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What a Night!

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What a Night! What a night I had! It drives me absolutely bonkers when this happens. I seemed to be half-awake much of the night. As if that weren’t enough, I had a prolonged, nightmarish dream about being at the start of Tour de Cure; and not being ready!  All the other riders were ready to take off; and I realized that I hadn’t signed in; that my Camel-Bak wasn’t ready; and my bicycle was nowhere in sight. Aren’t dreams weird? Apparently I turned off the alarm clock and fell right back asleep, because I had set it for about 5:15; and it was already 6:30 when I woke up again. That seems to happen rather often of late Remembering last night’s forecast, I checked both Intellicast and NOAA. It looked like things weren’t expected to turn stormy until about 11:00 am; so I decided to ride. It was sunny, but I could see thunderheads all over the horizon. Between that and the fact that I kept feeling very tired, I decided to make it a short ride. Only 29 miles! I was back home just before 10:00 am; so now I don’t need to worry if it begins storming. I guess my fatigue stemmed from lack of sleep. It made me think of RAAM; this cross-continental race has been called “a contest of sleep deprivation”. (See The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling, pg. 156). RAAM means riding some 3000 miles in less than nine days! YIKES!! I think I’ll skip that. How many RAAM participants set out after barely two hours’ sleep; and think, “What a night!”?  

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Corps or Core?

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Corps or core? Are we talking about the Marines? Or muscles? It\’s amazing how important core (and arm and upper body) strength is even for the recreational cyclist. When I first got going on two wheels , I couldn\’t ride up a mild incline without having the bike waver so badly that I could barely control it. I couldn\’t ride more than 15-20 minutes before my abs started to sag, causing me to go sway-backed, which wasn\’t any too good for my lower back. My arms would start to feel like overcooked spaghetti. That\’s when it struck me: I had better start working to develop some strength in my arms and core. So I began to look for exercises that I could do. The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling includes several. GetFast! also has some. Exercises that I find especially difficult are the prone plank, crank plank, and lunge with twist. When I first began to attempt the crank-plank, it was all I could to to get into the starting position. Even then I had to extend my free arm to the front. At first it was hard to hold that for three seconds! It\’s taken a long time for me to build up a moderate amount of strength, because I don\’t do long sessions. I don\’t care about looking like a body-builder. I just want to firm up my corps … or core?  

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Prep

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It\’s prep time! There\’s too great a chance of weather like this tomorrow to please me. But, as the Little Prince was so fond of saying, One never knows. Sometimes the forecast says, 80% chance of showers and T-storms; and not a drop falls. And sometimes a 10% chance of rain means I\’ll get soaked! If it\’s not storming when I get up tomorrow, or threatening to do so; I\’ll get ready to ride. In fact, I began the prep tonight! I got my electrolyte drink and recovery drink ready. Both taste better chilled; so I mix them up and put them in the fridge overnight. Besides, the protein powder needs time to dissolve. Come tomorrow morning, here\’s how I get ready to be sure I can stay hydrated. That Camel-Bak is quite a load; but I\’ll take it over having too little water.  And this is ride-food prep. To me it makes a lot of sense to unwrap and cut up those bars before I even get on the bike. I don\’t have the bike-handling skills that would let me ride no-hands while I open a Clif Bar wrapper! If it turns out that I can\’t ride, I\’ll use the electrolyte drink, anyway. It\’s supposed to be used up within 48 hours of being mixed; and why let it go to waste? The recovery drink tastes good, long ride or no. If I can\’t go out for a ride, I needn\’t prepare on-bike snacks; and I\’ll leave the Clif Bars, etc. in their wrappers for another time.  They\’ll keep.

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Quit Bugging Me!

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Quit Bugging Me! Oh, quit bugging me! I want to enjoy my ride! Riding before daylight in temperatures above 68 degrees Fahrenheit presents certain difficulties. Yes, we have overnight lows around 80 degrees for months on end; and even riding at 5:00 am means getting very hot and sweaty. But that isn’t the worst of it. It’s all the flying insects. Sometimes there are swarms of gnats; and other times I ride through clouds of tiny moths. I need to wear my glasses if only to protect my eyes; but now and than a bug gets behind the lenses! That’s when I want to holler, “Quit bugging me!” Another problem with all those bugs in the air, is that I hardly dare to breathe through my mouth. I don’t need to choke on a winged critter; and even if I don’t choke, bugs don’t taste so good. So I wear my glasses; and I breathe through my nose as much as I can. It’s a good thing the bugs aren’t swarming like this when the weather is cold. My nose runs nonstop when it’s cold; and I’m forced to breathe through my mouth. I’d get a lot of insects into my system — which would really bug me.

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Wish upon a Star

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When you wish upon a star … I\’ll make it a shooting star! I saw one while riding yesterday morning. It had an orangish color, and lasted only about two seconds. In all these years of pre-dawn riding, it’s only the second or third time I’ve seen one; and shooting stars are usually so fleeting that I catch myself wondering whether I really saw them!  I have to wonder how many meteors I might have missed, simply because I wasn’t looking in the right spot at the right moment. And I wonder why some of them look orange-y; and others white, or greenish-white. I suppose it has to do with the chemical composition of the meteor. After all, don’t they use different chemicals to make different colors of fireworks? Or it might have to do with whatever happens to be in the atmosphere, much as things look different when viewed through different colors of lenses. I know this much; I can\’t watch for stars, whether shooting or not, while I\’m riding a bicycle. There\’s too much down here on the ground for me to watch out for. If I\’m going to wish upon a star, I think I\’l get off the bicycle first!

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I Think It\’s Working!

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I think it\’s working! The exercises I began last November to improve my force on the bike seem to have had an effect. Yes, I think it\’s working; but I\’m not about to work out until I collapse. For a recreational rider like me, it isn\’t necessary; and it would take all the pleasure out of riding. It would also mean that I\’d be too tired to perform adequately at my job. Lately I feel stronger; and having had almost no wind the last two morning rides has helped. It used to be hard to attain a speed of 15 mph at all. Now I can hold to it for longer and longer. This week I\’m skipping the force exercises, but next week I\’ll be at it again; and trying for 60-90 seconds. If the effort doesn\’t cause my heart rate to rise into its maximum range, I\’ll need to schedule some deliberate efforts to get into Zone 5. If there\’s a strong wind on Tour de Cure day,  struggling against it could well push me into Zone 5; and I need more practice in riding at such an intensity for more than a few seconds. That\’ll take some doing, though. Last time I tried that, it took up to two minutes for me to get my HR into the desired range. My legs were giving out too soon! So, does that mean I need a lot more work on my force before the Zone 5 efforts? I believe it\’s been said that training is an art as much as a science. I\’d say that\’s right.

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Look at a Trainer

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Here\’s another way to look at a trainer: training in a “fasted state”. I don’t quite dare try that; at least, not by going out for a \”spin\” on the bike path! One suggestion is to \”spin\” for 20 minutes between getting out of bed and eating breakfast. Of course I could use the indoor trainer; but if I used the road bike for this exercise I would have to swap the spindle on the rear wheel. It’s not difficult to do, but it’s a nuisance. Going to ride outdoors for 20 minutes; coming back home to eat something (say, a banana); and then going out again for 45 minutes would be \”clunky\”. By the time I was back home, I wouldn\’t have time for a halfway proper breakfast before I had to head off to work. Maybe I could try this on a Sunday ride? I usually have a snack before I start; and I begin eating 15 minutes into the ride. Maybe I can skip the pre-ride snack; and then start on-bike eating as usual after the first quarter-hour? It wouldn\’t hurt to try it once. Or I can look at a trainer this way: I don\’t have to use the road bike in it. The hybrid doesn\’t require a spindle switch; so I can put the hybrid in the trainer. That will let me get my fasted spinning done; and then I can hop off; eat my banana; and take off on the road bike.

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In Case of Emergency?

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The trainer is in case of emergency. See it holding the rear wheel? I don\’t like \”riding\” that way at all. It can\’t possibly compare to being outdoors and pedaling along the path; but some days outdoor exercise is simply not on the table. But it\’s easy to overheat when using the trainer to \”ride\”; even with the window unit aimed right at me, and the ceiling fan turning overhead. To make things worse, \”riding\” in the trainer is mind-numbing in the extreme.  A half hour in the trainer seems like an eternity; and in fact, I\’d say it takes \”boring\” to an entirely new level. I also am always concerned that I might not have the bicycle properly secured. Will I always be able to wiggle that rear wheel a little after fastening it in? Will I cause damage if I fasten that wheel too tightly? But I don\’t want to land on the floor because the wheel is loose. Ouch. But if the weather is truly terrible the trainer lets me get some minimal exercise; and that\’s better than none at all. \”Terrible weather\” doesn\’t mean when it\’s already 80 degrees at 5 am. We get that for months on end! I mean if w a tropical storm is moving in; or if bad T-storms all day are in the forecast; or if the temperatures have dropped below freezing. That\’s \”in case of emergency\”.

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Getting Longer

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Getting Longer I experiment with lots of different ride foods. It’s time my Sunday rides were getting longer. Here it is,  already August; and Tour de Cure day will be here before I know it. Last week I tried a 50-mile ride; and it obviously was none too soon to start working at that distance. I got pretty tired on the way back home; and wanted to coast too much. The desire to coast can mean things other than fatigue. It can also signal dehydration, so I tried to be sure I kept drinking; both water and electrolyte drink. That gets harder as the day gets hotter, and the fluid heats up. Fatigue and the desire to coast can mean that I need to eat, which gets harder late in a long ride. But you’ve got to keep the fuel supply coming; and as my rides are getting longer, I’ll need to carry more food. It’s the old “train your gut” admonition. All I can do is to keep working at it. I need to keep working at 50 miles between now and late October. When I can do 50 miles reasonably comfortably, the 63-mile Tour de Cure will be more doable. The last Sunday before the big day I can do a shorter ride; tapering, it’s called. As to the riding itself, I’m pleased to find that I can often ride up the ramps and humps along my route on the big ring! There was a time when riding on the big ring tired me in ten seconds, even on flat ground.  On the way home today, I had a bit of a tailwind, and for 20 miles averaged almost 15 mph! But I’ll need to be able to ride that fast for much longer. There’s still a lot of hard work to do!  

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Loot!

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Look at the loot! Here is the result of a trip to the salvage store. Note the mode of transit in the background: the hybrid bicycle next to the trailer. Total cost of this haul: under $40! You may think that this look like a lot of junk food; and I\’d have to agree. When I go to that store, I stock up on less-than-wholesome stuff like cereal bars. I take such things along for on-bike food when I go on long rides; and I also take them to work for snacks. The cereal bars from the salvage store aren\’t always the freshest; but I don\’t care if they\’re a little stale. They still taste pretty good, which to me is worth the savings. I guess I\’m sort of like Wyle E. Coyote: \”eatibus anythingus\”. The salvage store doesn\’t always have a wide variety of fresh produce; but today I got a box of mixed greens from the refrigerator case. I\’ll try them; and if I like them I\’ll buy them more often in the future. They ought to make a good salad base, with brown rice and tuna on top. See the jar trying to hide behind the end of the bread bag? That\’s a very rare find for the discount grocery: Zatarain\’s Jumbo Queen Olives. I love those olives, and am happy to have them among today\’s loot Stocking Up Stocking up when you can makes a lot of sense. You never know when you\’ll run out of something, and discover that the store is out of it, too! Sometimes I\’ll buy things at the salvage store that I don\’t need right away; but that I\’ll want later. The merchandise at that store is unpredictable; and so, of course, is my loot. For instance, when I first began going there, the store didn\’t have dill pickle chips. Now I\’m liable to buy them whenever I see them, in case the store doesn\’t have any when I\’ve run out of them. As a result, I have two jars of the pickles in reserve, in addition to the jar that\’s already in the fridge. I could go on and on. I\’ll say this, though. If you have access to such a store, it\’s worth investigating it; especially if your budget is tight. You can get quite a lot of loot for less than you\’d have to spend at a regular supermarket. I think I\’d continue to shop at the salvage store even if I won the lottery!

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