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Training

Surging?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Training /

Surging? 🌊 Were my efforts this morning really “surging”? And no, socks don’t make a difference! I’m not training for racing; but this morning I tried a number of 30-second efforts at pushing for 15 mph or so. There was almost no wind, which helped a lot. But I’m not sure that really counted as surging. It looks like wind conditions will be calm for a few more days — hooray! What cyclist doesn’t like windless days? I’d better enjoy it while I can, though. At some point, the constant winds of Winter will set in; and then I’ll be battling headwinds much of the time! Comet? ☄️ Is another comet coming to visit? We heard about the one that last appeared when the Neanderthals were still around. A day or two ago, I saw something in the news about an October 24 comet. It’s supposed to be visible in the eastern sky around sunrise; and possibly even in the daytime! Binoculars would be great to have right now; but I don’t need them nearly often enough to justify my buying .a pair. Celestron Binoculars have a large aperture; great for long-distance viewing. Tripod adapter and carry case included. If I can spot that comet without spyglasses, great! If I can’t, it’s no big deal. It wouldn’t surprise me if more such “dirty snowballs” were discovered in the future; and I might get to see those. Meanwhile, I’ll keep working at surging.   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 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; and I hope I can provide a bit of inspiration.   Along the way, I got into blogging; presenting my kitchen experiments; and even setting up a store. You can visit my Facebook page here; or check into my Twitter (aka X) page, Cyclo_Pathy. 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 ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube Surging? October 23, 2024 Rainy Day Ideas October 22, 2024 In versus Out October 21, 2024 Almost! October 20, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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One Last Lick

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Training /

One Last Lick 😋 Today I just had to get in one last lick before Cycle September ends. A 20-mile ride was a good way to end the month; and I’m delighted that I didn’t miss a single day! This ride was actually almost 0.75 miles longer than I  had intended. On the way home, I had to take a detour because a train was blocking my usual crossing; and I wasn’t going to wait for it to start moving. If I had, I might still be standing there! I tried some “fake hills” during my ride. That means, get into the hardest gear my bike offers; and pedal against that resistance for one minute at a time. I took two-minute breaks of riding an easy gear between efforts. I did three “hills”; and after a 10-minute break of easy pedaling I did another set. Caution: don’t try this if you’re new to cycling. Pushing too hard a gear, too soon, is too hard on the knees; and can even result in injury. Scream? 😱 Speaking of one last lick, I’m getting into the mood for ice cream. Remember, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream”? But I don’t think the drug store carries Rebel. And, the trouble with bringing home a pint of any kind of ice cream, is keeping myself from demolishing it all in one sitting! I’d need to go out and ride another 20 miles or so to burn it off. 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 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 One Last Lick September 30, 2024 No Leg Warmers Yet September 29, 2024 Nervous Breakdown September 28, 2024 Hit and a Miss September 27, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Still Nervous

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Training /

Still Nervous 😟 These hurricanes are giving me headaches! I’m still nervous about Helene. Forecasts continue to show the storm heading for Florida; but there’s time left for it to switch its direction. Maybe some Alter Eco Truffles would calm my jitters. Chocolate is a great comfort food! Another reason for me to be still nervous about that storm, is a medical procedure that I have scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. If Helene goes crazy and begins churning our way, who knows whether I can keep the appointment. I want to get it over with; and get varicose veins off my mind.  My Big Toe 🦶🏻 Once again, I’m dipping my big toe into speed development. I don’t have Fizik shoes; but that doesn’t matter. I tried several 30-second attempts to reach 18 mph; but only the last one succeeded, when I had a tailwind. Why 18 mph? The choice was quite arbitrary; but if you want to be able to cruise at X mph, you need to make regular efforts to go a few mph faster than that. So, if I want a cruising speed of 15 mph, it makes sense to try for 18 mph here and there. I didn’t want to do too many efforts, because I planned to add a few miles to my distance. Next month, I want to get back to on-bike force development exercises. I’ve let them go for quite some time; and it’s none too soon to prepare for RAGBRAI hills. I’m still nervous about that! 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 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 Still Nervous September 24, 2024 Not so Belle? September 23, 2024 Cramming September 22, 2024 RAGBRAI Menu September 21, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Indoor Pros and Cons

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Training /

Indoor Pros and Cons ✍🏻 Indoor pros and cons go way beyond PROpel! I know, it’s a bad pun; but at times the weather makes riding outdoors unpleasant or even hazardous. Then we need to consider indoor pros and cons if we’re to ride at all. One big pro of indoor “riding” is that you can keep out of the weather. We’ve had several consecutive days of rain: the slow, steady kind of rain that never seems to stop. It looks like this pattern of stormy weather will persist at least until the middle of next week; and forecasts keep predicting heavy rain and even T-storms. I was tired of pedaling the hybrid round and round the local park; and I missed real riding! Another pro of riding indoors is that you can do it almost anytime; and your bicycle stays clean when road conditions are mucky. I, for one, am not crazy about cleaning things! The Downside 🔽 Indoor pros and cons, naturally, include the downside of “riding” inside. One of the cons is that it’s easy to get overheated. When you’re doing a regular outdoor ride, your own motion generates a certain amount of breeze; but if your bicycle is hooked into a trainer, you don’t have that. Today I finally set up the road bike in the trainer. I couldn’t  know when it might begin to storm, after all. I set the window unit on Cool; put a fan on the seat of a chair so that it pointed right at me; and draped my cooling towel around my neck. In spite of these measures, I still got quite hot while pedaling. Another con of indoor riding is that my Garmin doesn’t provide the usual data, because the bicycle’s front wheel is stationary. I could watch my heart rate; but that was all. So I had to guess at my mileage. I tried to do that by imagining where I would be after 10, 20, or more minutes of riding on the levee. Even that might not be very accurate. Judging by my heart rate, I wasn’t riding as vigorously as I would have on the bike path. Therefore I probably didn’t go as far. Maybe I’ll take my old poncho and cut it to hip length. Then it won’t flap like crazy, and I can go for a real ride — rain or not. 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 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 Indoor Pros and Cons September 6, 2024 Foul Weather Bike September 5, 2024 To Ride or Not? September 4, 2024 All Shot Up September 3, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Peak Season

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Training /

Peak Season? 🌀 Is this really peak season for hurricanes? It doesn’t seem like it so far; not that I’m complaining. Sure, Hurricane Ernesto is out there; but otherwise the tropics are quiet. I’m only too happy to have them stay that way. This is quite a difference from the notoriously hyperactive 2005 season. Speaking of peak season, does a cyclist have one? Pro cyclists, of course, do — when they tackle Le Tour and other multi-day races. But how about us ordinary riders, who ride for transportation; fitness; and just plain fun? If you’ve got a big ride on the calendar, then of course you need to work up to it; and don’t forget to factor in the pre-event taper. Peaking for RAGBRAI? 🚵🏽 How about peaking for RAGBRAI, or any other long-distance recreational event? Where’s the line between being properly prepared; and being over-trained, and going into the event tired? My interest in long-distance cycling goes back to 2012, or even 2011; and I’ve done a lot of reading about it. Unfortunately I’m not very good at following training plans, nor about taking easy days; and those low-effort days are important for storing up energy for the rides when you need to go hard. With RAGBRAI 2025 in mind, I’m trying to work up to longer daily rides; and it’s proving rather difficult. Maybe I’m trying to lengthen too many weekday rides too soon? Or am I riding too many miles on days when I include hard efforts? Maybe I don’t ride easily enough in between those hard efforts; and thus can’t make “hard” hard enough! Peaking for RAGBRAI probably should occur by early July 2025; and that means that I still have plenty of time to train up. In fact, that’s why I’m working at it now! If I wait until next March, it’s probably already too late. 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 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 Peak Season August 16, 2024 Lesser of Two Evils? August 14, 2024 Early Feels Better August 13, 2024 Uneasy Times August 11, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Early Feels Better

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Training /

Early Feels Better 🌅 Early feels better for riding, if I can manage to break away from the pillow by 5:30 am. This morning I got underway at about 6:30; an hour or more earlier than I often do. The sun wasn’t fully up yet; and what a relief it was to not have it beating down on me the entire time. It was a few degrees cooler than usual, too; and that was an additional relief. For a change, my ride food didn’t get half-melted! I hope I can keep this routine going; because early feels better! Through the Paces 🦵🏼 I put myself through the paces today, you might say. If I’m to do RAGBRAI 2025, I’ll want to be faster than 11-12 mph. Technically, that’s fast enough for RAGBRAI; but around here, I’m riding on flat ground. As so many RAGBRAI videos state, Iowa isn’t flat. And that doesn’t mean an isolated hill here and there; it’s rolling hills! Thus, in addition to working to improve my pace, I must work to develop better force. Today I worked to ride 14 mph for five minutes at a time; for a total of four efforts. Next week, maybe push it up to five-minute efforts. I’ve got to go through the paces! However, improved speed doesn’t automatically mean better climbing ability. I need to get back to force-development exercises, too. I wish I knew how long those RAGBRAI climbs are; then I could do better at determining how long to make those exercises! 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 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 Early Feels Better August 13, 2024 Uneasy Times August 11, 2024 Go Homemade? August 10, 2024 If I Were Fortune August 8, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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