Yesterday we drove 40 minutes to meet some friends for a 30-mile ride that detoured into an apple fritter festival. We've never gone riding with these friends, so we were super excited to be finally getting out with them. Normally I'd be nervous about being outclassed, but they were both on hybrids and haven't been training like Mr. Lady Roadie and I have, so I wasn't worried, slash, they are friends and its weird to get competitive and self-doubting in situations like this (I'm not sure what's wrong with me there).
Anyway, it was a beautiful day and I headed out in front. Four miles into the ride, I shift as I'm starting a light ascent and appear to drop my chain, although from the reactions of the riders behind me I wondered if it was especially tangled or something. I coasted to a driveway and looked down to see a single length of chain. My chain BROKE!
I was super bummed. After standing around for a minute and guessing that you can't do anything to temporarily fix a broken chain, the boys rode back to get the cars and my friend and I sat down to wait. We took a look at the chain and decided to look for the link that apparently popped off. Somehow, my friend found it, and somehow, I figured out how to get it back on. It was the master link with keyhole-shaped holes on either side so it was just a matter of slipping it in correctly and pulling the chain tight. Another cyclist stopped when he saw us in trouble and helped out, providing some crucial moral support.
When the boys came back with the cars I was riding up and down the driveway problem-free. We ended up leaving the cars nearby and finishing the ride, with a bonus 4 miles as we repeated the beginning of the ride to get to the cars. It was a gorgeous day, lots of horse farms, lots of manageable hills -- basically my favorite type of ride. (I did get called the n-word by a passing driver, which was especially confusing since I'm not black). Overall, a success. Everyone got their apple fritters!
However, I do still have bike grease on my hands.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tour du Port
Today we did Tour du Port in Baltimore. Mr. Lady Roadie has done this ride for 4 or 5 years straight now, and last year I did the 30 mile route with him, on the old hybrid - I think it was my longest ride to date.
This time we did the 63 mile ride (64 due to briefly getting lost), which is a new record for me. I've been pretty apprehensive about this ride. I knew I would finish but I was worried how miserable it would be. Luckily, it was AWESOME. I'm way overdue for a good ride, and this was definitely it. The weather was perfect, probably starting in the low 60s and hitting the high 70s by the time we rolled in. Knowing how far we had to go, I saved some in the tank for most of the ride and ate a lot at both rest stops, which set me up to finish strong. Around mile 58 or so, the group we were with started getting a bit competitive, or at least Mr. Lady Roadie and I did. I couldn't believe how much energy I still had left, and my legs were doing pretty good -- it is a reasonably flat route, with some small hills at the end as you reenter the city. I was dealing with some lower back pain for the second half of the ride, but it was manageable. The last 5 miles or so I basically laid it all out there on the road, and it was a lot of fun. Without the competitiveness at the end, I could've gone another 10 miles, easy.
No bonking, no mechanical issues, and a gorgeous day. I think the biggest lesson to take away from today is that I need to eat more on rides. It was so much more fun when I kept up my energy levels over the whole distance. Today was basically what I was working toward all season, but now I'm wondering if I can't fit in one or two even longer rides...
This time we did the 63 mile ride (64 due to briefly getting lost), which is a new record for me. I've been pretty apprehensive about this ride. I knew I would finish but I was worried how miserable it would be. Luckily, it was AWESOME. I'm way overdue for a good ride, and this was definitely it. The weather was perfect, probably starting in the low 60s and hitting the high 70s by the time we rolled in. Knowing how far we had to go, I saved some in the tank for most of the ride and ate a lot at both rest stops, which set me up to finish strong. Around mile 58 or so, the group we were with started getting a bit competitive, or at least Mr. Lady Roadie and I did. I couldn't believe how much energy I still had left, and my legs were doing pretty good -- it is a reasonably flat route, with some small hills at the end as you reenter the city. I was dealing with some lower back pain for the second half of the ride, but it was manageable. The last 5 miles or so I basically laid it all out there on the road, and it was a lot of fun. Without the competitiveness at the end, I could've gone another 10 miles, easy.
No bonking, no mechanical issues, and a gorgeous day. I think the biggest lesson to take away from today is that I need to eat more on rides. It was so much more fun when I kept up my energy levels over the whole distance. Today was basically what I was working toward all season, but now I'm wondering if I can't fit in one or two even longer rides...
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Bonk.
Recently we've been quickly upping mileage, in a last-ditch effort to "train" for the 65-mile Tour du Port ride October 9th. 65 miles (at my pace) is no big thing to Mr. Lady Roadie, but I've never done more than a flat 55 so I'm a bit anxious about it. Two weeks ago, we did a 40 mile ride on some busy, wide-shouldered roads around here -- not my favorite type of ride, but we got the mileage in, although we were plagued with mechanical issues (Mr. Lady Roadie had a loose bottom bracket and got a flat, I had a loose bolt related to my back brake and by the time we were nearing home I had to keep manually widening the brake to prevent rubbing). I didn't feel strong, possibly related to allergies, but it was fine.
This past weekend we drove out to Damascus to get in 50 miles in the countryside, a ride I would normally enjoy much more. Unfortunately, the weather was just awful -- COLD for this time of year, alternately windy and rainy. We also had to re-learn the hard way that Damascus has some serious hills. About 6 miles in, we came upon a short steep hill. I shifted up two gears to prepare for a standing climb, but it turned out that put me in way too high a gear for the steepness of the hill, and I basically gracefully dismounted instead of letting myself fall with the bike, and walked the rest of the way up. That was more an issue of inexperience than a lack of strength/fitness, so I didn't beat myself up about it.
Then about another 2 miles down the road, we hit a hill that was just as steep but 4 times as long. I knew I didn't have the fitness/strength to do a standing climb for as long as would've been necessary, so I did a seated climb until I couldn't turn the pedals anymore and gave up. I wish I'd tried harder but I honestly think this is the first hill I've hit that I just physically could not make it up. My emotions were raw after the effort so I cried a bit as I was walking up the hill to catch up with Mr. Lady Roadie, stopped to pull myself together, and continued walking towards him. An oncoming car rounded the bend, slowing down as they pulled up next to me, and while I assumed they were going to ask if I was okay I didn't want to deal with it and avoided eye contact. When the car stopped right next to me I couldn't help but look over, and this obese man, smoking a cigarette, had the nerve to roll down his window, point directly at me, and laugh "tee hee".
I'm not proud of the words that came out of my mouth, after that.
When that situation resolved (thankfully without him getting out of his car), we continued on our way, both of us secretly wondering if we were really going to finish this ride. Luckily, that was the worst of the hills, although the weather kept getting worse and worse. I ate what seemed like a lot early on, to try to make the experience less miserable, had a Pay Day at a gas station at mile 30 and then apparently made the decision that to eat any more would be to admit how many miles were still left to ride, so I didn't. I started having coughing fits, from the cold air that my lungs are not yet used to, and just settled into my misery, pedaling and pedaling. At mile 40 I still didn't think we would make it back to the car. At mile 45, Mr. Lady Roadie said we were almost there and it didn't make me feel any happier. At mile 47, I said it seemed like we'd been going uphill for the past 6 miles, and Mr. Lady Roadie responds with "we're going downhill now." I promptly burst into tears, in utter despair -- 3 miles from the car! I continued crying for another 2 miles, pedaling and pedaling, stopping when I finally recognized our last turn. I didn't feel any better when I was off the bike, nor when we were in the warm car, nor when we ordered tacos at Cal Tor. It took until I was finished shoving my 2nd taco in my face until I was ready to admit that life was worth living.
Ladies and gentleman, I think that was my first bonk!
And, the worst part is that of course I ate so much the rest of the day (and the following day) I'm sure I more than made up for the calorie deficit. I don't bike to lose weight, but it would be a nice side effect, especially after dealing with 20 miserable miles because for whatever reason it didn't occur to me to eat. By the time I suspected what was happening, I decided to hold out for the tacos anyway, which was possibly not the most logical decision but I guess that's part of the bonk in itself.
But hey, we did finish the ride, despite our doubts. Thankfully, the weather forecast is looking much better for next weekend, and Tour du Port shouldn't be nearly so hilly. I'm just going to make sure I eat a LOT of food on the bike.
This past weekend we drove out to Damascus to get in 50 miles in the countryside, a ride I would normally enjoy much more. Unfortunately, the weather was just awful -- COLD for this time of year, alternately windy and rainy. We also had to re-learn the hard way that Damascus has some serious hills. About 6 miles in, we came upon a short steep hill. I shifted up two gears to prepare for a standing climb, but it turned out that put me in way too high a gear for the steepness of the hill, and I basically gracefully dismounted instead of letting myself fall with the bike, and walked the rest of the way up. That was more an issue of inexperience than a lack of strength/fitness, so I didn't beat myself up about it.
Then about another 2 miles down the road, we hit a hill that was just as steep but 4 times as long. I knew I didn't have the fitness/strength to do a standing climb for as long as would've been necessary, so I did a seated climb until I couldn't turn the pedals anymore and gave up. I wish I'd tried harder but I honestly think this is the first hill I've hit that I just physically could not make it up. My emotions were raw after the effort so I cried a bit as I was walking up the hill to catch up with Mr. Lady Roadie, stopped to pull myself together, and continued walking towards him. An oncoming car rounded the bend, slowing down as they pulled up next to me, and while I assumed they were going to ask if I was okay I didn't want to deal with it and avoided eye contact. When the car stopped right next to me I couldn't help but look over, and this obese man, smoking a cigarette, had the nerve to roll down his window, point directly at me, and laugh "tee hee".
I'm not proud of the words that came out of my mouth, after that.
When that situation resolved (thankfully without him getting out of his car), we continued on our way, both of us secretly wondering if we were really going to finish this ride. Luckily, that was the worst of the hills, although the weather kept getting worse and worse. I ate what seemed like a lot early on, to try to make the experience less miserable, had a Pay Day at a gas station at mile 30 and then apparently made the decision that to eat any more would be to admit how many miles were still left to ride, so I didn't. I started having coughing fits, from the cold air that my lungs are not yet used to, and just settled into my misery, pedaling and pedaling. At mile 40 I still didn't think we would make it back to the car. At mile 45, Mr. Lady Roadie said we were almost there and it didn't make me feel any happier. At mile 47, I said it seemed like we'd been going uphill for the past 6 miles, and Mr. Lady Roadie responds with "we're going downhill now." I promptly burst into tears, in utter despair -- 3 miles from the car! I continued crying for another 2 miles, pedaling and pedaling, stopping when I finally recognized our last turn. I didn't feel any better when I was off the bike, nor when we were in the warm car, nor when we ordered tacos at Cal Tor. It took until I was finished shoving my 2nd taco in my face until I was ready to admit that life was worth living.
Ladies and gentleman, I think that was my first bonk!
And, the worst part is that of course I ate so much the rest of the day (and the following day) I'm sure I more than made up for the calorie deficit. I don't bike to lose weight, but it would be a nice side effect, especially after dealing with 20 miserable miles because for whatever reason it didn't occur to me to eat. By the time I suspected what was happening, I decided to hold out for the tacos anyway, which was possibly not the most logical decision but I guess that's part of the bonk in itself.
But hey, we did finish the ride, despite our doubts. Thankfully, the weather forecast is looking much better for next weekend, and Tour du Port shouldn't be nearly so hilly. I'm just going to make sure I eat a LOT of food on the bike.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
First (Real) Solo Ride
Went on my first real solo ride last weekend. I know it's silly that I've been riding for a year and haven't been out by myself yet (beyond one 4-mile jaunt last spring), but that's what happens when your spouse is into cycling, I suppose. Anyway, this past weekend Mr. Lady Roadie had a century on Saturday, and was not at all into the idea of spending any more time on his bike on Sunday, so I went out alone.
It was no big thing -- I took a well-traveled path to the road that is blocked off to cars, did 16 miles out and back. I was afraid I'd get bored or unmotivated alone, but that wasn't the case at all. It did help that there were lots of cyclists on the route for me to focus on and pick off one by one (or get passed by!). I did pass two men up hills which I got a kick out of, although I've realized that Beach Drive is the reason I'm under the false assumption that I'm a decent climber. Noobs abound on that road since it's blocked off to cars on weekend, and a lot of fit men can keep up with me on the flats before showing their true noobishness at the first sight of a hill. So, while I guess this means I'm not actually a good climber, it also means that I'm not a noob!
It turned out I was a bit more motivated without Mr. Lady Roadie, to my surprise. On the way home I tackled a hill he's been bragging about, and while it wasn't pretty, I did make it up. I don't think the extra motivation and lack of boredom would last on a longer ride, and if I got into a complicated traffic situation I'd be missing the company of a more experienced rider, but it's nice to know I can do 20 miles in this area on my own just fine.
It was no big thing -- I took a well-traveled path to the road that is blocked off to cars, did 16 miles out and back. I was afraid I'd get bored or unmotivated alone, but that wasn't the case at all. It did help that there were lots of cyclists on the route for me to focus on and pick off one by one (or get passed by!). I did pass two men up hills which I got a kick out of, although I've realized that Beach Drive is the reason I'm under the false assumption that I'm a decent climber. Noobs abound on that road since it's blocked off to cars on weekend, and a lot of fit men can keep up with me on the flats before showing their true noobishness at the first sight of a hill. So, while I guess this means I'm not actually a good climber, it also means that I'm not a noob!
It turned out I was a bit more motivated without Mr. Lady Roadie, to my surprise. On the way home I tackled a hill he's been bragging about, and while it wasn't pretty, I did make it up. I don't think the extra motivation and lack of boredom would last on a longer ride, and if I got into a complicated traffic situation I'd be missing the company of a more experienced rider, but it's nice to know I can do 20 miles in this area on my own just fine.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
A Few Rides
Have slipped out of my cycling funk, mostly by lowering my expectations of myself I think. When you immerse yourself in a sport its too easy to think that because you are reading about it, you should be able to do it. Of course training and fitness are what matter. Mr. Lady Roadie didn't make his century (long story -- he and my dad are doing the route this weekend), so I got to go out twice last weekend. The first, just a hilly 20 miler, reminded me that I need to spend more time on the bike. My quads were aching, which I took as a good thing since that's the first step towards getting stronger. The second was just a recovery ride down Beach Drive, which is closed to car traffic on weekends and is therefore popular amongst both cycling groups and kids on tricycles (I'll get into the dangers of this another day). Mr. Lady Roadie had to ask me to slow down, which is a first! (Of course this is because he had put in a lot more miles than me the day before).
We also did one of the Potomac Pedalers CC group rides this week, just a short 13 miler. I was nervous starting out but immediately realized that it was a very relaxed ride. We cut through residential neighborhoods and bike paths (with a few short, STEEP hills that killed my knees), and I tried (unsuccessfully) to master riding in an unpredictable group. Too often I found myself having to hit my brakes too hard, and then pedal hard to make up for the loss of momentum, in order to keep up. Towards the end of the ride the speed picked up a bit, and we got dropped a tad, although it was more a motivational issue than anything else -- I was tired of all that starting and stopping! I need to learn to not overreact to the changes of the riders around me. Not sure if I'd do the ride again, as I wasn't a fan of all the bike path riding, but I'm glad we're trying out different rides in the area and meeting new cyclists (even older ones).
We also did one of the Potomac Pedalers CC group rides this week, just a short 13 miler. I was nervous starting out but immediately realized that it was a very relaxed ride. We cut through residential neighborhoods and bike paths (with a few short, STEEP hills that killed my knees), and I tried (unsuccessfully) to master riding in an unpredictable group. Too often I found myself having to hit my brakes too hard, and then pedal hard to make up for the loss of momentum, in order to keep up. Towards the end of the ride the speed picked up a bit, and we got dropped a tad, although it was more a motivational issue than anything else -- I was tired of all that starting and stopping! I need to learn to not overreact to the changes of the riders around me. Not sure if I'd do the ride again, as I wasn't a fan of all the bike path riding, but I'm glad we're trying out different rides in the area and meeting new cyclists (even older ones).
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Struggles
Not doing so well on the bike these days! We went on a 26 mile ride while on vacation, exploring Assateague and then out to the town of Berlin and even on a relaxed vacation type ride I just did not have any fun at all on the bike. I suppose it didn't help that it was so flat, but still. I've decided to stop pushing it, stop having joyless rides on the trainer and rollers and on flat training roads, and to just back off for a bit -- so I missed my mileage goal last week and I know I'll miss it this week too. I have to keep reminding myself that this is only my first season on the bike. I've also been dealing with an upcoming job change that has been draining. Plus, Mr. Lady Roadie's century ride is this weekend, so I haven't had my riding partner recently, and the weather's been terrible.
At the end of the day these are all excuses. What's really happening is that I haven't felt strong on the bike, and I'm down on myself because of that, and not having fun. Of course, not riding is only making me weaker. I've got a 65-mile ride coming up next month, so once we're past Mr. Lady Roadie's century, the focus on that should be motivating. Basically I just need to get over myself and ride to have fun again. And maybe stay away from group rides for a little bit.
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| From Assateague -- Mama got upset when I took this pic of her baby! |
At the end of the day these are all excuses. What's really happening is that I haven't felt strong on the bike, and I'm down on myself because of that, and not having fun. Of course, not riding is only making me weaker. I've got a 65-mile ride coming up next month, so once we're past Mr. Lady Roadie's century, the focus on that should be motivating. Basically I just need to get over myself and ride to have fun again. And maybe stay away from group rides for a little bit.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
In Defense of Cycling
A few weeks ago, I went cycling with a coworker. The initial thought was to go biking on roads, like I usually do, although it turned out I had misjudged her comfort level with cars and the plan was changed to a local bike path. While we were discussing the initially planned route and possible new ones, a few coworkers were listening in, and the conversation turned into how annoying cyclists were for drivers (my response: get over it), as well as the safety issues cyclists introduce on the roads, and whether they belong there at all.
It's easy to defend cycling as a commuting choice -- it's cheap, it's green, it gets cars off clogged roads. I have a hard time feeling much sympathy for any driver complaining about having to pass a bike commuter. However, it's more difficult to justify the type of riding I do. I'm out on roads with cars, but it's purely recreational and, well, selfish. Society doesn't benefit from me being out there, and it is creating a potentially dangerous situation on the road, although most of the danger is to the cyclist herself, of course.
Sure, bicycles secured the right to the road in the late 19th century (Thanks, Wikipedia!). But we work in the field of public health, so the argument that something should be allowed because it's been allowed for a long time doesn't hold water with us. Companies put lead in children's toys for a long time, that doesn't mean it's okay. I guess at the end of the day I would argue that I'm just taking advantage of laws meant to protect bike commuters, and the protection of those commuters is to the benefit of general society.
At work, I just briefly covered the societal benefits of bike commuting and geared the conversation more towards how to drive around cyclists. But I kept thinking back on it, and I still have the nagging feeling that maybe I DON'T belong on the road, since it is a purely selfish activity. Not that I'm going to stop, mind you. But it is selfish and inconvenient to others. Given my propensity for pleasing people, I'm pretty impressed with myself that I ride anyway, even through shouts of 'GET OFF THE ROAD' and 'BALL SACK'.
I leave you with this youtube clip: Cyclist Pranksters
It's easy to defend cycling as a commuting choice -- it's cheap, it's green, it gets cars off clogged roads. I have a hard time feeling much sympathy for any driver complaining about having to pass a bike commuter. However, it's more difficult to justify the type of riding I do. I'm out on roads with cars, but it's purely recreational and, well, selfish. Society doesn't benefit from me being out there, and it is creating a potentially dangerous situation on the road, although most of the danger is to the cyclist herself, of course.
Sure, bicycles secured the right to the road in the late 19th century (Thanks, Wikipedia!). But we work in the field of public health, so the argument that something should be allowed because it's been allowed for a long time doesn't hold water with us. Companies put lead in children's toys for a long time, that doesn't mean it's okay. I guess at the end of the day I would argue that I'm just taking advantage of laws meant to protect bike commuters, and the protection of those commuters is to the benefit of general society.
At work, I just briefly covered the societal benefits of bike commuting and geared the conversation more towards how to drive around cyclists. But I kept thinking back on it, and I still have the nagging feeling that maybe I DON'T belong on the road, since it is a purely selfish activity. Not that I'm going to stop, mind you. But it is selfish and inconvenient to others. Given my propensity for pleasing people, I'm pretty impressed with myself that I ride anyway, even through shouts of 'GET OFF THE ROAD' and 'BALL SACK'.
I leave you with this youtube clip: Cyclist Pranksters
Monday, August 29, 2011
Fail.
Missed my weekly goal of 50 miles this week, by about 20 miles. Overall it was a pretty crappy cycling week. I took a deserved rest day on Monday, blew off cycling on Tuesday because of the earthquake, and had that craptastic ride Wednesday. Then on Thursday the group ride was cancelled AGAIN because of storms, so I ran some pre-hurricane errands and made it home too late to ride. Friday I only fit in 4 miles on the rollers before company came over (that's one thing to be proud of -- I'm SO much more comfortable on the rollers, although I still sorta fear for my life on them). Saturday morning we overslept and only had an hour to ride, we opted for a quick warm-up on Beach and then tackling the repeats hill again. By all accounts I should be stronger now, I've gotten a few tough rides in since the first time we did the hill, which had been right after we took almost all of July off. For whatever reason though, it was just a crappy ride again. 1st time up was painful, 2nd time was a mess, I was about to call it quits but decided I knew how to get up the damn hill and I had to give it one more try.
3rd time up, I did a standing climb on the steep section just before it levels out halfway through -- and I got so dizzy I had to stop. Or, to be honest, I think I got a little dizzy but so fatigued and frustrated that I let my mind convince me I couldn't do it. I take back what I said about being a good climber. Sometimes I can take the pain (I am my father's daughter), but I'm also prone to self-doubt and sometimes my head just gets in my way. Anyway, after a breather I did ride to the top, and then dramatically fell over. This ride was just before Hurricane Irene came through, and barometric pressure was dropping, which may have had something to do with my lack of stamina. I don't know. Maybe it was last week being my highest mileage week yet, with that one tough 40 miler, although you'd think I'd be over that within a few days. Anyway, Sunday the winds were still high, so I just did the trainer and of course that was a crappy ride, the trainer always is. I was also an idiot about the workout in general, since I wasn't sure what was going on with my body and if I needed a recovery ride or not, since I hadn't done much of anything -- so I started out too hard, spent most of it too easy, and then threw in a few high intensity intervals just to ensure it was the least focused trainer session of all time.
I'm trying to cut myself a little slack, since we DID have two natural disasters in one week, and I made it on the bike 4 times -- I just wasn't feeling it, ever. Tonight is probably the only night I'll be able to ride prior to a long weekend at the beach, but instead of trying to get lots of miles in we're just going to bike to a cheap dinner. I need a fun ride. Hopefully Mr. Lady Roadie and my dad will let me come along on one of their rides (they're training for a century just a couple weeks away now, so I don't want to slow them down too much) so I don't blow my weekly goal again. I am going to let myself relax at the beach though, and not put too much emphasis on mileage this week if I'm not feeling it -- it's been a long summer and I'm ready for a little vacation.
3rd time up, I did a standing climb on the steep section just before it levels out halfway through -- and I got so dizzy I had to stop. Or, to be honest, I think I got a little dizzy but so fatigued and frustrated that I let my mind convince me I couldn't do it. I take back what I said about being a good climber. Sometimes I can take the pain (I am my father's daughter), but I'm also prone to self-doubt and sometimes my head just gets in my way. Anyway, after a breather I did ride to the top, and then dramatically fell over. This ride was just before Hurricane Irene came through, and barometric pressure was dropping, which may have had something to do with my lack of stamina. I don't know. Maybe it was last week being my highest mileage week yet, with that one tough 40 miler, although you'd think I'd be over that within a few days. Anyway, Sunday the winds were still high, so I just did the trainer and of course that was a crappy ride, the trainer always is. I was also an idiot about the workout in general, since I wasn't sure what was going on with my body and if I needed a recovery ride or not, since I hadn't done much of anything -- so I started out too hard, spent most of it too easy, and then threw in a few high intensity intervals just to ensure it was the least focused trainer session of all time.
I'm trying to cut myself a little slack, since we DID have two natural disasters in one week, and I made it on the bike 4 times -- I just wasn't feeling it, ever. Tonight is probably the only night I'll be able to ride prior to a long weekend at the beach, but instead of trying to get lots of miles in we're just going to bike to a cheap dinner. I need a fun ride. Hopefully Mr. Lady Roadie and my dad will let me come along on one of their rides (they're training for a century just a couple weeks away now, so I don't want to slow them down too much) so I don't blow my weekly goal again. I am going to let myself relax at the beach though, and not put too much emphasis on mileage this week if I'm not feeling it -- it's been a long summer and I'm ready for a little vacation.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Crumfest 2011
Boy was tonight's ride terrible. I'd prefer to quietly log it and move on with my life, but I vowed to write about the good and the bad, so here's to being fully honest. I came home from work exhausted and moody (a frequent occurrence, even with my 8-hour day and short, headacheless commute that I should really bike one of these days), but Mr. Lady Roadie and I had planned on going for an easy ride to waken up our legs before tomorrow's group ride. I have this ridiculous theory about taking too many days off from exercise in a row, and tonight would've been my third, so I let Mr. Lady Roadie talk me into going out even though I just wanted to curl up under the covers (at 5:30 in the afternoon).
So, off we went. I waited for the sunshine and fresh air to give me more energy, and when that didn't happen I waited for the endorphins to kick in, but nothing worked. My legs were fresh but I had no energy and my pace and attitude were both just terrible, plus it was sort of windy and my knee was twingy. Excuses, excuses. At mile 5 (of a 6.5 mile out and back) I called it quits and U-turned towards home.
I guess some rides are just like this! I should've had more mental fortitude, and maybe if a longer or harder ride had been planned I would've been able to find some, but it was just such an unexciting outing to begin with. I don't know what my problem was though. Time of the month (cough cough), or maybe I was too mentally zapped from work today. Or just maybe it had to do with the two glasses of wine I had at our post-earthquake dinner out last night!
But hey -- we did still get in a wake-up ride, and weather permitting, I'm going to brave the group ride again tomorrow.
So, off we went. I waited for the sunshine and fresh air to give me more energy, and when that didn't happen I waited for the endorphins to kick in, but nothing worked. My legs were fresh but I had no energy and my pace and attitude were both just terrible, plus it was sort of windy and my knee was twingy. Excuses, excuses. At mile 5 (of a 6.5 mile out and back) I called it quits and U-turned towards home.
I guess some rides are just like this! I should've had more mental fortitude, and maybe if a longer or harder ride had been planned I would've been able to find some, but it was just such an unexciting outing to begin with. I don't know what my problem was though. Time of the month (cough cough), or maybe I was too mentally zapped from work today. Or just maybe it had to do with the two glasses of wine I had at our post-earthquake dinner out last night!
But hey -- we did still get in a wake-up ride, and weather permitting, I'm going to brave the group ride again tomorrow.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A Hilly Ride, Jerk Drivers and a PayDay
Logged 78 miles this week, which is my highest mileage week yet, although I'm not particularly proud of it. I cheated a bit by getting in an easy social 26 miles on the bike path with a coworker, which was a lot of fun but not much of a training ride. Then again, as Mr. Lady Roadie says, miles are miles.
What I AM proud of is yesterday's ride. We met my dad up in Carroll County and headed out for what I knew would be a hilly 40 miles. I'm so used to talking about that sort of mileage that it doesn't really mean much to me anymore, although while I was out it occurred to me I am not properly trained for it at all! We didn't get out until mid afternoon, and it was hot without much shade. There were some serious hills, and I hit a new max speed descending (38 mph). The problem with riding with my dad and Mr. Lady Roadie is that they are both naturally stronger than me (they're men, after all), plus they are training for a century and have put in much more time on the bike, so I basically can't keep up at all. They don't leave me in their dust, but it's very demoralizing when they are always several hundred feet in front of me no matter how hard I try to close the gap. (Sometimes they do let me catch up, or Mr. Lady Roadie will hang back with me). The good thing about riding with them is I push myself, and that's how you get stronger.
Between the heat, the hills I wasn't trained for and the demoralizing situation of not being able to keep up, I didn't have the mental fortitude I wish I'd had on the hills for the second half of the ride. There may have been some cursing. Still, I made it up all of them! The best part of this ride was the break we took at a convenience store 30 miles in, where I had a few bites of a PayDay which tasted better than anything I've ever eaten in my entire life (I was also sweating an obscene amount. These two facts may have been related). I LOVE eating on rides, guilt-free. The worst was, well, any one of three hills where I ended up cursing. The scenery was nice, but drivers were pretty awful in the area. We got yelled at a couple times, the only one of which I made out was when a driver shouted "BALL SACK" at us. Not sure what the intention was there, but I was so surprised I almost fell off my bike, and now I have a great new curse word to use on the hills.
Fell asleep early last night after inhaling dinner -- is it normal to be so hungry after just a 40 mile ride? This morning we headed out for an easy 13 on Beach Drive, and the hills in the neighborhood on the way home nearly killed me. My legs felt like we had only just finished up the 40 miles. Also, I realized I should've used chamois cream on the 40 miler.
This was a good training week, and I might try out the group ride again this week because of it!
What I AM proud of is yesterday's ride. We met my dad up in Carroll County and headed out for what I knew would be a hilly 40 miles. I'm so used to talking about that sort of mileage that it doesn't really mean much to me anymore, although while I was out it occurred to me I am not properly trained for it at all! We didn't get out until mid afternoon, and it was hot without much shade. There were some serious hills, and I hit a new max speed descending (38 mph). The problem with riding with my dad and Mr. Lady Roadie is that they are both naturally stronger than me (they're men, after all), plus they are training for a century and have put in much more time on the bike, so I basically can't keep up at all. They don't leave me in their dust, but it's very demoralizing when they are always several hundred feet in front of me no matter how hard I try to close the gap. (Sometimes they do let me catch up, or Mr. Lady Roadie will hang back with me). The good thing about riding with them is I push myself, and that's how you get stronger.
Between the heat, the hills I wasn't trained for and the demoralizing situation of not being able to keep up, I didn't have the mental fortitude I wish I'd had on the hills for the second half of the ride. There may have been some cursing. Still, I made it up all of them! The best part of this ride was the break we took at a convenience store 30 miles in, where I had a few bites of a PayDay which tasted better than anything I've ever eaten in my entire life (I was also sweating an obscene amount. These two facts may have been related). I LOVE eating on rides, guilt-free. The worst was, well, any one of three hills where I ended up cursing. The scenery was nice, but drivers were pretty awful in the area. We got yelled at a couple times, the only one of which I made out was when a driver shouted "BALL SACK" at us. Not sure what the intention was there, but I was so surprised I almost fell off my bike, and now I have a great new curse word to use on the hills.
Fell asleep early last night after inhaling dinner -- is it normal to be so hungry after just a 40 mile ride? This morning we headed out for an easy 13 on Beach Drive, and the hills in the neighborhood on the way home nearly killed me. My legs felt like we had only just finished up the 40 miles. Also, I realized I should've used chamois cream on the 40 miler.
This was a good training week, and I might try out the group ride again this week because of it!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Rollers
When Mr. Lady Roadie first ordered a set of rollers last winter, I tried them out for about two seconds with my hybrid before deciding rollers are intended for the mentally unstable. He's been happily using them ever since, although I do have to occasionally untangle him from his bike post-mishap. For those of you not familiar, these are rollers:
As you can see, there is nothing to hold your bike in place, and with a little wobbling you could ride right off the rollers. This is what can happen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN1cuVRRRzM
However, they can greatly improve your bike handling and are less boring than a trainer, so two weeks ago, I decided to give them another try. There may have been both screams and tears involved. I got set up in a doorway, with Mr. Lady Roadie to the front and side, ready to catch me if there was a fall. Every time I started pedaling, it felt exactly like I was trying to bike on ice. Mr. Lady Roadie insisted that if I went faster it would be easier. It was, to an extent, possibly because only people who no longer value their life and health could go FASTER on rollers. I was holding onto the doorway nearly the whole time, and it took all my courage to make that giant leap from doorway to both hands on the handlebars. I had to draw from other scenarios where I acknowledged to myself that I was afraid, for a good reason, and then proceeded to do whatever thing I was reasonably afraid of anyway. I'm sure most of us have had experiences like that. I'm a horseback rider, and I frequently have that reasonable surge of fear when I'm told to tackle some jumps I feel are beyond my (very limited) ability. With riding, I take a deep breath and put my faith in the horse. I'm not as sure its logical to put faith in an inanimate object like a bicycle, but that's what I had to do to get both hands on the handlebars. I spent maybe 30 minutes on the rollers, moving in fits and starts but mostly hanging onto the doorway for dear life, and probably clocked less than half a mile total.
Today, I realized I was half a mile short of my weekly goal. I had a lazy rainy morning, and then I had to work at the barn, and by the time I got back it was dark. It seemed silly to set up the bike on the trainer for a half mile ride (okay, it was a lazy day, not just morning), so rollers it was. And it actually went better than I thought possible! Getting started was daunting, and putting both hands on the handlebars was frightening, but once I settled in I went for 3 miles with no major incidents. I stopped when the sweat started dripping into my eyes, and I was too scared to take a hand off the handlebars to wipe it off. Next time I'll set up a fan, definitely. I'm not sure what it is about rollers that makes one sweat so much!
As you can see, there is nothing to hold your bike in place, and with a little wobbling you could ride right off the rollers. This is what can happen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN1cuVRRRzM
However, they can greatly improve your bike handling and are less boring than a trainer, so two weeks ago, I decided to give them another try. There may have been both screams and tears involved. I got set up in a doorway, with Mr. Lady Roadie to the front and side, ready to catch me if there was a fall. Every time I started pedaling, it felt exactly like I was trying to bike on ice. Mr. Lady Roadie insisted that if I went faster it would be easier. It was, to an extent, possibly because only people who no longer value their life and health could go FASTER on rollers. I was holding onto the doorway nearly the whole time, and it took all my courage to make that giant leap from doorway to both hands on the handlebars. I had to draw from other scenarios where I acknowledged to myself that I was afraid, for a good reason, and then proceeded to do whatever thing I was reasonably afraid of anyway. I'm sure most of us have had experiences like that. I'm a horseback rider, and I frequently have that reasonable surge of fear when I'm told to tackle some jumps I feel are beyond my (very limited) ability. With riding, I take a deep breath and put my faith in the horse. I'm not as sure its logical to put faith in an inanimate object like a bicycle, but that's what I had to do to get both hands on the handlebars. I spent maybe 30 minutes on the rollers, moving in fits and starts but mostly hanging onto the doorway for dear life, and probably clocked less than half a mile total.
Today, I realized I was half a mile short of my weekly goal. I had a lazy rainy morning, and then I had to work at the barn, and by the time I got back it was dark. It seemed silly to set up the bike on the trainer for a half mile ride (okay, it was a lazy day, not just morning), so rollers it was. And it actually went better than I thought possible! Getting started was daunting, and putting both hands on the handlebars was frightening, but once I settled in I went for 3 miles with no major incidents. I stopped when the sweat started dripping into my eyes, and I was too scared to take a hand off the handlebars to wipe it off. Next time I'll set up a fan, definitely. I'm not sure what it is about rollers that makes one sweat so much!
Friday, August 12, 2011
First Group Ride!
Last night I did my first group ride, through Fresh Bikes in Bethesda (formerly Conte's Bikes). The ride was advertised as follows:
This is a social ride... quite the opposite of our Wednesday night HammerFest!!! This 20 mile training ride is designed for cyclists of all abilities. The idea is to have advanced riders use this as a recovery / casual ride while helping teach those with less experience how to ride in a group (drafting, pace lining, basic bike handling skills, etc).
Even though it sounded so welcome to beginners, I was still super nervous. Mr. Lady Roadie called and was told the usual average pace was around 15 mph, which I have managed to do exactly once, on a flat 13 mile ride. I knew I'd get dropped, but Mr. Lady Roadie promised to stay with me, so after work I headed over to meet him there. I got there first, and when I saw the fit men with bulging calves roll up on their all-carbon bikes, the nerves took over so much that I felt sick. At this point though, I knew I'd beat up on myself for quitting out of fear, and when a few other women showed up just before the start (including one without even toe clips) I was a little reassured. I was also glad to see the two ride leaders were women.
The group took off, and I stuck near the back. Immediately I noticed one of the benefits of group rides -- cars respected us, and there was absolutely safety in numbers. A couple miles in, we warmed up and started picking up the pace, the group getting a bit strung out. A ride leader told us someone behind us was on her first ride on a road bike (this is the woman who didn't have toe clips), and after a few miles they decided we wouldn't be waiting on her. This was both reassuring, because at least I wasn't the worst rider out there, and a bit scary because once we dropped her, I was the one the sweeper had to hang out with. I was worried about being a burden, so for the first 5 miles, I booked it as hard as I could, and could tell I was never going to last at that pace. We finally lost the group for good at a light, and wouldn't see them again until they passed us in the other direction.
Around the 7 mile mark, we met back up with a ride leader who was waiting on us. She said she'd stick with me, and asked if I knew about drafting. I told her I understood the concept but had never done it, so she said that it can be a bit scary but if I'm up to it, I should try sticking her on wheel. Boy did that make a difference! I wasn't sure if I was really close enough to be correctly drafting, but we were flying at about 20 mph on a seemingly flat road. At the time, I assumed it was at least a little bit of a downhill. I was still working hard, but the effort seemed more sustainable when I was hanging onto her wheel.
The leader said we'd skip a neighborhood detour the rest of the group did, to catch up a little more, which was fine by me. Then we hit the hill Mr. Lady Roadie warned me about, and I had to take it slower and let the ride leader take off -- it was just too long a hill for me to mash up. If I'd been more focused I might've done a little better but I still had the fear I wouldn't finish the ride at all. In my experience, fear of failure while climbing does a whole lot more damage to your performance than you think it will. Anyway, I did make it up, albeit slowly, and we saw the rest of the group cruise by in the opposite direction. A ride leader and a regular were waiting at an intersection, and I pulled a total noob move in awkwardly cutting across traffic to get to them -- I still don't always know how to handle myself in traffic, when it comes to maneuvers one wouldn't do in the car. I pulled up apologizing (Mr. Lady Roadie had taken a much more sensible path in getting to them), and they told me not to worry, to just take a breather for a minute. The ride leader said I was doing awesomely, and that drafting at 20 mph was better than she did on her first group ride, which was a great thing to hear from such a strong female cyclist. Maybe one day my legs will look like hers -- which, for the record, looked amazing.
Then, we were off again. We flew down the hill, around the curves, and I mimicked the ride leader's pedal positioning to give me a little more control -- pedaling on the straightaways, outside leg down on the curves. We hit the flat section of the road from earlier and were still drafting at about 20 mph, and I realized it couldn't be slightly downhill both ways so that really was our flat speed. The ride leader then drifted off in front of me and told me to take a pull -- and suddenly the four of us (the ride leader, the regular, Mr. Lady Roadie and myself) were doing a paceline, my first ever. It was a ton of fun, and really made a difference in performance -- I wasn't sure that I was close enough to be effectively drafting until it was time for me to take a pull in the front and suddenly I had to work a whole lot harder to keep our pace (and despite my best efforts, I dropped us down to about 19 mph whenever I was in front). It was awesome.
My biggest noob moment came when we stopped at a stoplight at about the 18 mile mark, and the light turned green. I attempted to push off like normal, but my legs basically gave out on me and it took me a good 15 seconds (with a line of cars waiting behind, and my friends taking off ahead) to get myself together. Still, I didn't mind embarrassing myself too much. Another mile, and the ride leader and regular made sure we knew how to make it back and told us to finish the ride how we liked. I knew my speed was about to dramatically decrease, since they were taking off without us and my legs were cramping up, so at 19 miles I checked my average speed ---- it was 16.7! SIXTEEN POINT SEVEN. I never knew I had it in me -- drafting makes such a difference. I felt a little bit like I was cheating, but Dan pointed out that's undoubtably what the other riders were doing as well.
Once they were out of sight, I really did fall apart. I dropped my chain, which was embarrassing, and my legs were dying, and it was a pretty miserable 3 miles. I was so relieved to turn another leafy corner and see downtown Bethesda in front of us. We turned down Georgetown Pike and saw the ride leader waving us in. Instead of admitting I dropped my chain and basically died a little on the bike, I told her that I ran into a friend (which was true -- I'd heard someone call my name while we were waiting at a light and saw my coworker on the sidewalk! But, we didn't talk any longer than the light held us up.). She welcomed us in and handed me a free craft beer, which would have won me over if all her patience with me hadn't already.
Will I go back? I'm not sure yet. It was an amazing workout -- I pushed myself harder than I knew I could -- and I had a lot of fun even as I was down on myself for being so far from the fitness level of the other cyclists. But I also worry that I held the ride leader up too much, and I don't want to try their patience, even though the ride is advertised as all abilities. Still, what a great way to push myself and improve. My average speed at the end was 15.7 (yes, I really did fall apart on the last few miles), but I think knowing that I can finish will be enough to get me a little faster next time, assuming we do some drafting again. I think I'll probably try it a couple more times this season, and hopefully start off next season strong enough to keep up a little better (hello, trainer).
This is a social ride... quite the opposite of our Wednesday night HammerFest!!! This 20 mile training ride is designed for cyclists of all abilities. The idea is to have advanced riders use this as a recovery / casual ride while helping teach those with less experience how to ride in a group (drafting, pace lining, basic bike handling skills, etc).
Even though it sounded so welcome to beginners, I was still super nervous. Mr. Lady Roadie called and was told the usual average pace was around 15 mph, which I have managed to do exactly once, on a flat 13 mile ride. I knew I'd get dropped, but Mr. Lady Roadie promised to stay with me, so after work I headed over to meet him there. I got there first, and when I saw the fit men with bulging calves roll up on their all-carbon bikes, the nerves took over so much that I felt sick. At this point though, I knew I'd beat up on myself for quitting out of fear, and when a few other women showed up just before the start (including one without even toe clips) I was a little reassured. I was also glad to see the two ride leaders were women.
The group took off, and I stuck near the back. Immediately I noticed one of the benefits of group rides -- cars respected us, and there was absolutely safety in numbers. A couple miles in, we warmed up and started picking up the pace, the group getting a bit strung out. A ride leader told us someone behind us was on her first ride on a road bike (this is the woman who didn't have toe clips), and after a few miles they decided we wouldn't be waiting on her. This was both reassuring, because at least I wasn't the worst rider out there, and a bit scary because once we dropped her, I was the one the sweeper had to hang out with. I was worried about being a burden, so for the first 5 miles, I booked it as hard as I could, and could tell I was never going to last at that pace. We finally lost the group for good at a light, and wouldn't see them again until they passed us in the other direction.
Around the 7 mile mark, we met back up with a ride leader who was waiting on us. She said she'd stick with me, and asked if I knew about drafting. I told her I understood the concept but had never done it, so she said that it can be a bit scary but if I'm up to it, I should try sticking her on wheel. Boy did that make a difference! I wasn't sure if I was really close enough to be correctly drafting, but we were flying at about 20 mph on a seemingly flat road. At the time, I assumed it was at least a little bit of a downhill. I was still working hard, but the effort seemed more sustainable when I was hanging onto her wheel.
The leader said we'd skip a neighborhood detour the rest of the group did, to catch up a little more, which was fine by me. Then we hit the hill Mr. Lady Roadie warned me about, and I had to take it slower and let the ride leader take off -- it was just too long a hill for me to mash up. If I'd been more focused I might've done a little better but I still had the fear I wouldn't finish the ride at all. In my experience, fear of failure while climbing does a whole lot more damage to your performance than you think it will. Anyway, I did make it up, albeit slowly, and we saw the rest of the group cruise by in the opposite direction. A ride leader and a regular were waiting at an intersection, and I pulled a total noob move in awkwardly cutting across traffic to get to them -- I still don't always know how to handle myself in traffic, when it comes to maneuvers one wouldn't do in the car. I pulled up apologizing (Mr. Lady Roadie had taken a much more sensible path in getting to them), and they told me not to worry, to just take a breather for a minute. The ride leader said I was doing awesomely, and that drafting at 20 mph was better than she did on her first group ride, which was a great thing to hear from such a strong female cyclist. Maybe one day my legs will look like hers -- which, for the record, looked amazing.
Then, we were off again. We flew down the hill, around the curves, and I mimicked the ride leader's pedal positioning to give me a little more control -- pedaling on the straightaways, outside leg down on the curves. We hit the flat section of the road from earlier and were still drafting at about 20 mph, and I realized it couldn't be slightly downhill both ways so that really was our flat speed. The ride leader then drifted off in front of me and told me to take a pull -- and suddenly the four of us (the ride leader, the regular, Mr. Lady Roadie and myself) were doing a paceline, my first ever. It was a ton of fun, and really made a difference in performance -- I wasn't sure that I was close enough to be effectively drafting until it was time for me to take a pull in the front and suddenly I had to work a whole lot harder to keep our pace (and despite my best efforts, I dropped us down to about 19 mph whenever I was in front). It was awesome.
My biggest noob moment came when we stopped at a stoplight at about the 18 mile mark, and the light turned green. I attempted to push off like normal, but my legs basically gave out on me and it took me a good 15 seconds (with a line of cars waiting behind, and my friends taking off ahead) to get myself together. Still, I didn't mind embarrassing myself too much. Another mile, and the ride leader and regular made sure we knew how to make it back and told us to finish the ride how we liked. I knew my speed was about to dramatically decrease, since they were taking off without us and my legs were cramping up, so at 19 miles I checked my average speed ---- it was 16.7! SIXTEEN POINT SEVEN. I never knew I had it in me -- drafting makes such a difference. I felt a little bit like I was cheating, but Dan pointed out that's undoubtably what the other riders were doing as well.
Once they were out of sight, I really did fall apart. I dropped my chain, which was embarrassing, and my legs were dying, and it was a pretty miserable 3 miles. I was so relieved to turn another leafy corner and see downtown Bethesda in front of us. We turned down Georgetown Pike and saw the ride leader waving us in. Instead of admitting I dropped my chain and basically died a little on the bike, I told her that I ran into a friend (which was true -- I'd heard someone call my name while we were waiting at a light and saw my coworker on the sidewalk! But, we didn't talk any longer than the light held us up.). She welcomed us in and handed me a free craft beer, which would have won me over if all her patience with me hadn't already.
Will I go back? I'm not sure yet. It was an amazing workout -- I pushed myself harder than I knew I could -- and I had a lot of fun even as I was down on myself for being so far from the fitness level of the other cyclists. But I also worry that I held the ride leader up too much, and I don't want to try their patience, even though the ride is advertised as all abilities. Still, what a great way to push myself and improve. My average speed at the end was 15.7 (yes, I really did fall apart on the last few miles), but I think knowing that I can finish will be enough to get me a little faster next time, assuming we do some drafting again. I think I'll probably try it a couple more times this season, and hopefully start off next season strong enough to keep up a little better (hello, trainer).
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Hills
I love hill repeats. I love the technical side of climbing, which I am only just beginning to grasp. I love getting more focused each time you tackle the hill, until you reach your breaking point and your mind is all over the place (then its time to stop). When I struggle up unfamiliar hills on new routes, I love being able to remind myself that I've trained on hills and therefore can make it up whatever is currently trying to kill me.
We recently moved, and have found a pretty good hill for repeats just 2 miles from our house, perfect warm-up distance. It's only about half a mile long and a bit too steep than is ideal for repeats, but it'll do. Last night was our first time attempting hill training in months, so we kept it to just 3 climbs. Mr. Lady Roadie can drop me like I'm hot on climbs (or at just about any time), which is a bit disheartening but it's part of being a female cyclist. My legs are aching today -- I also went horseback riding yesterday -- so I can feel good about how hard I worked.
Coming home after the repeats, there's one more long hill we have to tackle. I was spinning up it, breathing easy but feeling my legs protesting post-repeats, when a man on a fixed-gear hybrid blew past us. That was humbling.
We recently moved, and have found a pretty good hill for repeats just 2 miles from our house, perfect warm-up distance. It's only about half a mile long and a bit too steep than is ideal for repeats, but it'll do. Last night was our first time attempting hill training in months, so we kept it to just 3 climbs. Mr. Lady Roadie can drop me like I'm hot on climbs (or at just about any time), which is a bit disheartening but it's part of being a female cyclist. My legs are aching today -- I also went horseback riding yesterday -- so I can feel good about how hard I worked.
Coming home after the repeats, there's one more long hill we have to tackle. I was spinning up it, breathing easy but feeling my legs protesting post-repeats, when a man on a fixed-gear hybrid blew past us. That was humbling.
An Introduction
It can be hard to break into cycling, especially as a female. It's an intimidating sport in a lot of ways. By blogging my trials and tribulations as a new cyclist, I hope to encourage others (especially women!) to join the sport. It isn't always pretty, but it can be a lot of fun out there.
About me: I'm in my mid-twenties, female, and new to cycling. In August 2010, I bought a Trek 7.1 hybrid, the first bike I ever rode that correctly fit me. My husband coaxed me out onto roads, and by the end of the fall I was reasonably comfortable on (slow) 30 mile rides, with one 50 miler to top off the season. In spring of 2011, I bought my road bike, a Specialized Dolce Sport. I'm basically in love with it.
Where I'm at now: I tend to average 12-13 mph, on varying terrain. I consider myself a decent climber given my experience and strength level, but I'm not very strong. I haven't mastered when and how to do standing climbs. I currently ride with toe clips. Longest ride so far was a flat 56 miles; with consistent training I know I can do more. When things go wrong I still get intimidated by traffic. My bike handling skills have a long way to go.
Where I hope to go: In the very near future, I plan to go clipless. More generally, I need to improve my confidence and my bike handling skills, and if I could drop a few pounds it would only make me faster. Long term (next year?), I hope to complete a century.
As of today, I am setting a goal to get in 50 miles a week, every week. If Sunday rolls around and I haven't gotten in any miles, guess I'm going on a 50-miler, even in the rain. 50 miles a week may be setting the bar extraordinarily low, but a glance at my training log shows that I've never consistently logged miles, so it's a start.
About me: I'm in my mid-twenties, female, and new to cycling. In August 2010, I bought a Trek 7.1 hybrid, the first bike I ever rode that correctly fit me. My husband coaxed me out onto roads, and by the end of the fall I was reasonably comfortable on (slow) 30 mile rides, with one 50 miler to top off the season. In spring of 2011, I bought my road bike, a Specialized Dolce Sport. I'm basically in love with it.
Where I'm at now: I tend to average 12-13 mph, on varying terrain. I consider myself a decent climber given my experience and strength level, but I'm not very strong. I haven't mastered when and how to do standing climbs. I currently ride with toe clips. Longest ride so far was a flat 56 miles; with consistent training I know I can do more. When things go wrong I still get intimidated by traffic. My bike handling skills have a long way to go.
Where I hope to go: In the very near future, I plan to go clipless. More generally, I need to improve my confidence and my bike handling skills, and if I could drop a few pounds it would only make me faster. Long term (next year?), I hope to complete a century.
As of today, I am setting a goal to get in 50 miles a week, every week. If Sunday rolls around and I haven't gotten in any miles, guess I'm going on a 50-miler, even in the rain. 50 miles a week may be setting the bar extraordinarily low, but a glance at my training log shows that I've never consistently logged miles, so it's a start.
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