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Not the Sandwich

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Not the Sandwich 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.” It’s not the sandwich; it’s the Giro! Yes, that’s G-I-R-O; not G-Y-R-O. Okay, okay, but I’m hungry! Let’s munch on our gyros while we learn a bit about the Giro. Like the Tour de France, it was begun as a way of increasing sales of a newspaper; an advertising gambit, if you will. The first TdF was held in 1903, and the initial Giro was in 1909. H’mm. Did Italy get the idea for the Giro from the TdF? Also like the TdF, the Giro is three weeks long. There are time trials, flat stages, and mountainous stages. Again like the TdF, the Giro riders must deal with less than ideal weather conditions at times. Riding in cold and rain is miserable, especially without wet-weather gear. I’ve gotten caught in caught in cold and rain often enough; and it saps my energy. That, when I usually have about six miles to ride. Imagine pedaling through it while racing for miles up the side of a mountain! With weather like that, I’ll bet the riders are all glad when the race is over. But if I ever rode the Giro, I’d love to win that pretty pink jersey. And even though the race is not the sandwich, I’d love to chow down a gyro to celebrate. ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL Roadie Again! January 5, 2024 Pomp and Circumstance January 4, 2024 I Bee’d Lucky January 3, 2024 Sunblock Day January 2, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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The Stuff of Legend?

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Every field has its own set of beliefs. But are they all true? Cycling, for instance. It\’s a bit odd to think that there\’s not A champion in cycling. There might be a champion sprinter or a champion climber, but not one overall champ. It seems logical, actually, that pro cyclists are not whizzes at bicycle maintenance. They\’ve got to spend their time training, or recovering from training. Or racing. If they\’re anything like me, a session to learn, let\’s say, derailer adjustment, will be quickly forgotten. The only way to learn that stuff is to do it. And do it again. And again and again. Trying to win Le Tour? I\’ve no doubt that some cyclists dream of it, but don\’t look at me. I know I\’m nowhere near being able to ride Le Tour, even if to barely hang on to the back a la Lanterne Rouge. Shorn legs? They say that un-hairy legs make massage easier, and that they heal better from road rash. I can see the logic in that. If I were a pro cyclist I might well want the best equipment, but would I get it? Would I be allowed to use it even if I paid for it myself? I\’m glad I can choose what equipment I want to use. There are a few advantages to being a non-pro! Long rides all the time? Yeah, it\’s easy to think of pro riders as spending many hours every day in the saddle. When I think about it, I see that it wouldn\’t be a good idea to do that. Pros aren\’t immune to burnout. Ride only to win? That seems like sheer instinct for anyone in a race, but most riders in Le Tour are there to help their team captain win, even though they may harbor thoughts of winning the yellow jersey for themselves. Who knows, though. Maybe one day they will snag that maillot jaune, and become the stuff of legend.

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Mystery

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A mystery often sounds like something eerie. This one isn\’t creepy, but I always wonder about such things. Today I seemed able to pedal more strongly than usual. I\’m not going to argue with that, but what made the difference? Last week I did minimal riding, because my changed position on the saddle was causing a lot of strain on my hamstrings. Maybe the rest did me good. On the other hand, with the new saddle I\’ve got my sit bones properly supported. My overall position on the bike seems improved. Maybe that lets me \”brace myself\” for harder pedaling? So far I really like the new saddle. I think that part of my problem with the old one went way back to when I was first getting the hang of a road bike. When starting, I wasn\’t secure enough to take the time to get myself into the best position on the saddle, and just got on there any old way I could. And then I wasn\’t sure enough of my ability to control the bicycle to wiggle myself around to where I ought to be sitting. Come to think of it, I never really paid attention to whether my sit bones were supported. I vaguely assumed that they were. Guess what. They weren\’t. If I hadn\’t gone for that re-refit, I might never have found out! That\’s one mystery solved.

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Cool-Down

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A cool-down after a ride is a good idea. But as with warming up, I\’ve never given the post-ride cool-down much thought. What\’s the best cool-down, anyway? Pedal easily for final stretch of your ride? On weekdays, I don\’t want to ride easily for too long before ending my ride, or I won\’t get in the miles. After all, I have to get to work, which restricts my riding time. Maybe I need to do some post-ride stretching? Don\’t they say it\’s not the best thing for muscles to go abruptly from vigorous activity to inactivity? In this hot weather, a place with poor (at best) insulation is hard to cool, especially on a sunny day. Taking a cold shower right after a ride might cool me off briefly, but I\’d heat up again almost immediately. I\’d need to shower again in the evening. That seems like a waste of water to me. I\’ve been very prone to orthostatic hypotension, especially following my Sunday long ride; maybe it\’s in part because I go from cycling to sitting too quickly? And  because I don\’t cool down adequately? Especially as getting busy on the laptop means prolonged sitting! My doctor has me trying some medication that\’s meant for very low blood pressure, and it seems to help. Some days it\’s so hot, I think I might like to try a cooling vest.  I even wonder whether it might help keep the orthostatic hypotension at bay. And there\’s ice water, fans, a cold cola … whatever you decide to try for a cool-down, I hope it keeps you cool.

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Let’s Play Astronomer

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Let’s Play Astronomer Stargazing is awesome! Let’s play astronomer! Tonight there’s to be a black moon! To me it seems a bit odd to be making such a hoopla over something we won’t be able to see. I’ll bet astronomy fans are delighted, though. And it’s true that stars are much easier to see when there’s no moon; so maybe I can still say, Let’s play astronomer. The rare night times when I’m somewhere with little or no electrical elimination, and no moon (the moon gives an incredible amount of light!); I look up at the sky and think I’m seeing thin, high clouds; and I’m seeing our own Milky Way galaxy. In fact, in such an environment I find it much harder to pick out the constellations I know because of all the “clutter”. We don’t realize how thick the sky is with stars when in urban (or even suburban) surroundings. That makes it hard to play the astronomer. A bicycle trip for stargazers might be fun. Of course, don’t stargaze while riding! But where would it be possible to ride out to a wide open area far enough away from city lighting? It would need to be a flat area, too, where the sky won’t be obscured by hills or mountains. I guess one of the Plains states might fit the bill. Maybe make a camping trip out of it? It would be even more fun if there were a constellation Bicyclus to stare at!  

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Warming Up

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Warming up before beginning a ride is something to which I\’ve never given much thought. As a rule, I ride easily in a low gear for the first mile and call that my \”warm-up\”. It\’s easy for me to think I don\’t need much, if any, warming up. I don\’t go out there and immediately begin blasting away at 20+ mph! And in hot weather, the idea of working up a sweat before I even get outside isn\’t appealing. When the weather is cold, once I step away from my electric heater I want to keep my arms huddled next to my body. It\’s hard to \”open up\” and do warm-up exercises, even though the point of such moves would be to warm me up! But should I do more? Such as this routine? At the very least, ought I to spend a few minutes doing some hamstring and quad stretches? I could take a tip from this kitty when it comes to stretching! Warming up is an individual thing, I suppose, that we learn as we go. How much warming up is needed? Do I need more of it before a ride that will include very hard efforts? Do I really need more of a warm-up on cold days? Do older riders need more of it than young riders? Do embrocation creams really help? I haven\’t tried any so far. My worry about them is that they\’ll be too \”fragrant\” for my tolerance. I don\’t want to have to go riding with a clothespin on my nose.

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Traumerei

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Robert Schumann wasn\’t the only one who had daydreams. Sometimes I forget about cycling for a while and imagine what I\’d do if I had a house of my own. More specifically, I think about how I\’d decorate it. Way back in about 2003, a friend of mine said she wished I could buy a house that had belonged to her parents. When I saw a home decorating book in a book store that was having a going-out-of-business sale, I snapped it up. I didn\’t buy that house, and it\’s actually lucky that I didn\’t. It was located in a part of town that was badly flooded during Katrina, and was a total loss. If things had turned out differently, and I had gotten the house (without the flood!), it would have been fun to try out different painting techniques as described in the book: ragging, sponging, and so on. My idea was to mark out squares on a wall; three feet each side, let\’s say. Then I would have tried out different colors and techniques to see what I liked and what looked good. I still think it would be fun. Now that I\’m a cyclist, I could paint bicycle murals all over the place! Oh, the dreams I have!

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PAC Tour

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PAC Tour? Pacific-Atlantic Cycling Tour! Unfortunately the web site says \”not secure\”, so I don\’t dare create a link to it. A PAC tour sounds like fun, but I\’m not sure I\’m ready for the pace of 16-20 mph. I\’m capable of that speed, but not for hours at a time. For me to maintain 20 mph for a full minute is a big deal. In fact, for me to set my sights on a PAC tour would, at present, be biting off far more than I could chew. In the final month before your PAC tour begins, it says, you should be riding 250-350 miles per week. That\’s up to triple what I\’ve been doing, and more. It also says you should be able to ride a 200-mile event in under 14 hours. YIKES!! I\’m nowhere near that. Last time I did a 100-miler, my roll time was nearly 8 hours. Total time was probably up to an hour more; and I wasn\’t climbing! A PAC tour covers about 900 miles per week. There\’s a Ridge of the Rockies Tour which, I suspect, would have me falling out in fifteen minutes or less, thanks to problems with the thin air. I\’d need to train with one of those masks that simulates high-altitude training. Desert camp would likely have me longing for a super-size Camel-Bak. I\’m not used to aridity. Tuscon is nearly 3000 feet up, so I\’d have altitude problems there, too. I need to find a more realistic ride to aim for!  

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Some Like It Hot

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Some Like It HOT! Some like it hot, all right: a century ride in 100 degree heat! I don’t think I want to try that one. A ride of three or four hours in the “Swampeast” Louisiana humidity, at 88-92 degrees, is quite enough for me! Those who do like it hot can head for Wichita Falls, Texas, for the Hotter N Hell Hundred century ride. That’s a 100-mile, rolling course. It can be quite windy. And, of course, there’s the heat. Temperatures at Hotter N Hell can exceed 100 degrees. Add to that the area’s aridity. It’s definitely not for the unseasoned cyclist. Interesting factoid: the Camel-Bak had its origins in the HHH. Don’t forget to bring yours if you undertake this event. Some like it hot; but even if you do, you’ll need lots of water! Be sure you have your electrolyte drink, too. A tube of tablets would be better than extra bottles of liquid; this weighs much less and takes up almost no space. For a prolonged ride in such heat, gut training would be extra important. After riding for several hours in milder conditions, my stomach starts to feel a bit uncomfortable. Having to keep going six or seven hours when it’s 100 degrees or more, and extremely dry to boot, would be a tall order. Am I up to such a challenge? Maybe some day I’ll get to test my mettle. 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional. FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER

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Feeling Patriotic?

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Are you feeling patriotic today? We know how an international sports contest ends. The winner/winning team is honored by the playing of their home country\’s national anthem. I\’ve listened to several YouTubes of national anthems. They\’ve got wonderful music. Some are a little sad. Others are very solemn. Some, like our own Star Spangled Banner, are rousing; and there are some that are quite martial. I had been wondering which anthem would ring out over the finish of Tour de France today, and I\’m sure I wasn\’t the only one. For about two weeks it seemed likely that we\’d hear La Marseillaise. I\’m sure France is quite disappointed that it\’s turned out otherwise. Colombia took the win, for the first time in Le Tour\’s history. And my own riding? Those Tour riders make me feel like such a weakling! On top of that, after some dental work involving stitches, my dentist advised me to take it easy for a while. This morning I rode only 10 miles. I\’m getting out of condition 🙁 Feeling patriotic unfortunately doesn\’t help with that.  

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