SpokEasy

October 2023

Jigsaw

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Jigsaw This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” Planning a season’s training and racing must feel like a jigsaw puzzle. I’ve read enough about it to know that you have to decide which races to enter; then decide which ones are “A” races (i.e. the most important); which ones are “B” races (important, but not as vital as “A” races); and “C” races (sometimes considered “training races”; and you could miss one or two without upsetting your season’s plans). Then there’s the training: how long before racing should it begin? How do you maintain strong points (e.g. sprinting), while working to improve weak points, such as climbing? What about tapering leading up to a race; especially the most important ones? As if that weren’t enough, there’s the off-bike work to develop and maintain core strength; watching nutrition; and getting adequate sleep. After racing season ends, what do you do to keep from getting entirely out of shape prior to the next season? Of course you need to rest from a season of pushing yourself to the max while racing; but too much time away from the bike might mean having a hard time when the next season of training begins! It all sounds like a lot of trouble; and I’ll happily remain a recreational cyclist. At my age, there’s not much point in trying to get into bicycle racing, anyway; and I don’t think I have the competitive urge necessary. I’m not even very good about keeping on a schedule of work to improve my pace! Off-bike exercises have, for the most part, fallen by the wayside; and I’m really starting to feel it.  Sometimes I set up a week’s schedule; but I don’t always stick to it. I guess I’m plain old lazy! Then there are days when I start editing stuff in this website; and that can turn into a jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes I start editing an older blog; and it has a link to another blog that needs editing; and then that second blog has a link to a third blog that needs editing … I might end up with five tabs open. Trying to juggle them all makes my head spin! 

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Different Kind of Ride

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Different Kind of Ride I did a different kind of ride today. Instead of putting in the miles on the road bike, I put the bike trunk on the hybrid; packed the camera; and took off for a leisurely jaunt. To be sure, I put in 20 miles, but I took my time; and stopped here and there to take a picture. For some, I used the camera; for others, I used the Photo function on my cell phone. The one selfie I took of myself looked so horrible that I deleted it. I never have been photogenic; and  sunblock smeared on my face didn’t help matters. In fact, this wheel looks a lot better than I did! My finger insisted on getting into the picture, though. At left is the view I usually have on the river side of the MRT. It rather annoys me, because I like to see the river! I expect the trees are necessary to minimize erosion; but as of October 2023, erosion is far from everyone’s mind. On the contrary, the big concern is how LOW the river is! Here and there, there’s a gap in the trees. I can’t help wishing there were more of them; and those trees don’t always serve as a wind block! It all depends on the direction of the wind; and the levee bike path often changes directions because the levee follows the twists and turns of the river. And today the wind got really pesky! When I began my ride at around 7:15 am, the wind was NE at 6 mph. Before I got home shortly before 10:00 am, the breeze had strengthened to 13 mph; and it was still from the NE. That, of course, meant a headwind!   Not surprisingly, I’m pretty worn out. This different kind of ride was a longer one than I usually do on the hybrid; and maybe it’s why I succumbed to the temptation of pizza for lunch! There’s a pizza restaurant a few blocks away; and they’ll make any kind of their pizzas as a calzone at the customer’s request. So that’s what I did — roasted garlic pizza as calzone. Perhaps a reward for a job well done?

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