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
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
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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