immediately after leaving the rest stop, I hit another
down-a-hill-up-a-higher-hill section, but unuh, no way, I wasn't going to give
my chain another chance to repeat its death grip trick again, so I stayed on
the small chain ring. Even with just having left the rest stop, I tired
quickly on the hill. I went around a bend only to discover another hill, but
at least this one didn't seem to lead to a higher elevation. I passed a guy
pushing his bike and asked if he was having trouble with the hills. His reply
was, "I have absolutely no business out here trying to do 40 miles." I offered
him what little encouragement as I could and continued on. After a few more
hills, it was time to TURN SOUTH! Arrgggghhhh! I turned South and the wind
immediately hit. After struggling for a few miles, I saw a woman with her bike
leaning up against a street sign sortof walking in circles, etc. I remembered
how I felt when I got leg cramps last fall. I asked if she had leg cramps and
she said she was just real tired. I wish I would have known that a little
farther down the road, I'd pass a sign that said "Rest Stop 1 mile". That
might have given her the energy she needed to get there.
I pulled into the rest stop and had more gatorade and cookies. I was tired,
but knew I was going to make it, and not on the back of a SAG wagon. I
struggled South and we took a detour through some construction that the
organizers didn't find out about until the last minute. Finally I could see a
turn ahead! NO MORE SOUTH and we were getting close to the end! I didn't
recognise where we were, since I rarely go North in that area due to all the
construction. I made the turn and saw ANOTHER HILL:-( I saw a lot of people
obviously worn out and struggling up the hill. I made it about half way up
before I joined the ranks of the strugglers, too. At the last major
intersection, a van passed on the left and signaled a right turn onto the road
we would be taking. The officer at the intersection must have told the driver
to stay in the left lane, because the van made a right turn into the right lane
and the officer shouted at the driver, "The other left." I made it to the last
turn and passed the finish line. I finished the 39.?? miles in 2:36 for an
average speed of ~15 MPH.
Once again, this ride was VERY, VERY well organized. The route sheet was
printed on high quality paper with a coating that appeared as if it would
prevent the multi-colored print from smearing if it got wet. Each route was
printed in a different color which corresponded to the color of the arrows
painted on the street. There were over 400 volunteers and the signs and people
made it impossible to get lost. Most turns had 2 or more volunteers to make
sure everyone went the right way. There was a major rain storm Friday night
and any areas that couldn't be cleaned up before the ride on Saturday were
coned off to prevent riding into mud, etc. After the ride, there was free
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, water, Pizza Hut pizza, hot dogs, and TCBY
Yogurt. The giveaways in the registration packet included a T-shirt, full
sized water bottle, a Powerbar, discount coupons for various local bike shops,
and Pizza Hut. This has got to be the best organized and supported ride in the
DFW metroplex. I just wish it wasn't so early in the season, as it makes all
the rest of the rides seem cheap in comparison :-)
Bob
I suspect that my misadventure with my chain was caused by the front deraileur
being out of adjustment, allowing the chain to go past the large chain ring and
onto my crank. I'm going to check that out tonight.
|
| 2327.50 | | DELNI::CRITZ | | Mon Jun 14 1993 16:08 | 3 |
| Great job, Bob. And a good ride report, too.
Scott
|
| 2327.51 | Hills and "It's how long?" | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Wed Jul 07 1993 14:53 | 81 |
| After the struggle I had with the 40 miles in the Collin Class two
weeks ago, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tackle another 40 miles so soon
in the Ride for Life to benefit the Leukemia(sp?) Foundation, but at
our Wednesday night ride, a few people from the club said they were
going to do the 40 mile route, so I decided to join them. I picked my
packet up at a local bike shop on Thursday and discovered that the 40
mile route had been changed to a 45 mile route :-( Whoops. There had
also been some mention about hills in the brochure, but I figured that
if they weren't any worse than those in the Collin Classic, I could
handle it.
Saturday morning I got up and drove the 45 minutes or so to the ride
and met up with 3 others from the club. We warmed up and made our way
to the starting area. It didn't seem like a very large turnout, but
Team Quack and Team Blaster showed up. Team Quack is a group of riders
that wear bizarre helmets with strange feather plums and each member
carries a duck call for use at strategic times. Team Blaster is a
couple on a tandem that pulls a trailer with a boom box rather than a
kid. As we started, Team Blaster entertained us with the theme from
Star Wars followed by the theme from Indiana Jones.
We started off and about 1/2 mile out, hit some hills...Oh no. I hope
this isn't an omen. After a few hills the road leveled out some, but
got rather rough. Then there were more hills and I was really getting
tired by then. I started thinking about taking the 25 mile turn off.
After what seemed like forever, but was only 8.5 miles, the first rest
stop came up. One of the riders from our club had dropped their chain
on one of the hills and had a few cuts on both legs as a result. The
nurse at the rest stop cleaned her up and we all got ready to go again.
As we took off, I prayed for no more hills:-) Didn't work. We had
plenty of hills. At the 25 mile turn off, I debated what to do. They
had added a 30 mile route at the last minute that followed the 45 mile
route farther, so I decided to follow the 45 mile route and if worse
came to worst, I could always take the 30 mile route. I got to the 2nd
rest stop just as the rest of the folks from the club were getting
ready to leave. I told one of them that I wasn't sure I could make 45
miles. Sue told me that I needed to think of it, not as 45 miles, but
as 10 miles to the next rest stop. I decided to be brave and continue
on the 45 mile route. It wasn't so bad. The hills were now only
gentle up and down grades. I pulled into the 3rd rest stop and the
others from the club were already gone. I drank some more gatorade, at
some more of my energy bar, and headed out again. At the turn East
where the 45 mile and 62 mile routes joined, I heard music. A little
while further down the road, Team Blaster and some other riders passed
me by. The hills were starting to get bigger again. As I made the
turn back South, one of the rally volunteers asked how I was doing. My
response was, "tired". She told me that the next rest stop was only
1/2 mile away. I pulled into the rest stop and shortly thereafter,
Team Blaster pulled in after doing another part of the 62 mile route.
I drank more gatorade, ate some crackers, and more of my energy bar. I
took off and the route went back to up and down grades again. The wind
had started to pick up a little and was noticeable. I pulled into the
5th rest stop and saw that there was only 5 more miles to go! As I was
eating and drinking, Team Blaster pulled in. I felt pretty good
knowing that there was only 5 more miles to go, so I took off and as
soon as I rounded a curve, there it was, a climbing, turning, hill:-(
All I could think was "Oh no". I struggled part way up the hill and
had to resort to zig-zaging up the rest of the way. I thought about
this being how trains crossed mountains, but I definately didn't feel
like the Little Engine that Could. There were 2 more turning, climbing
hills. Somewhere between the first and second one, I started hearing
ZZtop. Sure enough, here comes Team Blaster with about a 1/2 dozen riders
in tow. They passed me almost as if I was standing still. Maybe that was
because I was almost standing still :-) I hit the 2nd hill and was
wondering if the ride organizers were trying to kill us before we finished
the ride. I made a few turns, and the road actually started going
downhill!
I crossed the finish line and looked at my cateye. It said 49.?? miles!
What? I thought this was supposed to be 40/45 miles, not 50! I put my
bike up and found the rest of our group and they all showed 49-50 miles
too. Sue told me that when she left the last rest stop and saw that
turning, climbing, hill, she thought "Oh poor Bob!" She was right. I was
so exhausted, that on the drive back home, I drove right past 3 different
exits I should have taken to get home. I don't even remember passing the
first, and on the second, I remember thinking about turning there during
the ride 2 weeks ago. It wasn't until I passed the 3rd exit that I
realized that I wasn't where I should be.
Bob
|
| 2327.52 | It could be worse - it could have been raining! | NCBOOT::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Wed Jul 07 1993 16:40 | 65 |
| >I picked my packet up at a local bike shop on Thursday and discovered
>that the 40 mile route had been changed to a 45 mile route :-( Whoops.
>There had also been some mention about hills in the brochure, but I
>figured that if they weren't any worse than those in the Collin
>Classic, I could handle it.
I've had this feeling... Earlier this year I was on a 35 miler that
got rerouted to a 45 mile ride because of the flooding in the midwest.
Its all mental. I get psyched to go X miles. As soon as I see
that its actually X + Y miles it seems too far!
>Team Blaster is a couple on a tandem that pulls a trailer with a boom
>box rather than a kid. As we started, Team Blaster entertained us with
>the theme from Star Wars followed by the theme from Indiana Jones.
Now this sounds like a fun way to start a ride! It would be nice to
have something blasting at the end when I'm tired too! A little ZZTop
or "Born to Be Wild" or something to get you up for that last few
miles!
>I started thinking about taking the 25 mile turn off. After what
>seemed like forever, but was only 8.5 miles, the first rest stop came
>up.
>As we took off, I prayed for no more hills:-) Didn't work. We had
>plenty of hills.
I've had this feeling. You look down after at least 20 miles and find
out you've only gone 8 or 9 miles.
>Sue told me that I needed to think of it, not as 45 miles, but as 10
>miles to the next rest stop. I decided to be brave and continue on the
>45 mile route. It wasn't so bad. The hills were now only gentle up
>and down grades. I pulled into the 3rd rest stop and the others from
>the club were already gone. I drank some more gatorade, at some more
>of my energy bar, and headed out again.
Good advice. Don't think of it as 70 miles, just 20 to the next rest
stop is how I usually get there too! And, you kept drinking and
eating, which will be really important here if we every actually get to
summer.
>I felt pretty good knowing that there was only 5 more miles to go, so I
>took off and as soon as I rounded a curve, there it was, a climbing,
>turning, hill:-( All I could think was "Oh no". I struggled part way
>up the hill and had to resort to zig-zaging up the rest of the way.
>There were 2 more turning, climbing hills. Somewhere between the first
>and second one, I started hearing ZZtop. Sure enough, here comes Team
>Blaster with about a 1/2 dozen riders in tow. They passed me almost as
>if I was standing still. Maybe that was because I was almost standing
>still :-)
I can empathize. I've been on hills here and had groups blow by me the
same way. I can appreciate their athleticism even as I'm cursing my
lazy self!
Good going on making the 49 miles. I'm no expert but it sounds like
you're doing the right things. Keep drinking, keep eating, and if you
have sun in your part of the country (for those from the midwest, the
sun is the bright thing that used to be up in the sky during the day)
use a sunscreen. Mentally prepare for the distance you'll be riding,
and if they change distance on you make the mental switch. Ride from
rest stop to rest stop. It provides a short-term goal that will let
you go a lot further in total than you think you can. Hang in there!
|
| 2327.53 | | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Wed Jul 07 1993 17:54 | 23 |
| re: .52
Dave, I don't think it's a whole lot mental yet. Prior to the Collin Classic,
the longest distance I'd done this year was 25 miles and the longest distance
I did all last year was 34 miles, so the 40 was a non-trivial increase over
any ride I did this year. The 49 was really pushing it.
Yes, it was sunny and yes, I forgot my sunscreen. One of the people in our
club had a little extra, so I was able to cover my nose, ears, and forehead.
My arms and knees got sunburnt pretty good.
I almost forgot about my time. Elapsed time was almost 4 hours to the minute
with my on-bike time at 3:31 giving me about a 6 minute stop at each rest stop
and a 14.2 MPH average.
I'm off to Cancun tomorrow, so I won't be riding for a week. We've been
having very strong winds out of the South (25-40 MPH) for the past 2 weeks.
I went out for a ride last night and deliberately rode directly South to
give myself a bit of a workout. Was it ever. I spent a lot of time in 1st
gear with my cadence down in the high 60s - low 70s. A few gusts even turned
my 45 degrees to my desired path. Coming back North was fun!
Bob
|
| 2327.54 | | NOVA::FISHER | DEC Rdb/Dinosaur | Thu Jul 08 1993 07:21 | 3 |
| re:.51: Where was this adventure?
ed
|
| 2327.55 | | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon Jul 19 1993 09:33 | 5 |
| re: .54
Southlake, Texas, Northwest of DFW Airport.
Bob
|
| 2327.56 | Can it get much stranger than this? | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon Aug 02 1993 10:37 | 37 |
| Well, I haven't been doing so well in the the 100+ heat. I've been the last
one in on the rides for the past few weeks in a row.
Saturday was interesting. I was trying to avoid finishing last and was
doing a reasonable job of keeping up with the last group. We were about 15
miles out, riding on a somewhat rough road when suddenly I found myself holding
onto the handlebars to keep from either belt sanding my HBI with the rear wheel
or getting a rectal exam from the seat post. It seems that my seat had
suddenly come loose and was pointing skyward. Before I could stop, pieces
started falling out of the seat, so I stood up. Of course, this allowed my
seat to join the rest of the pieces on the road.
I found all the pieces for the seat, and with the help of one of the other
riders, managed to get it put back together again.
Last summer was rather cool, so I didn't have any problems with sweat, but
this year...I had to stop several times and wash the sweat out my eyes with
water from my water bottle. When I got home, I had real red eyes. I went
straight to the bike shop and got a sweat band. Now I know why people wear
them :-)
Finally, we had to stop at a red light about 300' from the finish. I clipped
out on the left side as I rolled to a stop and said "Uh oh". The rider next
to me looked over just in time to see me fall over to right. Fortunately,
I was able to get my right foot out in time to catch myself before I crashed
to the pavement, so I was just embarrassed. I chalked it up to being exhausted
from the ride and heat.
I got talked into leading the beginners ride on 8/8, so I figured I had better
go see what was expected of me. Last night, Nicole ,my daughter, and I went
out for this weeks beginners ride. It was hot, so only a few people showed up.
As we rode out of the parking lot, we had to stop, I clipped out on the left,
and promptly fell over on the right. Once again, I was able to catch myself
before I went all the way down. Twice in two days! What is my problem???
Bob - who hopes to avoid making a fool of himself when he leads the ride next
Sunday.
|
| 2327.57 | still fun, though | LEGUP::SHORTT | John Shortt / 264-1695 | Thu Aug 05 1993 12:30 | 19 |
|
Bob,
Great stories. And, last one is still "one" and being out there is
what it is all about. It is great that you're leading!
In reference to the sweat perhaps burning your eyes, it helps to not
use salt after food is prepared. I got this tip a long time ago.
Growing up in the south and participating in sports throughout the
summer necessitated keep the sweat from burning, since the sweat was
inevitable.
Don't worry about exiting the pedals. Being a creature of habit, I find
I almost always exit with the same foot. This keeps it simple for me
and I do it the same every time. When I want to use the other, say
when a curb is handy to rest on at a stoplight, I have to consciously
get set for it.
john
|
| 2327.58 | to salt or not to salt | GALVIA::STEPHENS | Hills are just flats at an angle | Fri Aug 06 1993 05:01 | 3 |
| re .-1
Eh, but isn't it recommended to take salt to prevent dehydration on hot days???
|
| 2327.59 | just my 2� | NOVA::FISHER | US Patent 5225833 | Fri Aug 06 1993 07:55 | 5 |
| I have never explicitly taken salt and I don't recommend it. The
trained body adjusts and doesn't excrete as much salt. If you
accustomed to taking salt you should continue to do so.
ed
|
| 2327.60 | | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Sat Aug 07 1993 10:25 | 11 |
| re: .57
I don't add salt to anything and we cook with as little as possible.
Thanks for the encouraging words. I always clip out on the left side,
so that's why I was so surprised to fall twice in 2 days.
This morning's ride got rained out, so I'll have to wait to see how the
sweat band works out.
Bob
|
| 2327.61 | Too little ice cream causes unsteadiness and falling over! | NCBOOT::PEREZ | Trust, but ALWAYS verify! | Sun Aug 08 1993 22:36 | 19 |
| Bob,
I have a couple things I use. One is a regular terry sweatband. The
other is a bandana that I roll up and use the same way. Both work.
The bandana is nice because I can feel like a rotund, aging, balding
pirate! Or perhaps just a silly-looking old fart with a red rag around
his head!
I also always clip out on the left side. Occasionally I find myself
out of balance and falling over to the right. So far, I"ve always
managed to get out of the right pedal before I made an embarassing
spectacle of myself...
As far as salt - in the VAST majority of cases just eating the foods we
eat, even without additional salt, provides MANY times more salt than
we need on a daily basis (I don't recall the numbers any more but I
think its 4 - 5 times as much as we need). You'd have to sweat
incredible amounts to need additional salt. Lets face it, 1 Big Mac
has enough salt in it to let you sweat at LEAST a GALLON! :^)
|
| 2327.62 | | NOVA::FISHER | US Patent 5225833 | Mon Aug 09 1993 08:30 | 14 |
| I have seen lots of riders with slat lines on their clothes after a
ride, I never have these lines and seldom get dehydrated.
How do you know when you are dehydrated?
Lost weight during the ride, more than 1 lb anyway. 1 lb can be
random fluctuation.
Headache the next day.
Nasty disposition the next day! Elaine Payne calls this "the
dehydration nasties."
ed
|
| 2327.63 | | MARVIN::WESTON | Fish shaped hysteria | Mon Aug 09 1993 09:17 | 5 |
| .62> How do you know when you are dehydrated?
If your urine is any darker than straw-yellow, then suspect dehydration.
-Les.
|
| 2327.64 | agreed | NOVA::FISHER | US Patent 5225833 | Mon Aug 09 1993 09:34 | 3 |
| The description we used in Colorado was "syruppy is bad" :-)
ed
|
| 2327.65 | I'm finally giving something back to the cycling community that has helped me so much | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Mon Aug 09 1993 09:53 | 18 |
| I led my first 'beginners' ride last night. The choice of routes is somewhat
limited by a large city park and a desire not to kill the beginners with a lot
of hills. I picked a route that began differently than most of the other rides,
but ended with the last 2 miles of the standard route. It only had 2 hills and
the total distance was 6.3 miles. We had 7 riders show up, including my 11
year old daughter. There weren't any real 'beginners', but several who hadn't
ridden for a year or so.
As hard as I find this to believe, my biggest problem was keeping the pace
down. I kept finding myself getting too far ahead of the group. I stopped
for a short break after each of the two hills to give everyone a chance to
catch up and get a drink.
I've been having back trouble for the past few weeks and I'm going to try and
see the doctor today. I hope he doesn't ground me, especially since I have
another rally this Saturday.
Bob
|
| 2327.66 | NO SALT... | WMOIS::GIROUARD_C | | Mon Aug 16 1993 13:37 | 9 |
| Salt tablets have been proven to be an old wives tale... (Sorry if I
offended any old wives out there).
In fact, salt shouldn't be problem if your diet is fairly normal.
Salt's biggest downplay is that it'll increase your blood pressure.
Something that you'd like to go the opposite way and return to
normal...
Chip
|
| 2327.67 | | JUPITR::HILDEBRANT | I'm the NRA | Mon Aug 16 1993 14:19 | 12 |
| RE: .66
Sorry...another old wife's tale is that salt will increase your
blood pressure.
The real story is that salt will increase your blood pressure *IF* you
have high blood pressure problems.
Normal blood pressure people will not have higher blood pressure
from just salt.
Marc H.
|
| 2327.68 | Since the subject came up... | ODIXIE::RRODRIGUEZ | Sign Here X__________ | Mon Aug 16 1993 14:35 | 12 |
| Actually, some people are _sensitive_ to salt where it concerns
their blood pressure, some are not. It all depends upon how wisely
you selected your parents.
I have slightly elevated b.p. When my doctor went over the factors,
it appeared I was doing everything right. He mentioned four or
five factors that can elevate your b.p. diet was last. The top
of the list was genetics, then stress.
I think taxes were in there somewhere too...
r�
|
| 2327.69 | Salt tablets? No thanks... | IDEFIX::HEMMINGS | Lanterne Rouge | Tue Aug 17 1993 05:41 | 10 |
| Currently if you go out in the back-country around midday, the temp is 30-40C -
I naturally sweat a lot, and am drinking more water while riding than ever
before, but I don't worry overmuch about salt. We do drink Badoit, one of the
more salty mineral waters to the tune of at least 1 lt/day/person in addition
to other liquids. As for bp, I think mine is normally 8-12, whatever that may
mean.
I have less problems with cramp than when I was in the UK, and I don't believe
my sweat is as salty as before. Of course, the Med diet of red wine, garlic
and olive oil is a great leveller.......
|
| 2327.70 | Hot Rocks - August 13 | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Thu Sep 16 1993 11:06 | 76 |
| As I mentioned earlier, my back has started bothering me, so when I went to
Hot Rocks, I was planning on doing the 22 mile route rather than my original
planned 42 mile route.
I remembered to go to the bathroom before I left this year, so I didn't need to
stand in the long line at the stadium before the ride.
We started the same as last year, the folks in the race first, escorted by
a police car, then the rest of us. I really wish they would start us by
distance. 800 or so people starting at once on a narrow driveway is not my
idea of fun.
About 3/4 mile into the ride, I saw a posterior I thought I recognised, and
confirmed by seeing the mile-long toe clip straps on the pedals. It was
Linda from our bike club. She was riding with a neighbor and as such, was
riding slower than normal. This was just what I needed to keep myself from
trying to go too fast and possibly hurt my back more. I slowed down and
pulled in with them. They mentioned that they were going to do the 32 mile
route. Since they were riding at the neighbors pace, I figured I'd do O.K.
for the 32 mile route.
I don't know what the problem was, but we saw about 8 or 10 riders off to the
side with flat tires in the first 9 miles:-( I'll bet they kept the sag
wagons busy.
The routes were the same this year as last year. When we reached the first
rest stop, I noticed that there weren't any porta-potties like there were
last year. It wasn't a problem for me this year, but made me wonder about
the rest of the route. There wasn't much wind, so heading South wasn't
a problem. We saw one more rider with a flat, but nothing like the first 8
miles.
When we got to the second rest stop and there wasn't any porta-potties, I told
Linda that if there weren't any at the 3rd stop, I might need to go find a bush.
It was starting to get warm, but not bad yet. I think the temps were still
in the 80's. The routes at this ride have a fair number of rolling hills,
but the scenery is BORING. Grass and the occasional mesquite tree.
We got to the 3rd rest stop and THERE WERE PORTA-POTTIES! We stopped and I
told Linda she knew where she could find me. On the way to the 4th rest stop,
I looked back and here came the metric century riders with their police
escort over the top of the hill. About the time I could tell Linda they were
coming, they were on top of us. We had planned to stop on the side of the
road to get completely out of their way, but could only hug the shoulder
as they sounded like a bunch of angry bees buzzing by. We didn't feel unsafe
with them buzzing by, we just wanted to try and free up as much of the road
as possible for them.
At the fourth rest stop, we told Linda's friend about the highway overpass
that would be coming up in a few miles. It looks something like this:
_______
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
-------------/ \---------------
Unfortunately, you can't enjoy the speed gained from the downhill side
as you have to make an immediate 180 left turn to get to the access road
to continue the ride.
I hit the overpass at about 18 MPH and was in my lowest gear about 1/2 up:-(
It was getting hotter (a sign said it was now 92) and the overpass took
a lot out of me. It became a bit of a struggle to finish.
When we got back to the finish, among other freebies, there was a Hagen-Daz
refer truck full of goodies! I had 3 items and packed up the bike for home.
All in all, it was a pretty good ride. It just needs some porta-potties at
the earlier rest stops.
Bob
|
| 2327.71 | What a way to end the season! | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow! | Sun Dec 05 1993 22:43 | 22 |
| Tonight we had our annual Christmas party at an Italian restaurant
called Pasta Bella. They are normally closed on Sundays, but opened
the restaurant for our exclusive use. Although Lisa doesn't ride and
Nicole rides very little, I thought it would be nice to bring them
along so they could visit with some of the people they met after some
of the Wednesday night rides.
We had a good time talking with a lot of folks and then had dinner.
After dinner, there was a short meeting and then they had the drawings
for the door prizes. The door prizes were donated by some of the local
bike shops and included various energy bars, vista light taillights,
coffee mugs, and a bike helmet. Some people around us won prizes, and
then they announced that they were drawing for the helmet, a Pro-tec
Xscape. "Number 32." I thought, "Hmmm. That number sounds familiar."
I looked at my stub, and it wasn't me:-( Suddenly, my wife Lisa
started laughing. I looked at her and she said, "That's me." She went
up, got the helmet, brought it back to the table, and said, "Here."
Now I don't have to decide whether to replace my mushroom foam helmet
this year or next!
Bob
|
| 2327.72 | | ROWLET::AINSLEY | DCU Board of Directors Candidate | Wed May 08 1996 12:19 | 17 |
| I haven't updated this topic recently, but there was one event I think
needs to be mentioned. Last summer, I noticed that my endurance was
really dropping. I was even struggling to finish the Wednesday night
Chow Hound rides. In August, due to personal and professional
challenges, I decided to give up riding until this spring, with a new
determination to do better.
In November, after a routine blood test I was diagnosed as a Type II
(non-insulin dependent) diabetic. That explained my drop in endurance.
It is also motivating me to ride more. Unfortunately, this has been a
very, very windy spring in my part of Texas. We are having 30 MPH
winds on an almost daily basis. I think the farthest I've ridden this
year has been 20 miles. Oh, the bottom bracket I mentioned in one of
the other topics was diagnosed as a 'blown' bottom bracket by the shop
and replaced under warranty.
Bob
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| 2327.73 | Thank you and goodbye... | ROWLET::AINSLEY | Less than 150 KTS is TOO slow | Wed Sep 04 1996 15:58 | 16 |
| Well, it's time for me to move on.
I'd like to thank everyone for their advice, comments, and even,
opinions, over the past several years.
Although I will never be an 18+ MPH rider, I will be a rider until
something forces me off the bike.
I can be reached at:
[email protected]
Bob
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| 2327.74 | | SMURF::LARRY | | Thu Sep 05 1996 09:59 | 2 |
| good luck in your next position and hope the riding is great!
-Larry
|