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Just Imagine!

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Just imagine what you can do, if you put your mind to  it! When you have a major cycling event coming up, some coaches recommend visualization to help bring about the best performance. Visualization, they say, takes practice. It\’s hard, for example, for me to imagine myself riding at top speed against a strong wind. I know only too well that the reality is something very different! I guess visualization means imagining myself riding strongly against that wind, undeterred, be my speed what it may. See the difference? Visualization is a sort of \”booster shot\”; a psychological leg up. I admit that I\’ve done very little of it. Naturally I pictured myself finishing Tour de Cure still feeling as strong and energetic as when I rolled off at the start; but I was really quite tired by the end. But still elated? Just imagine yourself riding strongly, \”full of spit and vinegar\” as people once said, on a morning when it\’s dark and cold; blowing hard, and raining. HA! I don\’t want to think about it at all! If I ride on a day like that, I only want to finish the darned ride; get indoors where it\’s warm; and divest myself of sopping wet cycling gear. That\’s OK. Few people, I suspect, enjoy riding on such days, much less attempting exercises in visualization at the same time. Try again another day!

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Think 100?

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Is it realistic for me to think 100? I don\’t expect to be conquering mountains like this rider; but I\’ve not completely let go the thought of doing another 100-mile ride. But preparing for a century ride is not something to be undertaken lightly; and I always wonder whether I\’m really doing things right when it comes to working up to a long ride. My recent participation in Tour de Cure is an example. At least a year before the day, I started doing on-bike exercises to try to improve my force. I think those exercises helped; but in the long run I don\’t think they were enough. I barely made the cut-off time on the big day. Should I have done them twice a week, instead of once a week; or pushed myself to make those intervals longer, sooner? Am I too much of a wimp when it comes to long, intense efforts? TdC was 61.4 miles. So how long should I allow to prepare for a century? And how? So many training plans are out there that it makes my head spin! Now that the weather is turning cold, I don\’t like to think 100 for a certain day; only to find myself frustrated by strong wind; cold temperatures; and maybe even rain when that day arrives. If I were to follow an 8-week training plan, event day would be mid-January. Weather can be nasty at that time of year! It\’s easy to think that any ride on two wheels would be easier than my first century, almost seven years ago. In a sense, yes. At least my \”rig\” is much lighter, but headwinds are headwinds. There\’s no hurry, though. Maybe I can aim for April? Or maybe, just dream on.

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Andromeda?

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None of us wants to end up like Andromeda, chained to a rock. But don\’t we sometimes feel chained to our bicycles by the need to maintain that chain? There are a variety of products available for chain care. I ended up using Rock N Roll lube, because I wanted a self-cleaning lube. Keeping the chain clean (or at least reasonably so) helps it to last a bit longer, I would say. I tried a chain scrubber gadget; but the trouble with such a method is that I\’m left with jars of oily, detergent-y water. You\’re not supposed to put such things in the regular trash, or down the drain; and the only toxic-waste drop-off facility that I could find in the area is at an inconvenient location. I might need to lube my bicycles\’ chains a bit more often than I do. Every 300 miles might not be quite enough. A lube job is rather tedious, because I need to hook the bike into the trainer. That lets me turn the pedals freely without having to work to keep the bicycle upright; but for the road bike, it means swapping skewers in the rear wheel. It\’s not difficult; but it\’s a nuisance. It\’s also important to keep an eye on the chain and replace it as needed. A worn chain wears down gear teeth, and replacing a cassette costs considerably more than replacing a chain. All this chain stuff makes me feel like Andromeda; but could we say that chains are another thing that link us cyclists together?    

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Owlish?

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Owlish? 🦉 I got owlish today. “Wise as an owl,” the old saying goes; and sometimes we have to emulate that owl. Sunday is typically long-ride day; and I was tempted to push for 50 miles. But I did little riding during this past week; and I had a feeling that it would make more sense to do a shorter ride. So I turned around at a point about 19 miles from home. Maybe that was just as well; because about 4 miles before I got home, a spot near my left knee began to feel strained. That’s not a signal to be ignored; and I don’t want to do anything tht will force me off the bike! I had been riding on the small ring, using a rapid cadence; and I figured it was a good idea to slow the cadence. Gotta be owlish sometimes! I hope to make it to 5000 miles for 2018, road bike plus hybrid. I’ll need to total about 91 miles per week to meet that goal. It looks like the weather during the coming few days will be better than that of this past week, thank goodness. It feels like November now, not February, which will make it a little easier to get out there and ride. And who-o-o knows? I just might hear an owl!  

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Hang in There!

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Hang in there! Or hang on; or something. Lately my road bike\’s rear derailer hasn\’t been working right. When I try to shift cogs, the chain hesitates and makes clattering noises. I thought the derailer might need adjusting, even though I had the bike tuned up within the last month or so. I took the bike to the shop. It turned out that the chain needed replacing. They weren\’t busy; so they could take care of it right away. After a while it began to seem that the work was taking quite a long time. I went to the work-pit; and saw that they had taken the bike\’s rear wheel off. I knew then that something else was going on. I was right. I\’m not sure how it happened, but the rear derailer hanger had gotten bent. That was why I was having trouble shifting gears. I\’ve had to have that hanger replaced several times in the past. The first two times it happened, I lost a week of riding the road bike because the shop had to order a new hanger, which is very model-specific. (I asked whether that\’s typical of all bicycle models; and they said it is). I finally wised up and asked the shop to order two new derailer hangers; one to put on the bicycle, and one for me to take home and keep for the next bent-hanger episode. Thus I had a spare derailer hanger at home. I went home to get it, and back to the shop. Now the road bike is really to roll! Oh, and I ordered a spare derailer hanger for next time. I\’ve got to hang in there, you know.

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Now Hear This!

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Now Hear This! Listen up, buddy! Now hear this: to wear headphones while riding, not? My opinion: I agree that “music to ride by” is best reserved for indoor cycling. No cars with possibly distracted drivers; and no worries about balancing, watching for road hazards, and so on. But if I want music while riding, I have to content myself with thinking the music in my head, whether I’m indoors or out. Such “listening” actually has its plus side: there’s no need to constantly adjust the volume, and I can stop/start it at will. Or even switch pieces in mid-measure! When you’re riding on the roads, I would think that motor traffic is loud enough to drown out what you’re trying to listen to —  even when using bone-conduction buds. Cranking up the volume so that you can hear it over the din of roaring cars, trucks, etc. is most emphatically not good for your hearing! Beethoven would weep if he knew the way so many people nowadays abuse that precious sense. Even if you’re riding away from traffic, on a nice country road, why drown out the sounds of Nature? Hear the breeze among the leaves. Listen for birds’ calls. If you’re riding in a group, enjoy some chit-chat. Or simply converse with your own thoughts. Think big! After all, Einstein allegedly said that he though of his Theory of Relativity while riding his bike. Oh … now hear this! What’s that? I think a cyclist is coming!

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Rosy?

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Rosy? Rosy? It might be pleasant to view the world through rose-colored lenses. However, when your skin turns rosy because you forgot to wear sunblock, it’s not such a good thing. About a week and a half ago, I didn’t go out riding until past 6 am. I put some sunblock on my face and ears; but I forgot that the sun would be climbing higher than I’d been used to before I got home. It was misty, too, which made sunblock seem unnecessary. Then, rather unexpectedly, there were some un-misty stretches. I began to wish I had put sunblock on my legs. After all, we hear all the time about the hazards of ultra-violet rays; and how we should avoid too much sun exposure. Luckily I got only a very slight tinge of pink on my skin. I’m old enough to remember when “a healthy tan” was quite the thing. Ladies of earlier times, who were so careful about wearing sunbonnets and gloves to keep from getting tanned, were held in contempt. Now it seems that they had the right idea, after all. I don’t think we have to be terrified of being out in the sun for a while; but if it’s going to be longer than a half-hour, I get out that sunblock.

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It Goes Fast

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It goes fast: Time; and money; and fitness. It\’s incredible how quickly I seem to get out of shape. This week I didn\’t ride much because of the weather. When it\’s blowing 20+ mph, and the chill factor is way down near freezing, I don\’t want to do anything but huddle in front of the heater. This morning it wasn\’t as cold as the past few days were; and there was almost no wind. I went for a rather short ride; and I was amazed at how sluggish my legs felt. But as I just said, it goes fast: time, and everything else. I have to get ready to go to work now.

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Hungry as a Bear?

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Cyclists are hungry as a bear! Or are they? I\’ve read about pro bicycle racing; and by all accounts, those riders burn thousands of calories. I\’ve also read about how difficult it can be for the riders consume the calories that they need. That\’s especially true during a stage race, such as the Tour de France. It reaches the point where the riders practically have to force-feed themselves if they don\’t want to bonk. That sounds hard to believe, doesn\’t it? Hard riding makes anybody as hungry as a bear, doesn\’t it? Even as hungry as a Spring bear! And isn\’t a rider ready to devour anything in sight at any point during a day-long ride? Not so. When I have to buck a headwind at 12-13 mph for two hours, eating while riding gets progressively harder; and my stomach starts crying Uncle long before the end. How much harder it must be for pro Tour riders, who are riding far faster than that; for at least twice as many hours; and doing it day after day for several weeks. Add to that the mountainous stages of a big race, and the need for serious calories becomes obvious. It\’s frustrating — and ironic — that long riding, which requires a steady supply of fuel, diminishes the desire to eat. There seems to be nothing we can do but grin and bear it — and practice eating while riding.

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SHOE-fly?

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Shoe-fly sounds rather like Mercury; but it also sounds like pie. I\’ve never had the chance to try shoo-fly pie. It sounds delicious, though. That\’s  my sweet tooth kicking in! But wouldn\’t it be great if just the right shoe would let any cyclist fly along at record-breaking speed? Of course it would; but how does one choose the best shoe? My cycling shoes are mountain-bike style. The ones I have at present have velcro closures, which I much prefer to laces. For safety, laces must be tucked into the shoes to prevent their getting snagged in the pedal or the chain; but there\’s always the chance that those laces will work their way loose. Having velcro closures does away with that concern; and it\’s one less thing to worry about while riding! I\’ve seen cycling shoes that have a dial-like mechanism used to fasten the shoes to the desired tightness. That, too, does away with the risk of flapping shoelaces. I like the fact that mountain-bike shoes are so much easier to walk in. Only once have I tried on road-bike style shoes; and it was unnerving. Those things are slick! It as like trying to walk on ice; and I had to walk on my heels to keep my feet from sliding out from under me, which feels very awkward. Road-bike shoe soles are also very rigid, which doesn\’t help attempts to walk in them. It comes down to personal choice, I\’d say. Not all feet are alike; and not everyone has the same riding style/needs. Let\’s get our shoes; go for a good ride; and hope for a shoe-fly day. Then, perhaps, we can relax with a slice of shoo-fly pie afterwards.  

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