Charity Bike Ride

Once again it is time to get ready for another yearly charity bike ride. After so many years not finding time to ride a bike, this was the perfect opportunity to get back in gear. In less than a month, when the weather will hopefully be a lot more tolerable, I will be making a trip a few counties away from my lost cabin in the woods to spend the morning riding thu a small town with a bunch of other riders.

There are usually between 400 and 600 competing at this event. Oops wrong word, I meant to say participating in this years charity bike ride. My first attempt at getting back on a two wheeler, that was pedal powered, ended up not all that impressive. I rode one of the shorter leisure routes at only 21 miles. While in itself the distance is not much so that most people could survive the ride. But pushing yourself to maintain a decent average speed will put a major kink in that attempt to get back in the saddle.

Back in the beginning of June I attended another charity bike ride. Unfortunately it was cancelled within the hour before starting. There was a major storm showing up on radar, and a heavy drizzle that had been falling all night.

While the drizzle was not such a big deal, if that front went thru as predicted would have been a mess for the usual 600+ riders that normally attend this one meet. When I arrived, was notified the ride had just been cancelled. While I understood, it would have still been cool if they went ahead and ran the short route for everyone and be done within a two hour window.

The radar showed a large storm cell approaching, but ended up dissipating and broke apart before hitting the area. I had put some time in preparing for this one event and was even looking forward to riding in the rain. But the day was over before ever getting starting. Since I had nothing else planned that Saturday, ended up doing nothing else for rest of the day.

Hopefully this next scheduled ride will go without a hitch. This will be my fifth consecutive ride in the one upcoming event. Weather has always been decent and no issues. But each year it was different and affects how I handle myself through out the duration of the ride.

My first attempt was an eye opener. While I did very well at a decent overall average time, my body was not so thrilled. At only 21 miles, it should not have been a problem. But I did push myself without having any idea of the ramifications it would cause during and by the time this ride was over.

My second time at this one event, I went with the 35 mile route. I had a much better idea of what to expect and how to better prepare myself for the distance. How about before I fill you in on this next ride coming up in a few weeks, will start back at the beginning. My first ride was back in September of 2022.

 

September 2022

OK, I had a great time at my slightly older brothers birthday party. It was on Sunday right before Labor Day at his house. This was as close to his actual birthday and on the weekend that worked out best for everyone.

So while we were all basking in the family spirit, my mom asked what that Challenge was all about? Birthday brother was wearing a t-shirt advertising a charity bike challenge. He has been participating in this event over the last couple of years and really enjoyed it. My brother has just turned 64 and except for the graying temples show no signs of wear for his age. My mom is getting up there in age now, but still out driving everyday, healthy, and sharp as a tack.

I am a few years younger than this one brother and still fit as can be, except for landing on my head a few too many times over the years doing extracurricular activities. My back has taken the brunt of the damage and I am suffering from those extravagant hobbies that are taking a toll on my body more than I would like to admit to. But that still does not slow me down from continuing doing them.

I do remember driving thru smaller towns over the years when they had some biking events going on, but never considered being involved in one. I thought they were mostly overly competitive sports guys that spend way too much money on bikes just to look the Lance Armstrong part. The old adage egos and arseholes comes to mind here.

Just thinking back in my mind every time when Lance Armstrong won any major event, the yellow jerseys were everywhere. That is of course, right up until he was found out for using enhancing drugs to facilitate those wins. Well so much for yellow being the most popular color jersey when that little trivial bit of news made national headlines. Did he really end up having to return the winnings? Is he now working as a mechanic in some local bike store?

But in more recent years, I have passed thru towns and on occasions being stuck in a traffic being held back. Usually one lane is cordoned off as I am watching a group of bikes cruise on by. They are all dressed in that tight Lycra attire designated specifically as the appropriate racing apparel in the realm of biking competition. From a distance it looks like spandex tights showing off way too many curves or lack thereof. Almost like the riders were shrink wrapped in black plastic with advertising printed all over.

What had also surprised me is seeing a bunch of slightly overweight guys pumping their legs around and appearing to be very competitive against the more fit looking riders. Then noticing how many riders have to be pushing well over 70 years old. These guys are usually thin and not much place to hide any fat at all. Maybe these particular guys are what is left of an older group. You know a lot of them who were very overweight from one too many Twinkies that finally caught up with them. Enter the Grim Reaper here.

I have always enjoyed riding bikes from way back growing up. As a kid, remembering the only bike I ever wanted was a Schwinn Stingray. Most of the Krate models would have been cool too, but being realistic and knowing these would forever be out of my price range. Out of price range to purchase and even to expect as a Christmas present or birthday gift.

It is not that my parents were dirt poor or anything. It is just that I am part of a bigger picture. My parents wanted kids, so that makes me 3 of 5. Two older brothers and two younger sisters. But this also gets me lost in the shuffle sometimes. Two younger sisters requires special treatment, more attention, extra time and consideration from the parents. That means I sometimes get left out when parental guidance is such a precious commodity.

I am sure there were some days my parents just needed to go hide from all of us. That is very understandable. So dad works all day and the last thing he wants to deal with is our petty little squabbles and problems right when he gets home. Mom has been here all day dealing with this crap, so a short break would do her well. I bet just having the chance to go grocery shopping alone would be something she looks forward to anytime it comes up. But that rarely happened either.

So back to me reminiscing in the past. That Schwinn Stingray was the hot ticket when I was growing up. You were nobody and looked down upon, if not riding a Schwinn. Any other brand was just substandard and second class. If there was any chance of being part of the IN CROWD, you better be riding a Stingray first.

Now back before the BMX movement, Stingrays were the choice of champions. I am not talking about competition tho. I mean if you wanted to be somebody, you had to ride a Stingray. If you were super special then most models of Krates would be the hot ticket that set you up for life.

There were two models of Krates that didnt seem to sell so well and looked upon as unacceptable by some. One is an ugly shade of metallic light green, the "Pea Picker". The other one in white, the "Cotton Picker". I thought it odd for either of these making it to the sales floor before being flagged as a bad idea.

If these names were picked for a bike nowadays, well there would be towns across the country dealing with nightly rioting and vandalism or even burning everything down to the ground fairly regularly. At least until there was some type of financial consideration to all those that were offended for such an obvious blunder. The Schwinn family legacy had plenty of money so why not?

I mean really, what was Schwinn thinking anyway? Were they trying to go for an untapped market? I figure just much as a Schwinn is prized the world over, there is no shortage of them being stolen to fill that niche market already. I wonder if there is a clause in homeowners insurance about owning a Schwinn? How much extra to have a SCHWINN clause in your policy to cover theft?

Personally I would have no problem owning either of these two models, if it was the the only way for me to get one. But before I was seen in public, there would have to be a color change. Then fresh new decals that match the different color. But what color would I choose if that did ever happen?

All of the other colors were good choices. I think the Apple Krate was the most prized. Then followed by the Orange Krate. The Lemon Peeler, despite the color looking great on a bike, I would make that my last choice for some reason. I mean really, who sits around all day and enjoys peeling lemons? But the Grey Ghost, that was one nice looking Krate too.

It seemed odd they never came out with one model painted black. Black sure would make more sense than pea green or white. It could have been called "Dark Shadow" or "Night Stalker". Was there just a shortage of creativity in the later years of these bikes?

Now if I really felt like living on the edge, maybe choose purple. It was rumored that a Grape Krate was in the works. But no sooner was this model in the works, the Krate line of bike sales had already peaked and tanking, now destined to only live in the history books.

OK back on track. Enough of visiting every Christmas that was never meant to be. When my mom inquired about the T-shirt and the bike challenge, I did not realize then dear brother had been participating in the charity ride over the last few years. I also asked about some more details. They had ridden the 35 mile and even the 46 miler one year. This adds up to some serious ride in one afternoon. Now for competition, that is all together different. For just your family get-out and ride, that is a lot of work.

So the local Rotary Club puts on this race every year. There are plenty of different distance rides to choose from. This year my brother was going with the 21 mile leisure ride. His adult sons and grand-kids would also be attending and participating too. This got my brain to start massaging some cells together thinking about attempting the ride myself.

There was one major downside with some bugs that needed to be worked out first. I had not been riding a bike in over 10 years now. Not exactly the right frame of mind to tackle a 21 mile excursion from scratch. Another problem is my road bike had been retired nearly 40 years ago. In the more recent past my butt was riding mountain bikes. That was for seven years prior to being sidetracked enough not finding the time for regular rides so much. Then stopping all together when a major project I wanted to stay focused on took up all of my free time.

Riding bikes on a regular basis takes a lot of pre-ride prep to keep them in top notch shape. There is a lot of lack luster in having to push your bike back home as apposed to riding the whole way. Not having much of needed spare time and distractions prevent routine maintenance from taking place when necessary. And life in general filling up the rest of your free time. After leaving the party, I headed to the shop and dug out my old road bike...

Way beyond my expectations and even more than surprised to find the bike not in nearly bad of shape as I had initially expected. Or even that it should have been in for the years of neglect. Forty years on original tires is like they remove themselves from the wheels just being in storage. So yes surprised is much of an understatement.

I wiped those years of neglect off the bike, then made a poor attempt of cleaning the frame and what parts that were still attached. Some pieces have been robbed over all this time. But after a few hours of digging, I found everything needed to make my bike complete once again. The big shock came when I aired up the tires and they held pressure. As in no hissing afterwards either. Original gum wall tires dont ever fair so well over time. I have never seen a set hold up so good after ten years. But after a quick clean up these were just as soft and pliable like when new. Who would have thought?

I went ahead and pulled the tires off and checked for cracks, delamination and whether or not the tubes would hold up to a test ride. You know just to be on the safe side. Surprise again to find both tubes still look like new. I half expected the stems to have pulled out or dry rot to take its toll. But none of the above. So I found no patched tubes and no punctures in the original tires, still shining like almost new after a good washing.

It is late Sunday night after my brothers birthday party. Tomorrow is Labor Day. So why is everyone not working on Labor Day? Wouldnt that be a great way to recognize such an important holiday? I sure dont know. Whats the big deal anyway?

The more I work on my old road bike, the more motivated I am getting to attempt that charity ride. At least one major hurdle I still have to overcome. Getting enough seat time in the next week so I can endure the grueling 21 miles at a decent pace. I am not as fit as I was 20 years ago. I am fit and healthy, but not riding a bike for nearly ten years will take some effort to replace the muscle memory mine have lost for not doing so for so long.

After working late in to the night, I was more than satisfied the bike actually making a pass up and down the street. OK so far so good. The bike feels almost the way I remember the last time it was ridden. Already past midnight was too late to test the waters any farther. But the next night I jumped in both feet first pedaling away. Outside the shop here around the circle is right at 1/2 mile. Riding counterclockwise is mostly uphill. It is only a slight grade but enough when walking you can tell the difference.

I jumped right on my dinosaur bike and took off. It didnt even take one half of a lap before realizing just how out of shape my legs really were. It was not like I was out of breath or heart rate going off in stroke mode, but my legs were burning like they were on fire. I slowed down slightly, not ready to give up this fool notion just yet. Without pushing myself so much, the legs started to return to a less severe state of too hot to handle. The burn was not increasing so much that I could not continue on.

After a few laps, the burn was still there and now so was fatigue. By the sixth lap I was done for the moment. Then attempting to remove myself from the bike without face planting, I realized just how heavy my legs felt right then. I would swear my legs were filled with concrete. Both legs were so stiff it was difficult to even pick one up and move forward. Just dismounting from the bike took all of the energy I had left. Now this.

Trying to pick up one leg at a time and set it down in front of me attempting to move forward was a major chore. So long as it was anything but going backwards. I was not planning to stand out here in the parking lot all night waiting for my legs to respond. Every time my foot made contact with the ground below a shock wave went thru my body. The closest I can describe is imagining what it would be like to walk around during an earthquake. But with my legs full of concrete it might be them causing that imaginary earthquake. Day two or this fateful endeavor after the awakening was not progressing so much, but not a complete failure yet.

The next night proved to be reliably consistent. Exactly identical results. Well at least the bike is proving to be reliable so far. I decided to ride only at night for my first practice sessions since baking out in the sun would not help out in any form of the word this early on. Consistency is the key to making progress. Except this consistency is consistently slow and no improvement in sight. Another night with six laps in. Same speed, same fire, same painfully heavy feeling in the legs. Not good. No improvement at all.

Day four or practice night three had finally garnished some changes. I had also worked on another road bike. It is just as old as mine and seen a lot of use back then. Everything on this bile was in good condition except the tires. This set of gum walls is how I expected mine to look like. Even tho the tubes did hold air, the tires had frizzled like a bad hair day. I managed an uncomfortable three laps before giving up the reins. These tires were very hard and I felt every crack in the road like shock treatment.

This bike is nearly identical to mine, even down to the weight. But missing the front derailleur cable and was sitting on the smaller chain ring. No matter what rear gear I tried, the pedaling did not fit my needs for now. So deciding to scratch this bike from the list made sense to me. Back to my bike I did manage an amazing six more laps. WOW, like 30 percent improvement from the last two attempts. I am making history tonight. Just so long as I dont become history.

Over the next few nights my laps increased, but the after burn was there in triplicates. Nothing improved in lessening the severity of the pain after I made my precious few laps. By the weekend I did manage 12 laps and still standing upright later on that evening. The leg pump seemed to stick with me overnight and never let up. One good thing is nothing was getting worse as the laps increased.

I was in the home stretch and only a few days left before adventuring out into the unknown. My next goal was 18 laps, but the after burn was still very strong in the legs. The pain subsided in less time as the days passed. I was now determined to make it thru to the end. Over the weekend I even ordered some of those super padded ultra tight Lycra shorts in the underwear style. For outer wears, my choice was a pair of looser fitting bike riding shorts of similar material in olive drab.

My Underoos arrived in the mailbox on Wednesday afternoon. At least I had time for a trial fit and test ride. These fit rather tightly and I was afraid of tearing them in half before sliding up all the way. But I did manage without any alterations to the stitching. Note to self. Buy one larger size next time.

My first impression is not so great. It felt like wearing an extra strength adult diaper equipped with long term absorption capacity. Duck walking was my next thought. Overall they were not so uncomfortable. Now for the test drive. After I managed a whopping 18 laps this time, my butt was still slightly sore, as was on previous attempts. But the comfort of my padded underwear was acceptable. Just wearing a pair of khaki shorts over these did not affect the function or efficiency at all. At least based on what my non-existent knowledge and experience of wearing biking shorts was.

For the timeline so far, Sunday, September 4 was the big family get together and my brothers slightly belated party. Just over a week has passed and is now Wednesday night. I have survived the test drive with biking underwear. Tomorrow is when my baggies will arrive. Then this coming Saturday, the 17th is the race of champions. But I dont qualify in that category just yet.

When my baggies showed up Thursday in the mail, I was impressed. These are very comfortable. Something I could wear as shorts to do just about anything. Working, riding Seadoos, relaxing or even sleeping in, if out camping somewhere. This is my last night to practice then taking a sabbatical before the weekend. I test fit these shorts with my padded Underoos and surprised they work just fine in unison. There is a chance I might just have this licked before ride time. Tonight I managed a full 20 laps with very little burn and no real fatigue like on previous attempts.

OK sure you say, I managed a whopping ten miles and survived. Now just double that, add two more laps then see how my legs and lungs are holding up. Dont forget a heat lamp to simulate the sun either. But no time, I am leaving tomorrow afternoon heading out closer to the starting gate and a place to leave my dog for safe keeping. So Friday late afternoon, I arrive at my destination. It is only 11.1 miles to the Winery where the charity ride begins. That is not 11.1 miles as the crow flies unless it follows the same road map to get there.

This evening is spent on anything but worrying about tomorrows ride. I have spent the last eleven nights focusing on my vintage or just obsolete road bike and nothing left I can do for now. It is dinner time, so we head to the local Brookshires and pick up a pair of nice thick New York Strip steaks to throw on the grill. A good time to celebrate how far I have come in such a short amount of time.

The bike is now ready as humanly possible. I did not bring an air pump or even any tools with me to work on the bike. This bike will sit idly by until I put my foot down on the pedal at tomorrows starting of the charity ride. The tires have been holding air better than if I swapped the tubes out with new Chinese replacements. My 40 year old tires and tubes were made in Japan just so you know.

If I end up broken down on side of the road, time to call Uber for my return trip to the finish line. My day would be over. But so far nothing has plagued me with any issues. I checked everything over several times and then checked again. Besides what could go wrong this late in the game? My bike was perfectly fine the last time it was ridden any real distance over 40 years ago.

Did I mention how good that steak tasted? It was very filling too. After I swallowed the last bite something hit me. Is this a good idea before such a feat like tomorrows ride? If I had been in shape and already riding a lot in recent years, maybe not such a bad move. But now thinking, a lot of protein before a long ride is not the smartest thing to do. Oh well, water under the bridge now.

I was feeling good about myself, thinking back over the years when riding almost every day. In the more recent past on the mountain bike trails, just about every spare afternoon I could squeeze in. But even 20 years before that, making a long distance ride in town somewhere or around a local lake happened quite frequently. But not realizing until this moment that was 2/3 of my life ago. Yikes!

 

My nephew is who I ended up riding with at the first race, or really just a charity ride that everyone dresses up like they are professionals. We hooked up early and casually worked thru the entries to the front of the pack. Even before the first pit stop we managed to catch up with most of the front runners from the group that started before us. They went on the longer ride and our turn off is at the first pit stop. We make a right turn and they keep on moving straight ahead.

Said nephew has done a lot of riding over the years, both mountain and road bike. I wouldnt call him a hardcore, but he does have all of the over priced bikes and riding attire. I still cant force myself to wear tights. Maybe if I was in a ballet, no not happening. I will stick to looking the part of an outsider that has no clue like I know what is going on.

Besides I am still on my 40 year old bike, so I fit the clueless part perfectly. If I completely bomb out then no worry. Blame it on the bike, wrong choice of clothing or a number of other things. Well everything but myself being the main reason for failing to finish or not finishing in a decent time frame.

So during my first charity ride, I hooked up with the nephew. We did manage to pull way ahead of everyone else that had also decided to make the first pit stop. There were 7 other riders that chose not to stop. So they initially put some distance on us. After we continued on, it was not very long before catching up to a pair of riders that were putting down a decent pace, just slightly slower than we were.

At the next pit stop, the Boy Scouts volunteered to assist there. We stopped and I choked down half of a green banana and a few shots of very cold water. After offering out our thanks for their efforts, then back to attempting a decent pace moving forward.

As of this part of the ride, I had already traveled farther than all of my practice nights. Some of the grades were starting to work on my legs. I was surprised to find out just how slow a bike can go in some of the gears.

Most road bikes have a very broad gear range. So for some fast downhills to seriously steep grades, you are mostly covered. Well right up until your legs are no longer performing optimally.

Realizing my legs had fallen in this state of ill preparedness, speed had seriously dropped on the more difficult uphill runs. I felt one part of the ride, my legs were spinning but the bike was not really moving forward.

Looking down at the ground, I swore an ant was making more headway than I was at one time. OK not really anything this ridiculous, but I was spinning my wheels not going anywhere fast. There were only a couple of places I found my body failed to serve me well.

As we continued on there were two more riders that probably should have taken advantage of a pit stop or two. They had slowed way down and looked to be running out of steam. We passed by them almost in a blur. With our short pit stops, we had not tired out so much yet.

If this were a real competition race, then no one would be stopping. But being a charity recreational ride, the pit stops are for safety measures and just plain convenience. No reason for someone to kill themselves trying to do exactly what I was attempting. Pushing myself without the needed preparation before this event.

Tho everyone else was riding expensive bikes and dressed out in biking tights but myself, I am curious how many of these riders actually saw very much action between these types of rides. But I can assume that many had seen way more seat time that I did before this particular ride.

Towards the end, there was one long slightly down hill stretch that was on the service road. If you were not burned out by now, it was easy to get up some decent speed. I ran out of gear trying to see how fast the bike would go. I also ran out of muscle. My right leg cramped up something terrible. I thought my ride was finished for the day. It hurt that bad. Over the years I dont ever remember getting any charlie horses like this one. Actually I have never had one at all.

OK I will admit getting a cramp when trying to remove some heavy duty rubber boots like used when pouring concrete. You have to point your foot forward so much causing a cramp to just happen. But can easily be remedied once that boot is completely removed.

So my right leg has fallen by the wayside and I am trying to keep it from dragging the ground. Failed attempts at stretching the muscle to hopefully rectify the problem, well was a total failure. My left leg was still pushing the pedal around for a half stroke while I was thinking seriously about throwing in the towel.

There was a well maintained grassy knoll right there in front of this new car dealership parking lot that looked perfect to make an emergency landing and just lay there in pain for the duration. I mean seriously, it hurt. Options were limited and this was one that seemed to fit the situation just fine.

I saw no other choice at that moment. My nephew had also pedaled on ahead maxing out his speed and pulled away right as my leg cramped up. No amount of hollering would get his attention since we were now running into the wind. I was either going down in the sinking ship or make an emergency stop.

Failing to make a final decision took a few moments since the pain was interfering with rational thought. Fortunately having a lack of decision right then was not a bad thing. The over cramped muscle was starting to relax. Not so much but the severity of pain was becoming, well less severe now. Hard as it was to do, I remounted the right pedal and forced my leg to continue on, hoping to work thru the pain.

It took the rest of that slightly downhill distance for my leg to mostly recover, but it did settle down enough to keep going forward. My right leg was strictly on light duty maneuvers now and lefty was getting overworked. It I wasnt careful my bike would be trying to go in counterclockwise circles. Well not really. Some fiction there.

At the end of the long service road run came a sudden shock. I had to exit off, sweep around the bend and then make a sharp left hand turn up hill over a bridge. Why did they have to put this bridge here right at the last few miles of the ride? While I ran out of gear speeding on the service road, the opposite happened attempting the trek over this bridge.

There did not seem to be enough gear range to help my lack of fitness trying to keep the bike in forward motion while my legs had turned to rubber this time. I had nothing left to push them any harder than the easiest gear to pedal. It didnt even feel all that easy just then either. My legs were spinning around at high speed, but the bike was barely making any headway at all.

I could have dismounted my bike and pushed it faster than the distance traveled in this gear. There was not enough strength in my legs left at the moment to crest the top of the bridge without almost falling over. I was moving that slowly. Finally at the top, I could at least look forward to a slight downhill coast while my legs could play catch up.

After the bridge fiasco, we switched back on the other side of the highway and now a slight incline for a mile before the last pit stop. This final pit stop was only three miles from the finish line. No real reason to even make a stop there. Except for no strength left in these legs. Nephew was nice enough to hang back with me this close to the end of the ride.

I did learn that pickle juice was the hot ticket for cramps. Well so I was told. Being sore, tired, dehydrated and queasy in the stomach by now, turning up a jigger of pickle juice didnt seem like the smartest thing to do. It sure didnt go down very well. I shook it off and made a poor attempt to remount my bike and proceed to the finish line.

There was no reason for the nephew to hold back waiting on me this close to the end of our ride. I told him it was just fine with me to go on ahead. The last stretch was just slightly uphill so almost like walking up a long gradual handicap ramp the rest of the way. If my legs were not so worn out, this would have been very little effort. I quit trying to push myself and my only goal now was to just finish.

Fortunately the end was in sight and with an uneventful crossing of the finish line I was done with this charity ride. We ended up fourth and fifth in finishing order. Not that anyone was counting, recording or cared. Being only a recreational ride there was no awards, acknowledgement or pig ribbons for participation. You know like the kind that everyone is a winner in competition. Everyone gets a first place ribbon just for trying. No one goes home feeling like a looser. Dont forget about the rainbows and unicorns either.

There is one saving grace for pushing myself in this ride. I did want to see how fair or poorly I would do over the distance against most of the other 60 plus participants on this route. It was about 7 minutes before a few of the riders in our group finally made it to the finish. This did make me feel a lot better about my less than stellar performance.

That was my first charity ride. Now in a few days, the first weekend of June, I am going to participate in yet another charity event. This ride is 24 miles long and only have a whopping 4 days to prepare for the challenge. My nephew had called me last Thursday while I was out of town.

So after returning Saturday afternoon, I aired up the tires and jumped back on my 40 year old bike. It was in the gear I had ridden before that kept my legs loaded even on a slight down hill run. So a noticeable amount of effort on just a slight incline. Without any warm ups or bothering with a quick once around the loop just to loosen up first, I hit the circle again by the shop.

My confidence was riding high on the first time back on this dino bike since last October. I had continued to make some laps on occasion until the rain drowned out too many weeks before getting colder than I was willing to keep it up. Then made excuses until I found out about this up and coming ride.

So Saturdays first practice was mostly a success. I immediately felt a slight burn and it kept up for the whole ride. Nothing so bad I needed to adjust for it. Not even an easier gear choice either. Just kept pushing the pedals forward until I managed 10 miles.

The loop by the shop is 1/2 mile. It is like a horse shoe shape that is a gradual uphill except for the straight section. Then a slight downhill and easy to gain some speed for that short distance. The gear choice still kept my legs under decent load, so no coasting on any part of the loop.

After 20 laps I pulled off and called it good. My legs felt some slight workout, but nothing at all like last years poor attempt of getting up to speed. About 30 minutes after this first practice ride, legs were feeling just fine. No kidding at all. I was very pleased with the results.

One down side came later on that night. I was not tired at all. In fact I could not go to sleep. So much as I tried, nothing worked to make me want to sleep. My legs were not sore, the back pain was much less than usual. I was wide awake and no chance of shutting down and counting sheep.

It was nearly 5:30 the next morning before I finally get any real deep sleep. That only lasted until 8:00 AM. Now I wanted to get some sleep, just because I didnt have any reason to get up this early, since there were no plans of any significance. With some effort I forced some more sleep without much success. I got it, but mostly in short stints and not very satisfying.

It was later in the day, and I am now looking towards the evening. My plans were to do a copy of Saturday nights ride. Maybe even pushing a little bit harder. But for some reason when the time came for my practice ride, I could not keep awake. I was almost a walking zombie. Oh cool, maybe this could be a potential plot to work on for a story line based on these rides.

So I scratched Sunday nights practice. Sleep overtook any chance of getting that ride in. I felt tired and lost all motivation in attempting practice ride #2. After a good nights sleep, I did feel a lot more motivated. This next day I worked on getting a bunch of overgrowth cleared out around the shop. Then later right at dark, I took my super cool Blue Heeler, Abby the dog for her nightly 2 mile walk.



At the shop we will walk a solid two miles. This keeps her tuned up so she doesnt go crazy sitting around all day doing nothing but running off all of the feral cats. Then still needing to find some way to burn off all of that unused energy. At my cabin way back in the woods, we manage a full three miles every night. This more than does the trick to keep her in check.

Just like the postman, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" keeps me from making sure she gets in her exercise. It would take a hurricane, which is impossible to come this far inland to keep us from walking. This is one thing she will not let slip by. My dog is super patient, right up until she isnt. Her walk is permanently etched in every day on the calendar. No exceptions at all.

So the second night for another attempt at my practice ride was a total flop. Sleep deprivation was my excuse. The dog was not overlooked. It went on as scheduled. But afterwards, I was hit hard with tired and went to bed early for me. The next day, after a decent amount of useless yard work, then the dog walk, came time for another practice ride.

I immediately felt some difference getting rolling out on the loop. My legs had slightly more burn this time right from the start. Fortunately is was very mild and controlled. After about 3 miles passed, the burn lighten up to almost not even feeling much at all. The next part was just maintaining a steady pace hoping to push slightly faster than my first attempt.

I felt good on this run and thought my time had dropped. Well it felt like I was keeping the average speed up. But when it was over I had ridden an additional 4 minutes longer than the previous run. I was only using my brain to keep up with the number of laps. Did I make more laps without realizing the mistake. Well it is possible.

I will try to find out tomorrow night if that was the case. A lap counter would be nice, but will have to figure something that might work for this.

Practice night three was right on schedule. Lots of rain earlier, but nothing later on. The humidity was on the high side, but temps kept it from being much of a problem. Right after the required nightly dog walk, I prepared for my practice ride.

Preparation so far has been taking one plain old aspirin with a cup of cold water. Beyond that, I do nothing else. Tonights ride I did not feel so motivated as last night. I also decided not to push myself any harder either. After the first few laps everything came together and consistency was my goal.

Once again I tried to keep up with the laps in my head. Maybe even managed to get it right this time. Nothing eventful happened tonight. I didnt mention the feral dogs that tried nipping at my feet last night. The pit bull was the only one I was concerned with.

Fortunately none of them were that interested in me. They seemed to be out looking for a more convenient meal. I must not have been that appealing to them Or maybe just too much work for a potential reward.

Tonight I didnt push myself but did manage to finish the ride in 42 minutes. That is almost two minutes longer than the first night. Last nights ride was 44 minutes. But I am now fairly certain there was an extra lap or more made as I must have miscounted.

Last nights ride I tired to push myself harder and should have broken the 40 minute mark. So that means possibly miscounting two laps. This is very possible. Especially with the time I made tonight.

Mycron makes expensive lap counters. There should be an old Mycron II around in the shop somewhere from use on something else years ago. If I can set it up, then find out if worth the effort for tomorrow nights practice session.

Last fall, right after my first charity ride, the first thing I realized is not having nearly enough water on board. Wont be a problem now. I picked up a used Camelback to try out. With plenty of ice in the bladder should help keep my core body temp from getting too hot early on.

I dont like having something strapped on my back. Especially considering the extra weight. Not so much a problem as an awkward inconvenience. I have never used one or attempted to carry a backpack before either.

Back in my school days was before everyone carried backpacks. All of my books were carried under my left arm for every class all day. The high school I attended took up 14 acres of buildings. My locker was always inconveniently located on the wrong side of the school every single year.

It is funny remembering back years after finishing school. There is this one reoccurring dream about being in school and forgetting the combination to my locker. Almost a nightmare not having the right books or not able to retrieve my homework for the day. But I never used that stupid locker so not understanding why the dreams for all those years.

In a post apocalyptic world, carrying a backpack should be almost second nature. My BOB or GHB or INCH bag should already be a natural extension of my body by now. Boy I am failing bad here.

 

I realized many years ago that there is a reason you do certain things that are not the normal for yourself. The for example here is getting back to riding bikes. Road bikes in particular.

When I had a lot of free time, mountain bike riding was very enjoyable on a good experienced trail, but road bikes have more of a usefulness to them. Distance and speed are what makes the difference. A mountain bike can almost duplicate the road bike in same environment, but you still expel more energy to do so.

With all of the worldly events going on, why am I all of the sudden so focused on getting up to speed on a bike again? In an emergency, I could get by without all of the preparations that have preceded both charity rides so far. Not so much as in actual out of pocket expense, since there was none to speak of.

So you ask what happened on this last bike ride? Well I was just getting around to fill you in. This second bike ride was 24 miles. That first one only 21 miles. Given the variations in terrain, doubt I could have been able to tell the difference in that 3 miles.

The first ride last fall, now one year ago had what felt like a very steep grade right at the end. Not so much in distance more so incline for a very short climb right after a super fast downhill straight run. It was very painful to make the top of that bridge for some reason. Maybe the charlie horse was the biggest problem right then. After that, just a slight uphill grade for rest of that ride. But I was about done in by then.

This last ride at beginning of summer had a combination of minor difficulties all thru the route. Most of the course was out in the hilly countryside. There was a serious uphill climb that I ran out of gear on attempting. It was a snails pace or I could have gotten off the bike and walked it faster. But after this only had to contend with mild grades and then mostly flat to the very end with only the last road slightly inclined. By then, just seeing the finish line made it much easier to push myself that short distance.

I was drained after this ride. Then wondering how bad other riders felt when they just finished. Maybe spending more than a couple of days preparing for this ride would have been smarter. I was surprised a few guys on roller blades were out there. Even those fancy skate boards with bigger wheels were included.

I was even more than surprised how fast those guys were running. At our first pit stop they were not far behind us. By the time I stretched my legs they were pulling up in the parking lot. I am not sure about taking one of these things for a cruise down the street at the speed we were running on the bikes.

No different than a lot of people, I like going fast on things. But a skate board is not near top of that list or even close to reaching up to the bottom either. I never gave those skate boards much of a close up. For some reason powered skateboards do not interest me. Would not take up much room for a small motor and battery to supplement the leg muscles. But not to my taste.

This ride was mostly uneventful. Just another chance to test myself. That is about it. The entry fee was a lot higher, but did include cheeseburger and drinks. Also an event T-shirt. Who could ask for anything else?

The only peeve I had is a group of riders that stayed bunched together. There was enough of them that you could not move up and thru the pack. We got stuck behind these guys for a while. They were running just slightly slower than us. I was comfortable running at a particular pace and slowing down behind them totally threw me off.

I had to pull out into street traffic in order to make a clean pass. Then it happened again. I got that charlie horse on my right leg. It caused me to shut down and loose all that speed and momentum. They caught back up and passed us again.

At least this time they had spread out a bit more in line. I favored my leg for a moment then tried getting some speed back. It took a bit of work but finally pulled way past them and another group ahead before backing off and continuing at my old pace.

They were last seen running behind that one other group and we never saw them again. When the ride was finished, just like last year, that was it. No participation trophies, pig ribbons or congratulations. Just adios muchachos. Be sure to come back again next year.

There may have been some type of entertainment scheduled for later in the day, but my group had other plans and all left within 30 minutes after we had finished. I also felt completely lost without my faithful companion, Abby.

It is amazing how much certain breeds of dogs have such influence in ones life. A Blue Heeler is one breed you either cant live with or cant live without. Obviously in my case I cant live without. Then the very thought of my dog not there waiting for my return. Oh the humanity. Unfortunately these rides are not so dog friendly. She cant be left out there somewhere hoping I will return soon enough.

Finding someone to babysit that is willing to stick around while I am cruising across the countryside is not happening either. It would be nice, but that is asking way too much for most people these days. In other times past, then not so much of a problem.

So today it is September 1, 2023. I realized time is running out and not even once taken the bike for some laps. Up until this week, well this whole summer, it would have been suicide attempting much more than walking my dog at night.

The temps have been staggering during the day and even late in the evening. I know they call it summer for a reason. Fortunately the humidity has been historically low this whole time. Really I dont ever remember the humidity not being just about unbearable like all years previous.

This is the only thing making the near record high temps bearable. If there was even much humidity on any of these days, I would have been holed up for the duration. Even with the unusually high temps, no records of any consequence were broken. Especially no global warming records anyway.

I was surprised, well not really, to see how the media played this. Across most of this heat bubble, it did stay uncomfortably hot, like very. But the news had to spin it to catch your attention. So the headlines would be more like RECORD HIGHS OF 115. Heat index reaches new record with temps 102 degrees today were in small print.

So a quick look there you see RECORD HIGH 115 and know its hot outside. But nothing to that effect. It just feels hotter. So naturally make people think the worse. Not because they are smart and pay attention to most things. But because so many are stupid and lazy.

So most of this summer was way too hot to do much outside, unless in the shade with a big fan. Even then would dry you out fairly quickly. I was not in any hurry to push myself when out in the direct sunlight. Even the local lake water temps were so hot not to be enjoyable at all. No water sports this summer either.

Then the big heat wave peaked and just about normal for this time of year has returned for a week. It felt so different could have passed for spring. The night temps finally dropped in to the upper 70's by morning. With the humidity remaining very low, made for a decent night time ride.

These last two charity rides the weather has been overcast. So far I have not felt the wrath of the sun baking down on me. Along with the convection oven of heat reflecting off the pavement and back on my eventually overcooked body. Without a decent turkey baster, I probably would not fair so well. So I am not practiced or prepared for a direct full sun exposure ride.

Tonight at about 10pm, I aired up the tires on my 40 year old dinosaur. They were getting too low to attempt a short ride. I didnt want to roll one off or have a blowout from being lazy or negligent. This time tho I actually aired them up closer to the recommended 90psi.

For some reason none of my gauges go up past 60psi, so that was a guestimate. I could tell the difference from last time out. You can feel every crack and bump in the road when tires are at full pressure. Before, they rode over the slight imperfections in road with a little bit more cushion.

Since I have not bothered with a single lap after the last charity ride, my objective was just make laps and find out where I stand. The first lap I didnt try pushing myself. I also dropped down one gear to slightly reduce the load on pedal. It really didnt change much, except for a slightly slower pace.

The second lap I picked up the speed to my normal comfort zone. For the remainder of this trek, nothing changed at all. Then a final cool down after the 20 laps. I convinced myself to make those 20 laps. That was the goal for tonight. I didnt know what to expect yet.

So the last lap, I felt no different than the first one. It is only 10 miles, so not really far enough to get much of a workout. But that extra cool down lap my legs did seem to want to object. Like that was not discussed at the drivers meeting with them when I started.

There were two distractions that completely thru me off my pace and messed things up. There is one spot I ride against traffic. Most the time, there isnt any to bother with. But when a vehicle is in this lane, I have to swerve off the road and hit the sidewalk for a short distance.

Unfortunately there is a low profile curb to jump over. It is not easy to see or negotiate with at night. A quick swerve over then sudden jolt that I can feel thru my whole body. It throws the bike over to edge of sidewalk and sometimes I have to fight getting back in control.

One other incidence was at this part of practice course. I can pick up speed easily here running slightly downhill, then usually coast thru the sharp left turn back on to the loop. I leaned into the turn while still cranking the pedal. That shift in body weight, changed what muscles were being relied on. Then I felt a near charlie horse muscle spasm start to hit. It is the same one that has plagued me each time.

I straightened the bike up maintaining speed while carefully favoring my leg without really slowing down or taking much load off. Taking the lean out of my body relieved the slight pull on that muscle. Then the last two laps, I didnt bother with pushing than one sharp turn any harder than before.

So my first night back on the bike was so uneventful, is not really worth reading or even writing this. But it is part of the rigorous training program I am going push to be better prepared for this years ride.

Did I mention this year that 21 mile ride will be in the 35 mile group? No maybe I forgot about than minor detail. I was not considering this distance originally. But after careful thought, maybe not push myself so hard. Then make the extra distance and not feel like I got run over by a truck afterwards.

Last years first attempt at this I just wanted to push myself to see where I stood against the hundreds of other riders. Hanging with the larger group would have been a decent goal. It is only a charity ride, not competition. But more than satisfied finishing in the top 5. Again, it was just a leisure ride. But all of the other participants were decked out like professional racers. I was still way underdressed and out biked by 40 years.

The last ride just a few months ago was slightly different. Everyone started at the same time. So 600 riders are headed out the gate. I hung back thinking this will be fun. There should not be any place on our route without someone either faster or slower to run with. The last part of our ride was not nearly as busy like at the beginning. But not all deserted either.

So this first nights practice was good overall. I am not feeling any pain or burn. Not at all tired either. If nothing changes, and I do get some decent sleep this time, tomorrow night I may attempt more laps. Or not as many. Hard to tell just yet.

For some reason, the first evening practicing for both previous rides, I was wide awake for most of the night afterwards. Maybe working the ole cardio muscles can change your daily routine. Could even be beneficial from time to time. Or maybe I should spend more time doing it. Tonight I am not so amped up like before. Hoping to fall asleep at the normal time. Will follow up later if anything exciting happens preparing for the next charity ride.

 

Sounds interesting.
I probably missed it ,, but what kind of bike were you running ?? And what was your total mileage ? I've kept my ass on road bikes since the mid 80s .
I've not been on a dirt bike ,, or Enduro in yrs . I used to love trail riding ,, dirt bikes ,, just traveling trails thru the woods and creeks .
I could have picked up a 20+ yr old KTM 400 a few weeks ago ,, supposedly completely rebuilt ,,, I could have got it for next to nothing,,, just because I've got something the guy wanted ,, but also because the guy was scared of that bike. It had already thrown him once .
But ,, glad you enjoyed your ride .

 

Continuing preparation for Charity bike ride September 2023

If you are still following this thread, then it must be of some interest. Personally I dont know how exciting it would be if just reading for myself. Now if I was a couch potato living vicariously thru the stories of others, then maybe a lot more entertaining.

If this is the case, I could be climbing a mountain in one story, being chased by zombies, or racing in the Baja 1000. If that was too strenuous, then maybe try something a bit less tiresome. You know reading about basket weaving or canning sheep testicles.

So why am I writing about riding a bicycle? Actually I am finding my limitations doing so. In the not so distant future, something unfathomable will happen. It always does. History has proven this way too many times. Most likely in my lifetime, since I am not quite a senior citizen yet. There are enough years left in this abused body to easily live thru the next downfall of society.

The big question is will I just survive or will I thrive?

Todays practice ride was not nearly as stellar as the first night. I went from nothing to all in two nights ago. Last night was a wash. Its not that anything hurt, but the heart was not in it. To prepare for the next charity ride, I must improve with every workout. This means my body, mind and soul have to be in sync together working as one.

Lat night one or two of the three were not in harmony. I am glad for passing on the workout. It would have been much worse than tonight. But I would not have likely ridden tonight if last nights results ended up as expected they would be.

This time out, I felt it immediately. Just a slight burn from sore muscles. I either need to wait a few days, or slowly work my legs until they are more suited to riding at a fast pace. I think this is called a warmup. Times a wastin, so burn will have to do.

With the stroke of an apocalypse, do you really have time to do warm ups? Can you waste the time to bend down stretching those leg muscles while hell fire and brimstone are all about the world?

Are you calm now realizing the world as it was has drastically changed forever? Did you remember to load the new bugout items purchased recently? Oh wait, you are still doing your stretches so the bike ride thru hell will be more comfortable.

I didnt push the first two laps, just steady pace until the burn faded. But I also didnt run as hard like before. Stay steady and maintain a consistent overall pace. This time it seemed to take much longer achieving the first five laps. Not so much the actual time, but more of the mental projection of it. The next five laps put me halfway thru. I didnt feel any worse, but certainly not better off.

By this time, my forehead was experiencing the usual pressure and slightly blurred vision. Nothing more than expected. Just something that takes your focus slightly off the road. At lap 15 I was feeling the charlie horses on both legs. If I changed my riding style at all, it used these muscles and almost ended up cramping.

Mostly the right leg gets the charlie horse. I felt it coming when standing up to stretch for a moment. Another time is when leaning into a fast sharp turn while still pedaling. One thing surprising is riding without hold of the handlebars. It is easy enough to balance keeping the steering pointed where you want.

I would straighten up my back with arms hanging down and relaxed. In this position some different muscles are now being used to crank the pedals. They go full charlie if I dont catch them in time. The left leg cramped and I almost had to stop. But I stretched my leg after regaining control of the bike while coasting for only a short distance.

The cramp subsided as I favored it for half lap before returning to normal load. The last two laps I could feel both legs where the same muscle was not happy about being used or stretched so much. But if I catch this in time during the charity ride, then can work it thru so not having to stop and repair myself.

So you are asking, its a stupid charity race, who really effing cares? Well if one of your bugout scenarios includes riding a bike, you should start to think about caring. If your main mode of escape fails, then the second one also bombs out, what are you going to do?

If you can still walk, you can ride a bike. Right now I can ride a bike without a lot of trouble. But with a tendon giving me fits in my left heel, and a wrenched knee on my right leg, option three might not seem so bad. The lower back gave out years ago. Too many times landing on my had will do that.

I can still walk just about any distance, with a limp, but no way will there be any chance of running involved. Enter the bicycle here. Very EMP proof and not everyone will be trying to kill you over a bicycle. If your car is still running when others are not, then expect to see a lot of new faces. You may want to have the brothers Smith and Wesson on your side for the meet and greet.

Since my road bike is over 40 years old and everything is still original, including most of the air in tires, I see this as a solid backup of a backup to my main course of action. So does this story need to be all fiction or based on real time life experience?

I am enjoying these rides. They are a good workout. On this next ride the distance is increased over 30%. I am not going to push myself like the last two. Set a slightly slower pace and try to maintain it for as much of the ride possible.

IF, written in caps, the tide turned and I needed to Escape from LA, or Escape from New York City, it could be very easily accomplished. That is assuming I dont get taken out by some other force. So far after these rides I am not feeling like death warmed over for the distance traveled. Just needing no more than 30 minutes to rest up and almost back to normal.

Tonights practice went without major issues. I did use a gps, but didnt get satellite signals until more than half the ride was over. So this first data is not so useful. The short time there was data, confirmed what I had already figured. Speed and distance worked out very close to what I thought was correct. That was using old school math.

I averaged nearly 14 mph with a max speed of 22 mph. The max was for just for a very short distance and only a few laps did that even happen. I was not pushing as hard this time like the previous charity ride practices. I went to an easier gear to help prepare for the longer distance. So slightly slower than the last time.

My bike has 12 gear changes. So far on most of the routes I stay on a particular gear. A long downhill I will change to get the most speed. On serious or extended up hills, I change to an easier pedal, but loose all my speed. For normal flat riding, that preferred gear is what I keep. Up or down one change sometimes as needed.

If the humidity is high or very hot, then dropping a gear will reduce the labor I am exerting. I can either crank faster with less load and maintain the same speed or maintain the same crank speed and run slightly slower.

I think the correct term is cadence. They say a good cadence is 80-100 rpm of pedal crank. Beginners may run lower around 60-85. For most of the time I have been favoring a heavier pedal. This keeps me outside of that recommended range and closer to the beginners. Remember I dont wear spandex, so that may also require me to stay at a beginners level.

For an average speed of 15 mph with a cadence between 80-100 seems to make for a very light pedal. But I need to do the math and find out for sure. All of this is new to me. I grew up only knowing how to ride a bike That is all. None of the dynamics and physics ever entered into the equation until last year.

Maybe all of this data will help me to factor in things if that day comes and I have to bail out. If it comes down to riding a bike, I wont be laying on side of the road looking like a pretzel with muscle cramps. That is if someone has not already put a bullet in my head before then.

Everyone has holes in their preps, and I am working in areas that can be tested and filled in. Or at least having an idea of what to expect if it comes to that.

Instead of coming up with some make believe apocalypse plot and then add all of the BS for excitement and filler, maybe I will write a journal instead. Based on reality then use any of the information if needed in the future.

This way I can throw all kinds of kinks in the equation and try to figure out ways to rectify them. Hey I might be on to something here. How much can I carry when riding? What happens if someone tries to stick a broom handle thru the spokes? How does a road bike handle in pouring down rain?

Will I be able to make the full distance to the bugout in one day? Should I plan for two days and pack accordingly? What options do I have if needing to pull a trailer? Are there windshields available that adapt to the stupid helmets that some states require everyone to wear?

I guess it might not be a bad idea to check on your own states laws relevant to bikes. Wow this could be something worth writing about. Maybe even a Pulitzer.

While working on getting in shape for this next charity bike ride, my mind is off somewhere else. I mean really, just going around in what amounts to nothing but a big 1/2 mile circle is not a very exciting thing to do. It could be worse if I was only sitting here like you and reading about it.

The first nights practice was very successful, since I didnt hurt so much after the 10 miles. But the next night was a complete no-go. I was not in to hitting those laps again. Night three resulted in just how out of shape I am in.

Not so much time or distance, but the aches and pains afterwards. Night four was another total bust. Not happening. Night five the same thing. I was not in the right frame of mind. Every muscle and joint was sore and I was not having much luck keeping my eyes open.

Maybe, just maybe I got hit with some Covid variant that has yet to be verified. You know like an offshoot of any one of those too numerous to keep record breakthrough variants. One maybe has weakened considerably, that can still make you feel like crap. But only lasts a day or so.

If that one is out there, then a probability. Oh wait, that is not possible. I never got in line for all of those vaccine clot shots and worthless boosters. So not likely contracted a lesser than sub-variant of anything connected to Covid.

OK, I, me that is, will admit, am a vaccine denier. There I finally got that off my chest. Man I will surely be able to sleep better tonight with such a heavy load lifted. No wonder it was getting so hard to breathe. But with that mild variant now passed from my body, I felt a lot better tonight. Not so tired like the last two days.

I mean what is the likelihood of my lack of strength being the result of that massive amount of ragweed floating around in the air these last few days. Its not like being so allergic to it should make me feel this tired. It is mere coincidence that ragweed blew out the same time I quit feeling so sick. Well mostly tired and drained.

Tonight I was more than satisfied with my practice ride. There were no laps I miss counted and the time was right where it should be. I felt the worst by lap 7, but that remained the same for rest of the ride. Dismounting the bike, some leg joints were objecting, but overall nothing to concern myself about.

For the last week, temps have been up near record highs again. Just the last two or three days have been 107 and 108. And to think it is only September. Even past 8pm it has been right at 100 degrees.

This heat is nearly unbearable to do much work in. But since the humidity has been so low is the only thing making it tolerable. I dont ever remember any summers in my lifetime where the humidity was not hovering around 75% or higher during this time of year.

I now have a better understanding of how people can life in desert climates and not totally collapse from heat exhaustion. High heat and humidity can kill quick. High humidity or high heat will make you fell miserable long before it kills you. You still have to take the necessary precautions to keep yourself safe from either or both.

The only thing still bothersome right now is the charlie horse issues. When leaning over taking a fast turn and still pedaling thru is when I feel the upheaval. Wow, that word actually fits here. When I straighten the bike back up, then the cramping subsides, but does not go completely away.

Time to do some internet research and see if there is some miracle cure for charlie horse syndrome while riding a bike. Where else could I find it. The only place I dont have to do diligent research confirming what someone has already published online. If it is online then must be true.

As I sit here tonight the workout pain has subsided. It only took about 30 minutes after the ride and all back to near normal. Now the cool part comes. While making laps earlier is when my mind derailed and went off exploring on its own. A potential plot for a storyline came to light. With so much crap happening right now that should not be, anything could turn into a disaster.

With the oncoming scare of this next bout of some killer Covid variant, why not add a twist and turn it into some interesting fiction. I mean it is mostly that now anyway. Following the news these days, creativity can take a back seat. So much of the things happening you could not even make up any better.

I am thinking the majority of intelligent people are not going to put up with all of those restrictions like the first time around. So the feds will have to do something so the unwashed masses will obey. At least until just after the next election.

So why not a discreet EMP to make a strong point, accidentally of course. There is way too much fiction already written about this, so about time to finally become reality. So much science fiction has already become reality. Just takes time to happen somewhere else besides what has been written on paper.

With private space exploration now a reality, someone could accidentally load a small nuke on a test flight. I mean this is a fictional story here, why not? Can you come up with something better on the fly?

Or better yet blame it on Russia, China, Rocket Man or Iran. This results in a lot of commerce being shut down. The feds now have a power play and force everyone to lock down procedures and confine themselves as ordered. So to keep ahead of this next Covid outbreak, or federal over reach, I can try to outrun it on my EMP proof bike.

The focus is getting out of the city and to the bugout location, which is really my cabin out in the sticks. Not actually try to outrun a virus like being chased. That would be stupid.

I am trying to get away from a blue city where these restrictions can be severely enforced or else. See there might be a good reason for why I became interested in riding again. Preparing for the yet unknown.

So how about this for a title "Outrunning the Mutated Virus-A Covid One Novel". I know what you are thinking. That is one cool sounding title. But could I fill it with enough intrigue and excitement to keep someones interest peaked? Just following the daily news, it would not take much creativity to do that.

Now after you thinking over the title, it sounds very familiar. OK, maybe I sort of stole it from The Covert One Series by Robert Ludlum.

 

I'll stick with my Addmotor e bike makes long rides a lot more fun. Not unusual for us to ride 20 to 40 miles for lunch.

 

You would ride three to four hours just to eat lunch somewhere?

 

Still September 2023 preparing for the next charity bike ride.

It just turned 11:20 pm tonight. I am sitting down then wiping the sweat out of my eyes. It sort of burns you know. Temp just dropped down to 82 degrees at 95% humidity. Not so bad for a ride at night. But humidity high enough for me to sweat.

What a great night to practice too. Last night all hell broke loose for a while. The days high was officially 109. It was still over 100 at 8pm. Shortly after, the temp dropped from 99 to 77 in about an hour. I was so looking forward to a cold ride. But no sooner did the large pelting rain let up, the temp jumped right back to 95.

Later on with humidity more like expected this time of year it finally dropped down to 80%. Then the hot rain fell with super high winds. I gave up after two attempts just walking my dog. By 3 am, I was not so interested in the scheduled practice. So it was a wash just like the streets were by then.

Temps only made it to 96 today, at 13 degrees cooler than yesterdays disaster. So about 10:30 pm my next practice session began. This time I managed to find a signal on the antiquated Garmin ETREX that is past retirement. It has served me well over the last 25 years. But thinking time for an upgrade.

Back to tonights follies. I won practice. I mean I really did it. Even tho it was only me out riding I did really well. Then backing it up with worthwhile feedback was a super bonus. Before tonight I solely relied on keeping count of laps and checking time from a clock hanging on the wall using simple 4th grade math.

For the first few laps I stayed at a steady pace. No reason to start feeling my muscles straining too early. Then I slowly increased the speed ever so slightly. It was not until lap 10 did I start feel the tingling in both hands and working up my arms. The neck has sustained some damage over the years. A few cranked, crushed and crammed together discs.

I made it to lap 14 before the head pressure took out my vision. But relaxing best I could that subsided over the next two laps. The forward head pressure was relieved enough for me to push myself a little bit more.

The last two laps I kept a better pace than any previous attempt this far into a session. These last two laps were actually my fastest ones of the 20 covered tonight. Over all I am a happy camper or part time amateur charity bike riding participant.

One change that I kept with is the gear choice. I went up one click for a lighter pedal. Also slightly slower speed. So my cadence increased without working my legs as much. This may be a reason for not having any signs of a charlie horse tonight. Or not have anything to do with it.

The only thing that sucked this evening is all of the head on traffic I had to deal with. Does not matter if I run a headlight or not, they dont ever bother to acknowledge my presence. So I usually pull over and stop until the vehicle passes by anyway when they are too close.

Tonight every single car that I encountered also came to a stop waiting for me. Much like a Mexican standoff. This strip of road is wider than two lanes, but they dont seem to think it can be shared with a bike. So I start cranking again after loosing all of that time and speed killing my overall average.

Just the amount of traffic tonight was way more than I have ever dealt with too. Maybe there is a window I hit when the stores in the area have just closed or happy hour is over. Heck might even be when the local VFW runs everyone off. I dont know. But might try later or earlier next time and see how it goes.

The total elapsed time for this session was 41:46. That is in minutes, just so you know. This includes mounting the bike and dismounting when finished.

Actual distance covered is 10.2 miles completing 20 laps.

I was just under my ideal speed averaging 14.46 mph.

Maximum speed was 19.9 mph. The only place for this to happen is running slightly downhill for a very short distance against traffic connecting the horse shoe shape course.

So each lap is too close to 1/2 mile, and on the plus side, so not worth arguing about.

There will be enough elevation changes on the charity bike ride to easily push a lot faster top speed. Several places I will see close to 30 mph. This will substantially offset the lack of speed on the slower parts of this course to maintain a higher overall average.

One more week, then I find out if all of this preparation was worth the trouble. I dont want to fall short of finishing the ride. 35 miles is not so much until you crunch down the time to push yourself. Then it make a huge difference.

The last charity ride I was averaging 15 to 17 mph depending which section of the course traveled. Since this ride is 30% farther I would be happy to maintain something close to 14 mph average for the whole ride. There are some sections where I will be struggling to be anywhere close to this, so on those faster parts, I am going to push myself a lot harder.

 

September 2023

Sure looks and feels like summer has skipped town. After that heat bubble hanging over most of the country for over two months, life is bearable once again.

Surprisingly the high today was officially 82 degrees. Tonight after some lame attempts of rain, it now hangs in the bottom 70's with 95% humidity. Low temps at least makes for a decent late night ride. Something that has not been very frequent until this last week.

I discovered something that should help when preparing for the next long distance ride. Are you ready for this big secret? Sit down in case you cant deal with a major shock. Here it goes. Do not practice every day. There it is. Very heavy stuff to take in, I know. Just dont let this secret bit of knowledge consume you.

Wait one of even two days if practicing for longer rides. This makes such a big difference, you could not imagine how much better your progress will be.

With such cooler weather and just after a minor down pour, I ventured out for a repeat of the last few rides. Missing last nights ride for a good reason, I went right ahead as the previous sessions. A glass of cold water and one aspirin. I was sore and thirsty, if you want to know why.

Tonight I was feeling the usual pain. Just the normal places that have nothing to do with riding a bike giving me fits. After I finished up, no rest period was needed to recuperate either. One down side is these practices are only 10 miles. The actual ride is 3 and one half times longer. How will I hold up after that much more distance covered?

As it stands that same gear choice I have used so far will be what I stay with for most of the ride. Tonight I started out easy and did not push myself. It was more for riding consistently. Overall average speed was barely less that max speed. But I did not bother to use the old ETREX this time. Its just that feeling I had. I could tell.

Another important thing I found out is my cadence is 75 strokes per minute. This is close enough to where I should be just like a real amateur charity bike rider. With the intensive and grueling training, I am at the perfect level that could easily move up to the next longer course.

Choosing the 35 mile course separates the loafers from those more serious about these recreational charity rides. If I had more time and with a personal trainer to guide me, that 46 mile course could be in my sights. It may also require me to upgrade from my 40 year old bike with original air still in the tires.

It is a comforting thought to having a motivational coach along during the ride making sure I push myself to actually finish. What an accomplishment that would be. This almost brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.

The really serious hard core recreational riders I see out there are in it 100%. I mean they have the $5000 bike, complete stylish spandex bike wear, color coordinated matching camelback, on board computer, helmet, shades, tool kit, spare tire shrink wrapped smaller than a twinkie, even shoes and socks specifically designed just for riding bikes. I dont think you are even supposed to walk around in these. Just something I heard or maybe read on the internet.

I mean really, how could I ever compete against someone that spends the amount of money needed to be fast? Way out of my league. Some of that flimsy spandex bike riding apparel costs more than I paid for my dinosaur bike. It was even purchased brand new. Not the apparel, my old bike.

I will just stay that one clueless newbie who doesnt even know to remove the kick stand from his bike. That is some serious dead weight, if wondering why. The more expensive the bike is, the less likely of even having one as an option.

So I am feeling good about the ride coming up in a couple of days. I may attempt one more practice session then take a break on the last day. But see no reason to push myself for this final workout before the big charity event.

 

September 2023 post race, sorry that is charity ride not a real competition.

This Charity Bike Ride is now past and recorded in the history books. I survived with flying colors. The event was a good example of people coming together for a bunch of very worthy causes. It takes a lot of volunteers and effort to coordinate such an even of this caliber.

Just having a well organized event for so many people to actually participate in these days is really a monumental achievement. Its not like everyone is in favor of shutting down a town for the weekend. Working with the City planners and Law Enforcement to bring this all together is something that does not happen so easily like it was in the past.

I remember watching so many TV shows and movies that were still family oriented. Having local parades and neighborhood picnics are too much like fairy tales in these trying times. Founders day events are unheard of anymore. Most of those statues of founders have likely been torn down and destroyed by now.

The last count in this Charity Ride were 533 entries. I had registered over three months ago and was 136. So a lot of people already looking forward to this event. I can describe the atmosphere as more relaxed and enjoyable than anything I have ever participated in before. Except the previous two charity bike rides. So far all of them have been run professionally.

Since this is a recreational ride, there is no need to compete against everyone else. I only compete against myself. To push myself harder instead of being lazy and not putting forth any more effort than necessary just to cover the distance. There are plenty of people glad to even finish. Just able to ride the distance they select may be all the want or need to be satisfied in their abilities.

I want to know my limitations. I want to know if I can push myself past these limits. I want to exceed my limits this time. Then exceed those limits the next time. This is how I push myself and a reason to participate in these events.

As people get older they tend to get lazy. To be fair I should say complacent. Some people decline in physical ability and others just let themselves decline in their metal state to no longer testing their limits. Instead limiting themselves to things that takes less effort.

The 35 mile ride was more than I thought was able to achieve. Since my two previous rides have only been 21 and then 24 miles. The few days I spent of practice are only 10 miles each. So doubling then more than tripling this is how I push myself to better myself. Getting older does not mean you have more limitations, but just less need for the extremes.

I decided to bypass the first pit stop. It is only about 7 miles in to the ride. But a good point to stop and stretch for a moment so the rest of a riders journey would not be so strenuous. My reasoning for passing on this first stop was simple. From this point until the next stop most of the ride was gradually downhill. Only the last mile of this section was there an incline that only amounted to about 35 feet. Does not sound like much but you could feel it when pedaling. I did not mention the ups and downs were several times for the last mile. Even uphill to that pit stop.

This worked out well enough. But I was feeling tired and drained by the time I made it to my first planned pit stop. It is just about at the half way point. I was in need of some carbs and anything that could help the strain on my muscles. Dismounting my bike was more effort than I had expected. But also the distance is closer to double the practices I have been doing.

It seems something in pickle juice has miraculous properties in muscle rejuvenation. If that is the correct word here. Maybe the vinegar or all of the salts. I dont know. But this far in to the ride I did not feel all sloshy in the gut like my first attempt. Last year I only road with a water bottle attached to the bike frame. It is somewhat difficult to take a sip when needed cruising at speed on a path about 8 feet wide closely surrounded by other riders.

At that first pit stop last year I heavily dosed up on water. Water bottle got emptied quickly enough. One more thing I failed to do is stock up on carbohydrates before the ride started. A missed opportunity to stuff my face with junk food. I only turned up a bottle of water right before the ride started. Again another failure on my part. I should have started much earlier and paced myself on the intake.

This is when I realized the importance of rehydration. Really experiencing what happens when you dont rehydrate properly. Of all the times before I never even bothered with this. Just after the ride we would chow on burgers with lots of sweet tea somewhere and wind down. The need for a Camelback is now thoroughly understood. My second ride I adjusted to having it on my back. By this time I had worked out the difficulties of using one when riding. It was so much easier than attempting the water bottle.

This year my body craved something more than water at the pit stop. They were cutting up fresh mangos under the tent. That caught my attention. I dont usually eat mangos, but they do taste good. Watermelon was another choice, but did not appeal to me. The freshly cut mango squares really hit the spot. Or maybe those jiggers of pickle juice really made the difference. The pickle juice seemed really strong the first time I tried to turn one up last year. It reminded me of taking shots of Jack Daniels for the first time. Or really horrible tasting cough syrup. But now it was not so bad. This time around I knew what to expect.

This second pit stop on this route was right at 17 miles, about the halfway point. But was my first one to stop and take advantage. So I left there moving forward but not feeling all that ready to push myself as hard yet. This leg of the ride was generally following a county road thru the countryside. The elevation changes were not so drastic but still a lot of up and down. Fortunately it was not so much an issue. I did not have to drop down a gear so much on the inclines as trying to take advantage of any downhills to gain some speed and momentum for the next gradual climb.

The time passed what seemed fairly quickly until seeing the one mile pit stop marker painted on the road surface. During my practices, I have tried to maintain 4 minute miles. But it sure seemed longer pedaling that last mile for each of the pit stops. At this next pit stop, I was not hurting nearly as much like my first one. More mangos and pickle juice were on the select menu for me. I ate sparingly and careful not to drink too fast. Then time to push off again.

There were 7 of us riding together. Well that was the group. We all rode at our own pace. Said nephew that rode with me last time was running slightly faster as expected. We would be together for a long time then he would decide to push a little bit harder closer to each of the planned stops. Or maybe I had started to slow down. He was barely out of sight from me for the distance he moved ahead. At the pit stops we would wait up on the others to make sure there were no problems.

With a group there is always a big difference in skill levels. You add girlfriends, wives, children and even grandchildren, then you no longer have the luxury to run at your personal limits. You are at the mercy of the slowest rider especially when they are minors. You also dont want to be in the doghouse if running off and leaving your girlfriend or wife unit behind.

This would be my final pit stop, since the last one was only 3 miles from the finish line. As we were mounting up, I was the first to push off from here. Before leaving I asked the nephew not to come flying by me too fast too soon when he passes by. I wanted to distance myself ahead just as far as I could before he caught up. The rest of this section was just about uneventful as possible. Nothing but a steady push forward. The course here had a slight incline. The elevation changes were easily manageable. Very similar to my practice course. So I felt more at ease here and able to keep at a decent pace throughout the distance.

Towards the end of the course you reach the service road to the Interstate. Last year this was one spot that you could really crank down some decent speed. But when I turned onto the service road that downhill I thought was not really that much as I remembered. Last time I cranked hard and ran out of gear. This time I only changed one gear up to keep my legs loaded. The speed was good, but not like the near 30 mph from last year.

All this time riding by myself I had expected to get passed. But this far into the course most riders are just wanting to finish and not pushing themselves so hard. I guess either the mango or pickle juice was showing its worth. This last part of the course is where I had the big charlie horse cramp in my right leg on upper inside of calf. I think it is the gastrocnemius muscle in question here.

Right before the second pit stop, which was my first one, is where I was feeling this muscle wanting to cramp. Both legs almost at the same time. The right one, then not a few seconds later the left one was equally complaining. I eased up slightly but keeping load on my legs. During some early practice sessions, my muscles wanted to charlie horse when changing load on the pedal. This was at the time changing my position using different muscles too.

Something else I tried and not knowing if really helped or not. I moved my foot forward on pedal. Now pushing more on the heel seemed to not abuse the cranked up muscle. But the pain subsided enough for me to resume a steady pace, although at a slightly reduced speed. It was a near miss, and managed to work the muscles without cramping. But on this very last section of the course, I was doing alright.

The surprise of not having that fast run was somewhat disappointing. It may have been a strong tail wind last year that caused this. But today, it was not happening. I continued on passing under a bridge that was not noticed even last year. I had to sit back and think how that bridge was missed. Then remembering all of my focus was on the one leg muscle screaming at me.

For the next mile is was smooth sailing to the big overpass that was nearly impossible for me to climb last year. This time I was going to try and try hard to pedal thru and a decent pace. I approached the turnoff then catching up to the one rider that had been in my sight for most of the time on this section of service road. He must have really slowed down as I approached.

I made the turn and started cranking the pedal harder gaining as much speed as possible before having to downshift. Since my legs were still holding out, I was able to top the overpass without so much of a problem this time. I also did not have to down shift but two gears to make the top. Oh by the way, I was smiling when the bike went past center and now on the down slope.

No pain at the peak to slow me down this time. I made a gear change crossing over and now speeding down the other side of bridge. There the local police was holding up traffic so I could cross the double striped yellow lines making that left turn on to the other service road now going west. At this part of the ride something struck me as odd.

On the east bound side of Interstate was mostly a slight downhill grade. This year I did not notice it to be nearly so fast. But on this opposite side now, it is also mostly downhill. That sounds backwards. I did get some speed, but only went up one gear more than I usually pedal that suits me the best. On this side of Interstate it does dip down a lot then followed with a much steeper climb right at the end as you approach the top of hill at bridge.

It was not until I was back home looking over a map of the course when figuring out the conundrum. It was totally obvious looking from a birds eye view. Thank goodness for modern technology. Man will not survive for very long after loosing all of the modern conveniences that have become necessities to rely on.

Since I did not remember the one bridge last year, that is actually where the downhill is more pronounced. Then the speed gained until the hard to cross bridge. After examining the map, there are two bridges. The first one is where I wrecked my muscle and trying to pedal with only my left leg while the right one was just dangling there in pain.

I limped my bike under that first bridge, blinded by the pain in my leg. Now after some thought I do remember it. But was not an important part of the ride at the time. The service road was just off to one side of the bridge at an intersection. This is why I did not even notice it last year at all. My eyes were more focused on what was directly ahead for most of the ride. Except when the leg went out for commission for a few minutes.

Making that initial turn on to the service road, it is about 2 more miles to the bridge that I cross back over to the other side of Interstate. For about the first mile is mostly flat. Then you can pick up some speed. But this time it was not so pronounced. I still think there must have been a decent tail wind last year. This second mile stretch ends at the bridge that is difficult to cross over so late in the ride. After crossing over there is slight downhill before a short big climb up to the next overpass.

This is one spot I managed my slowest speed for the whole ride. But just for a very short distance. Not because it is so much steeper than other places. It is simply at the last part of the course. You are no longer pushing yourself this late in the ride. You have done it. The rest is preliminary. It is an easy cruise from here. But only after you crest this rise. You have worked hard to make it this far and not burning up the last of your energy this close to finishing.

I made the right turn and now headed back into town towards the finish line. It is only a slight incline, but nothing difficult unless you are burned out. I actually caught up to five more riders and easily passed them. A few turns thru the old neighborhood and that last right turn to reveal another overpass I had totally forgotten about. It is not a hard climb, just nothing left to burn making it over. This is not so steep as the last uphill or bridge before that.

But you are on the home stretch and running on fumes. This was determination that was pushing me over. Coming the other way at start of the course it is not even noticeable. But you were going over and down. On the return you are going up and over. If that even makes any sense to you. But after I pedaled to the top, there was the finish line banner in the distance. I was there.

An immediate burst of energy enabled me to make quick time on this final stretch to the end. There was a group of people cheering on everyone that finished their respective rides. As I approached the finish, it felt like the Tour de France. I raised both my arms up high shaking them around with clinched fists acknowledging my accomplishment as I passed under the finish line banner.

With such technology offered today at a very reasonable cost, I knew exactly how much time we spent on the actual ride. A bike computer is something that may be worth investing in. For this 35 mile course, the elapsed time was 1 hour 53 minutes rounded down not up. Average speed was better than the last two rides at 17.7 mph.

This day I was a winner. I am now a real amateur Charity Bike Rider participant. And I even have the official T-shirt to prove it.

 

First week of May 2024

Its that time again. This will be the fourth charity ride I have participated in since getting back in the saddle. Last year about this time I was not even aware of the ride. But did get notified about one week ahead of time to start back preparing for the event.

This event has a 24 and 50 mile route that would interest me. The others are too short or way too long. Since I have a better grasp on things after running these, the 50 mile route was considered. But passed on it. The 24 mile ride for me is really too short now. But the 50 mile ride I feel is just out there past my limits. I expect to finish this ride tired and sore, but not as a zombie.

The next ride coming up in the fall, I am seriously going to attempt the 46 mile route. It is just a ten mile loop added to one section of the 35 mile course. So in my mind should be totally doable. This up coming ride at 24 miles will be over fairly quickly, which is the big disappointment. But am not ready to tackle the 50 mile at this location just yet.



Here is the group from previous event right before the start. Over 800 riders took off at the same time. Fairly intense until everyone starts to spread out a bit.

So after the big event last September, my 40 year old bike got parked. Not a week went by before I noticed the rear tire was flat. Even some of the black tread was delaminating from the gum wall. I was sort of bummed by this, but at the time did nothing about it. Fast forward until today.

I finally hung the bike on the rack and removed rear wheel. After peeling off the tire and airing up the tube, found one tiny little pin prick from something small like a sticker. Just rubbing by thumb over the spot pushed it out of the tire. I dug out another tube, since didnt have any fresh glue to lay down a patch.

The tube is donated from an old original womans Schwinn Varsity from 1972. I had removed these for spares just in case. The just in case came this afternoon when it was put to use. I went tire shopping, but 27 inch has been replaced by 700. Not in every bike section in what few stores carry parts much anymore. Option here is order a full set of tires, tubes and liners. Just in Case.

The local bike stores are way too expensive for older stuff like this. If I upgrade to nice late model equipment that would actually improve my riding, then dont have a problem investing, well spending more money than necessary for replacements.

After reassembly the tire looked and rotated just like it had been doing for the last 40 plus years. I was back in business. If there are no problems between now and next charity ride will leave things the way they are. Still on the fence about buying new ones. But have some time still to make that decision.

Tonight I didnt bother with the glass of water or aspirin. Just hopped on the bike and started running laps again. The circle here is exactly 1/2 mile. Everything felt the same as last year at first except thinking I was in a different gear. Then realizing the load was not so much like I was used to pedaling. I should have shifted it one to get back to what I normally ride.

Didnt really matter, my focus was not so pronounced tonight, just going thru the motions. Allergies were doing a number and not wanting to take any meds for the problem. Hoping to ride thru the ache and sinus pressure on left side of forehead.

The legs were not burning or getting stiff. Just sore from working today. I held out for 12 laps on my first night back to practicing. My heart rate had not increased, nor did my breathing. I just didnt feel so motivated about pushing for the full 20 laps for the first practice.

I spent 27 minutes going round in circles in 1/2 mile increments. So six miles in 27 minutes works out about 13.3 mph. This is low but acceptable for the first night back practicing. It should improve a lot when I go again in a few days.

I am making a run out of town to my cabin in the woods tomorrow. Plan to take the bike and hit the back country roads. This will more realistically simulate the actual bike ride next month. Since there has been so much rain, I will not be getting much work done, so this is a good alternative.

 

June 2024

I was trying to get more motivated with the up coming charity ride. But for some reason this great event that has been going on for a long time got cancelled. There was no reason given on the website. Just not happening this year.

There was another cancellation back around 7 years ago. I remember something about the weather was not cooperating leading to that weekend. I dont know how early before the event it was even cancelled. But the amount of rain that has been almost nonstop for a good part of this year may be a reason for this events demise.

I look forward to the next charity ride coming in early September. Between now and then I should spend time riding and get into better shape to tackle that 45 mile course. This will be the longest attempt I will have tried, so It is prudent to put some miles on me and the bike way before then.

Since I did the quickie tire fix, the bike has been waiting for more laps. Or better yet, taking it down to the cabin and hit the back roads in the middle of nowhere. The worst that could happen is getting lost or having a flat ten miles away. That would be a long hike back to the rusty cabin off in the woods. But riding or walking the workout will do me good.

 

September 2024

What does procrastinate really mean? If you use the word as an intransitive verb it might be: to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done. Now is this something that should be done or that needs to be done? Not really.



This sure looks like typical excuses I would use to put off preparing for the up and coming charity race on the schedule next month. But if I want to do well and finish the full 45 mile ride, then maybe the definition does apply. Something I should do to get into shape.

Now I know what you are asking. What the heck have I been doing all summer? You know that last ride was cancelled, and I had just managed the bike back into riding condition. Such a tiny pin prick took out the tube. Or it just went flat after so long with a small hole punctured. But that was fixed and still holding air more than three months later.

Well one thing happened this summer. It is called summer. As in hot. Not so much early on. Really not so bad until the summer solstice. But after that is was typical southern hospitality summer hot. OK maybe just maybe I have been procrastinating this time around. But I had my reasons.

My main reason is I was busy. Yes thats my excuse, I was busy. So I kept making excuses and putting off the first practice. You see, once I start riding again, it has to stay in play until the bike ride. Otherwise would be a total waste. Gearing up then taking a sabbatical for a few weeks is not very helpful readying myself for this years charity ride.

Just so you know, tonight I finally broke the procrastination cycle. I pulled the bike out and aired up the tires. They were both evenly low, so that was a good sign. These tires are supposed to be filled to about 90 pounds. But that sure seemed high to me. I have never filled them more that 60 psi. Even tonight I was almost brave enough to increase the pressure, but chickened out.

To air up the tires to 90 psi, I still need an accurate pressure gauge to measure with. Just one more thing not available at the moment. Most car tires dont get anywhere near 90 pounds, so no need for that high of a gauge. Except for the bike.

Why do I find it so difficult airing up a tire to that much pressure? I sure dont have a hand pump that will push that much air in the tire. So what do I do during the ride if I need air or have to fix a flat? Heck I dont even have a spare tube for this bike. After 40 years, I dont see a need to max out the tire pressure. Not back then, not now.

If I were to install a new set of tires and obviously tubes, then maybe push the limits, and fill them up all the way. Oh yea dont forget the liners. That other dinosaur bike I brought back to life, the Vista, had dead tires. The gum sidewalls went total bad hair day and disintegrated. I replaced those original tires with some even older tires from a donor 1972 Schwinn Varsity parts bike.

Now I would almost believe these old Schwinn tires would work just fine without any air. They are really that hard. But the idea of filling them up to 90 pounds, haw! Well think Flintstone days and rocks for tires. They would be even harder at full inflation. My short and only attempt of riding that bike a few laps just about jarred my teeth out. Not to mention what if felt like on my butt.

I did not have my special padded Underoos at the time, so anything would have bruised my bumpkin. I dont know how helpful those padded under pants have really been. But realizing it takes about three good long rides and you dont feel the pain in your butt cheeks so much.

So do my padded butt guards really help or is it mostly psychological? As in all in my head? The jury is still out on that. Unless I forget to put them on, may never find out for sure. I do know after many years riding mountain bikes, the pain subsides after those first few rides without any protection. But I was not in the habit of riding more than 10 to 15 miles at a time.

Tonight was the procrastination breaker. I really did it too. After it got dark, and after taking my super cool dog for her 2 mile walk, I decided it was now or never. Not really never, but I had to draw the line somewhere. And tonight was good as any to do that. Tonight I hopped back on the dinosaur bike.

There have been several times I had considered upgrading my bike to something modern. But really other than a lighter weight, there is not that much to improve on. A finer or better tuned gear set that fits my riding style would possibly help. But that is limited. My best option to getting back on the bike and preparing myself for the distance. That is the most beneficial way to get me to the finish line running at a decent pace.

The temps have dropped off a lot this week. Almost like summer is coming to a close. But most likely due to the hurricane off shore somewhere that is causing the wind patterns to change direction bringing in cooler air. The lower 80's is not so bad at night, except for the humidity is at 68%. That would not feel so good in the day time. But I can deal with it well enough at night.

I am not normally a heavy sweater, or really sweat much at all. Unless the humidity is way on up there. But after the dog walk I did notice my tee shirt had absorbed a lot more sweat and now wringing wet. So off with the tee shirt and on with the first practice session tonight.

I did not do any warmups, stretching, or anything other than jump on the bike and head out. I even forgot my gloves. The tires were aired up and I was gone in a flash. I dont know the exact gear the bike is in, but gives a slightly heavy pedal, even on minor downhill runs. Not that there is much more than mostly flat around here on my make believe road course.

As a refresher to my practice course, it is almost to the foot, one half mile long. Close enough for hand grenades and atom bombs for sure. Probably good for horse shoes too. But who plays that anymore? It takes two laps to make up a mile, for those of you who failed fourth grade math. By the way, this is applied math, just so you know.

I started out very consistent and stayed that way the whole practice session. Last year about this time, after a three month hiatus from previous charity ride, I was only motivated to make about 12 laps. That is only 6 miles for those with limited brain function.

Last year my mind was not in the game yet. It had been super hot, even tho the humidity was extremely low for that time of year. The low humidity was the only thing that kept me focused to keep going forward. Over the next few days I managed the normal 20 lap stint.

Tonight things went very well. Not only did I manage the full 20 laps first time back on the bike, I also maintained consistency throughout the ride. I started out at a good pace, and it wasnt until lap 11 did I start feel the tingling in my fingers. Too many times landing on my head over the years will do that you know.

After some arm stretching, everything smoothed out in my fingers. By lap 13, I felt a slight surge in my giddy up. You may remember me mentioning my cadence. Well it had slightly increased the whole ride. Unfortunately I dont have a monitor for exact numbers, but I could tell the difference.

Riding tonight without a shirt was also something new to me. I always try to simulate the actual ride. But with the higher than comfortable humidity, I needed some help with the sweat. Something I dont normally do. But due to the evaporation and cooling effect, was doing a great job at keeping me from overheating.

At the first ten laps, I really didnt feel any different than the first lap. With exception to my fingers tingling at lap 11, everything was good to go. At lap 13, I pushed harder without loosing any energy. By lap 15 I realized this was in the bag. The rest was smooth sailing. I even did a cool down lap after the 20 regular laps were finished.

Tonight I did not experience rubber legs at all. They are not heavy feeling nor do I have any soreness or signs of fatigue. There is one more thing I have finally gotten past. No more back support. After accidentally discovering a stretching exercise that actually works the particular muscles in question, I have been back support free for nearly three months now.

After tonights practice ride, I dont feel any pain or discomfort at all on my mid or lower back. My neck is another problem. But it is not so bad to take me out of the game. Mostly sore, stiff and pinching nerves in both arms all the time.

For my first time back on the road bike preparing for the next charity ride in a few weeks, I am feeling good about everything. I averaged just over 15 miles per hour. That is better than most of the practice sessions last year at this time. Even the ones closer to the scheduled ride.

So go ahead and make fun of me letting myself get out of shape to ride a bike. I am in so much better physical condition than my first attempt two years ago. Even tho I keep procrastinating between the charity rides, this time I got a slightly earlier jump of things.

Now what I should do is go ahead and pick up a new set of tires and tubes. It would really blow hard if I broke down from a mechanical problem early on in the 45 mile ride this year. That would be no fun at all. Getting carried back in a truck is a total failure in my book. I want to finish the full length. Even if I had to walk the last few miles. I sure dont want to end the day early.

 

Still September 2024 leading up to next charity bike ride.

Time flies when you are having fun, not working or just distracted. This was work, no time for flies. Last week, on Saturday, I went and helped hammer T-posts in the ground. Then proceeded to my humble rusted cabin in the woods.

I was determined to get tied to the grid out there. Being totally on solar really is limited. In abnormal and trying times, I could easily get by on just solar power. But until then I need some grid power to run the A/C mostly. To do that I still had a trench to dig and run my wire from the meter to the small cabin.

Sunday was a slow day and little work was accomplished. Spent most of the time procrastinating and just getting focused. Monday was almost a repeat. Tuesday, I managed some distance. Wednesday I had planned to return back to the shop, but stuck with it and made 114 feet of the 120 that needed to be dug out. This is, by the way, done with only a drain spade. AKA, bill dookie. As in by hand, all by myself. It is disappointing how scarce people are when you mention the possibility of helping out a buddy. I mean who would not want to come over and dig a trench?



Having only one shovel would make it almost useless asking for help. I mean what gives? I am standing there watching someone else dig my trench for me? Not good manners at all.

So asking for help was a no-no and not happening anyway. But the four days I slaved at it did manage to accomplish all but six very stubborn feet. Next trip out there I will have a pick ax and overcome my inability to cut thru that remaining section. It is very hard clay and I will not accept defeat.

Wednesday I managed a full day, not actually working the whole time, but stayed at it until having to part ways and head out. I had items on Craigslist that sparked interested parties with cash. I wanted that cash more than I cared about keeping the junk that was listed.

Since I have been working the previous 5 days, attempting a practice ride on my bike was out of the question. I needed some time to relax and let my muscles recover first. So Thursday rolls around and I felt like an adrenalin dump had taken place. I was useless. The Zyrtec I took may have also contributed to that.

Today, Friday I am in much better frame of mind. No Zyrtec either. More motivated in getting that practice ride in tonight. But first I take the super cool dog for her 2 mile walk. Once that was over, I topped off the air pressure in the bike tires and readied myself for tonights practice.

To prepare for the practice ride, I took a single plain aspirin and cup of cold water. Then a protective layer of Blistex lip balm on the lips when needed to keep them from chapping. I dont like fever blisters when they dry out. But who does?

Starting out I felt fairly good about everything. Making that first half of the first lap, the legs started to burn. This is too soon to be happening. Something is wrong here. I held my pace steady and kept pedaling. By lap 6, the leg burn had subsided and everything was almost normal.

The first night getting back on the bike last week was very satisfying for me. This time, not so much yet. I stayed with it and the legs behaved. By lap 11, fingers started tingling, but not as bad like before. I stretched my arms then twisted my neck and they got better.

On lap 17 there was almost an altercation. I had to stop suddenly since the big SUV did not use their turn signals. They finally saw me and stopped completely. Then I was also stopped waiting for them to go. With both feet on the pedals and balancing not moving at all. Then I felt the charlie horse creep up in the left lower leg. Dang it.

The SUV finally moved on, but only after me loosing all of my momentum and the pace I was running. It was back to starting lap one again. Another lap passed, and then a big truck almost didnt stop at the corner stop sign. I guess that is OK if no one is there to see you get taken out. But I did not feel like taking a meat wagon ride, so swerved hard to the left avoiding a potential collision. Not as dramatic as I am writing it, but what if...?

This time I felt a more painful charlie horse in my right leg. I backed way off but kept pedaling until it subsided. Took about a half lap and now under control. I picked up the pace again. By lap 20, or was it 21, 22, I was not sure. But decided to take an extra lap to cool down and work out the almost charlie horse.

So officially it was at least 21 laps, and decided to make a real cool down lap. Then another after that. Realizing my legs were no worse for wear I went another. By lap 25 I decided it was enough for tonight. Plus my dog was getting antsy waiting for me to finish up already. She had been keeping count of the laps I was taking and knew when this practice ride was supposed to be done.

This is the most laps I have made at any one time here. On the quasi homemade not ready for prime time fake road course, my legs are always loaded, with very little coasting. A fairly heavy pedal the whole lap every lap. Almost like a slight but constant uphill climb.

There is only a short section that is going down hill. Just enough to tell the difference. The pedal is still loaded and I can gain a lot of speed here. For the 25 laps made tonight, it is like riding uphill the whole time in a regular bike ride. Even if it is only slight, you can feel the difference.

During most any distance bike ride, there is plenty of time you are coasting and at a very fast pace. Your overall average speed is increased a lot because of this. On my fake course, is not that way. So making the 25 laps can equate to possibly double the distance on a longer bike ride.

Factoring this in, I am riding the equivalent to nearly half the distance of the actual bike ride coming up if a couple of weeks. I worked this out from the previous rides so far. Not actually practicing the full 45 miles does not mean I am not ready for that distance.

So after the 25 laps, my upper legs were slightly pumped. Not anything like the first attempt a couple of years ago. It took about the time to put things away and locking up before my legs calmed down. I was not out of breath and heart rate had not increased much if any. Overall I am doing OK this early on before the big charity ride.

If I manage 40 laps, which is only 20 miles on this wannabe course here and not feel tired, then I have no doubts the 45 mile ride will be easy enough for me to conquer this year.

 

September 2024 about 10 days counting down to charity ride.

OK its been four days since my last practice ride. I was very satisfied with the results last Friday night. I managed a lot more laps that had been previously been run so far. Unfortunately I didnt break any existing times or speeds.

Tonight after the presidential debate, realizing time was running out, I needed to get back to practicing. Tires are still holding air, so nothing needed to be done to the dinosaur road bike. There are dangers sharing the road with vehicles at night, so I did add a night light. Unfortunately I didnt charge it up, since it was a last minute thing.

Only a few times was there any encounter with cars or trucks. I managed to maintain my speed around them, which was a big plus. The couple of times I was not sure if being seen, the light was switched on. Otherwise it would have died out way too soon. The battery is now on charge for the next practice ride.

Starting off I took the first half lap at a slightly slower pace, then pushed myself a bit more than usual. This helped out a lot. The leg burn did not show up until about lap 6 and was not an issue at all. Another surprise was not having as much tingling in my fingers at lap 11. It was easy enough to stretch and shake it off, getting blood flow back in my fingers.

I pushed for a faster than normal pace that did cause me to be breathing a lot harder than any practice before. Maybe the higher humidity or sinus related issues. I did take a Zyrtec right before starting out along with two plain aspirin. This does seem to help. The aspirin, not the sinus meds.

My pace was consistent and much improved over the previous practice ride. But after the 20 laps, I was having upper leg pump and they were getting stiff. I had trouble dismounting the bike. But I was also in a hurry to find out the time it took me tonight. No cool down lap either.

I was very surprised to find out tonights practice run was finished in 37 minutes. If my fourth grade math is correct that works out to about 16.2 miles per hour. This is by far my best practice time period. I had been more than content to break the 40 minute mark. That was at least a steady average speed and good baseline to push for. Last year there were mostly less than 15 mile averages on every practice ride I did.

It took no more than 10 minutes for the legs to relax and go back to normal. So tonight was a major success. Lets say I won practice, since I really beat myself in all previous practices. The practice last Friday, I felt the overall average was close to 15 miles per hour and I also added an extra 5 laps maintaining the same pace.

So last time I went for distance and tonight I went for speed. A balance between the two will yield me a solid 30 laps and hopefully maintaining at least 15 mph average. If I can accomplish this, then will be ready for the 46 mile charity ride in another week and a half.

I know it is just a charity ride and not really a competition, so why even bother pushing myself? Why not? I want to know I can easily go the distance and not be worn out. I am not competing against anyone else. Only myself. Just basing my abilities against the faster riders in this category.

If I can finish this ride at a decent pace and with minimum pit stop down time, then can possibly finish in the top 10% of the riders. That is an optimistic goal considering I dont ride regularly like I should. I am not even taking in account the fact my bike is now over 40 years old.

If I spent the bucks and went with something manufactured in the last decade and made for more or less competition, would it really help me a lot? A new bike could be about 10 pounds lighter than what I am pushing now. Optimized gearing I would think might be a better upgrade than the cost of a newer bike.

But to do that I would basically be investing in a newer bike. That would be the best way to improve the bike. I cant just swap a few parts out on this older model recreation bike and expect much improvement. It would be a combination of a few smaller things that adds up to make a big difference. So for now I am sticking with the dinosaur, until it gives out or something comes my way which is not too expensive that would be a lot better in the way of improvements.

Last year I did learn something very important. Dont go on a practice ride every night. You will burn yourself out. At least two days between practice rides is a minimum you should take when training on a bike. This applies to my situation, working on stamina, distance and consistency.

A few years back when riding the mountain bike, it was easy enough to go hit the dirt everyday. I would ride the usual 15 miles worth of trails easily keeping it under 2 hours.

My main goal was staying on the bike all the way thru. Back then I was not pushing myself or practicing for any type or endurance rides. Just enjoying myself out on the local trails.

There were some places, like creek crossings, that got to be nearly impossible to pass without pushing the bike across. After the newer trails were ridden a bunch, had worn down some areas making it almost impossible not to put a foot down to keep from crashing.

Tonight was mostly uneventful. I kept a good fast steady pace. The beginning of first lap I tried to take it easy, but felt good enough to push myself early. A slight leg burn at the first half lap, so I backed off just a bit. On the second lap, everything felt just fine.

I continued the pace that I had set a couple of days ago. Not pushing anything more than maintaining a consistent speed. The first 5 laps went fairly quickly. Or at least it felt that way. The next five laps were different. I would almost argue an extra lap got squeezed in there.

By the half way point, I didnt feel anything out of the ordinary. There were several times I had to make a complete stop to avoid a head on collision. Another time I was almost run off the wrong side of the road. I am not going to comment about oriental female drivers. I will leave that to those who like to stereotype.

The four times I had to completely stop caused a lot of lost time. I didnt actually drop a foot to the ground. Just came to a stop and balanced my bike until the coast was clear. Or knowing what the driver in vehicle was going to do. I dont guess people know what turn signals are for. But I would not trust someone using them either.

Just finishing lap 18, a vehicle buzzed by and dont guess they saw me. I was right under a street light and the area was well lit up. Normally the vehicle would make a right turn at that intersection, since it is a dead end ahead. But no, they went right on thru. The vehicle was not yet into the intersection or I would have made the illegal left turn in front of them continuing on my way.

Unfortunately this sudden change in the nightly routine caused a charlie horse in my left calf. It came on fast, but was not severe. I limped it around using my right leg to pedal thu the stroke. With a stretch and bending my foot up high as possible, the pain subsided enough not needing any further action taken.

I made the last lap without pushing myself any harder. No way did I want that charlie horse to escalate into something more painful. On the final lap it had mostly passed. I was satisfied enough with tonights practice ride. What I really wanted to know is the time for this run.

A quick dismount and grabbing the phone to reveal I made the laps in 38 minutes. Mathing that out works to 15.7 miles per hour. That is the average speed I did during this practice tonight. Considering the four stops that had to be made, I am OK with the time.

Prior to this years practice, my goal was coming close to a 15 mile an hour average. Now I am breaking that consistently running closer to 16mph average. My cadence has increased and time has decreased. Since this practice course keeps the pedal loaded the whole time, helps build up my stamina.

Coasting any distance does nothing but allow you to rest those leg muscles. That is all fine and dandy. But there are times you have to keep pedaling long distances and dont have any chance for resting. This is why I am running the practice course counterclockwise.

If I can pedal the whole 10 miles of practice without any coasting, then that can easily give me over 30 miles of distance traveled during the actual ride. There are plenty of times you are running a fast pace and can take that time to rest.

In little more than a week, I will be headed to the charity ride and finding out if choosing the 46 mile ride was a good idea or not. Right now I am thinking it is the right choice. I will find out soon enough.

 

One week and counting September 2024

In a normal world in the past, something like a safety vest could help from getting run over. That is what I would be doing. Something bright and easy to see. But the demographics have changed so much so quickly, the mentality of most of these people limits their ability to think rationally and respond accordingly. The two areas most dangerous are so well lit, it might as well be high noon there. But in the day time, most drivers run the stop sign anyway. Not good for me.

When out riding the bike, I do take this time to practice up on evasive maneuvers. In a world gone mad, madd skillz will be what keeps some people alive longer than others. It is also a challenge, attempting to out think these people. People that dont think. It would not surprise me to find out many of them are on the way home from the local taverns.

But the more likely scenario is they sipped a little too much after work, not wanting to deal with their other half when getting home way too late. Obviously this is only conjecture on my part. But it is my story and needs some filler to keep ones interest in reading.

Another thing I have noticed while walking the most awesome coolest dog at night, is how people react to seeing us on side of the road. This most particularly is amusing out in the country. I usually start walking just about dark depending on how hot it still is. This is also the time of day it is harder to see with the still bright sky and dark shadows around.

If already way past dark thirty, I usually bring a nice bright flashlight. Soon realizing this is just as much a car magnet and is a deterrent. You would think if seeing a light ahead and obviously moving, then someone is likely there doing something. But no, not so common as I would have thought.

If the local church is letting out, then they are just taking off from the parking lot. These drivers have not been drinking, or smoking anything. So I am mostly safe at certain times on certain nights. But the other times when random drivers are coming/going somewhere, I feel like a target.

If someone is really speeding and driving in center of the road, I will turn on the light and let them know someone is there. Unfortunately for more than half of these times, this acts like a magnet. The headlights then aim right at me as the car angles over and heads toward my position.

I always walk against traffic. If not I would have already met my maker. I know there is one old guy that has to be totally blind at night. Even when I am on the opposite side of the road, his black truck veers over and aims right at me. This is not a few isolated events either. And not just this one old man.

One night I had just started out and using the flashlight making it obvious I was walking on the left side of road. The truck in question was coming up behind me on the opposite side of road. He steered to the left and I just barely jumped out of the way into the culvert. His left front tire made tracks in the loose gravel just off the pavement.

Over time I have become accustomed to this. Sometimes it is entertaining and other times I want to send lead back. When there has been a lot of rain, I have even gone swimming in the culvert to keep from being run over.

For the most part, I am safe enough. But now always looking out for that one oddball who either has a grudge to settle with someone, and I just happen to be there at the wrong time or there are way too many people on the road that have no business driving. I am going with the latter.

Wednesday, just three days before the great charity ride, was my last practice around the quasi road course I use that is at the shop. I was not as mentally prepared this time or just not as motivated on this last ride. But I had to do it now or would have to pass until Saturday.

The ride started out like the rest, I did take a slow start and built up to speed during the first lap. From that point, it was routine. Lap after lap. Except for the few encounters with motor vehicles, nothing really changed. I made the first 20 laps and continued on for more.

At the 25 lap mark, no problems with muscles or aches anywhere. Tho not looking forward to more pedaling, I continued on. The next five laps were just the same. Then I took a slow down lap, just to keep from having muscles go wonky on me. This was the end of practice until the ride in a few days.

After the cool down lap, I checked the time. The 31 laps took just over 59 minutes. That keeps above my 15 mile average. So everything is good so far. But the actual ride is over 3 times the amount I have run at this point.

The first year, a short 21 mile leisure ride was brutal. I was not close to being ready for that one. Fortunately the amount of actual ride time was minimal and not so bad once it was finished. The second year, distance increased another 14 miles. At least for this ride I had spent some time prepping and better knowing what to expect.

Eating certain fruits was one thing that helped to give me a burst of energy toward the finish. Either the mangos or bananas I did consume made a noticeable difference. Maybe it was a combination of them. I dont know for sure and do need to confirm after this next ride.

This next ride will be 46 miles. So I know at 35 miles, my body is not screaming bloody murder. Adding another 10 plus miles may be pushing the limits of what I have. At the end of the second years ride of 35 miles, I was not worn out. But did not feel very capable of riding any more distance at that time.

The first year, I was learning how to endure the distance. The next year, I had a much better idea of what to expect and should have paced myself better. Fortunately the distance of 35 miles was not so much to cause my muscles to give out. There are things that have a major impact on riding I have yet to discover.

The direction of wind is very crucial to how fast you can go and maintain that speed. The first year there must have been a decent tail wind on the final east bound section of course. I was able to crank the most speed there and ran out of gear on the bike. But it is not much of a downhill run. The road is mostly flat for that two miles leading to crossing over the bridge to the last rest stop and final three miles to the finish.

The second year, I was not able to get any decent speed on this part of the course at all. It was no different that most of the other sections I had already ridden. I stayed in the same gear that was used for the majority of time pedaling. So something was definitely different.

I feel confident about this years ride. Going the distance is what is driving me. Self improvement is my goal. I am not competing against anyone else. Only myself. But I will be able to gauge my strengths and weaknesses with the other riders.

This time I want to pay more attention to what the conditions are and how they affect my time and speed. I am up to the challenge and expect to finish at decent pace. This is strictly an attempt to run the course and finish without stopping short because I am not in good enough shape by now. Failure is not an option this year.

 

Post race report from September 2024.

So for this big 46 mile stint, I was more than ready to conquer the challenge this time. Gung-ho to the point I was sure there would be no problems making the distance and finishing at a decent pace.

But like every year and each other ride so far, the conditions were different. This year I experienced a lot more head winds than any of the past events. It is surprising just how much drain your body takes with only a slight resistance. Increase the amount of wind blowing, and becomes a major workout. You add other factors and then compounds the problem.

That brings the second variable I have not experienced on any of the previous rides so far. All of the prior ones I would say luck was with me. The weather was mild and mostly overcast. I had not ridden this distance in a summer type sun blazing down situation yet. At least not for a very long time.

Many years ago when I was growing up, it did not make any difference if the sun was blaring down or heavy rain was beating me down. At that age my body was completely UV resistant and waterproof. I was nearly impervious to just about anything mother nature threw out there.

So during the ride I managed everything well enough thru the course right up to the turn off for the extra ten miles this time. Riding that added 10 mile stretch, the sun had come out overhead and I felt the heat radiating off the pavement and soaking right in to my legs. Then add that head wind and I felt like I was pedaling uphill in a microwave oven.

This radiant heat I was experiencing this time around felt like my legs were getting burned. Except the sensation was from the inside. I was getting cooked from the inside out. A new and painful experience I dont see any reason to repeat again. I need to find an alternative to this situation if there ever is a serious emergency.

In my weakened state, there was something else I noticed that was not so obvious before this ride. I am still not sure to what the cause was. But have some less than educated ideas. On certain types of pavement, like being mostly asphalt, there seems to be a big difference in how porous it was. On new or recently layed down road surface, there was no problem pedaling away.

The areas that took a toll on me were very porous. Older asphalt that had a lot of small rock exposed. Like you find out on the back roads that have not been all that well maintained. The rock was small and raised up, being mostly white. Rain water could easily shed off these roads without any problem. But when on the bike, it felt like I was now dragging an anchor behind my bike. When the surface changed to fresh blacktop or even concrete, it was no problem pedaling.

I just thought a better way to describe the condition of road that was more difficult to ride. Think about sand paper. The courser the paper, the more drag it has over a surface. This is the older laid down asphalt where a lot of the rock was above surface. The opposite like fine sand paper. It is mostly smooth and does not have the resistance across the working surface so much. Maybe that makes more sense of maybe not.

Then you add that heat and a head wind, well I was going backwards, so it seemed at times. This extra 10 mile track used me up a lot more than I had anticipated. I stayed plenty hydrated, ate all the mangos I could choke down with the usual carbohydrates. Now dont forget the pickle juice. Good for muscle cramps. Well up until your muscles are cramping so bad you want to stop and just cry.

I held out for the distance, right up to that final bridge to cross over. This time it was not so difficult like that first ride. The second trip was a piece of cake. But this time, I added ten miles before the last high climb, that is really not so high up there. I was just out of steam and was hoping to crest that bridge, and smooth sailing for the remainder of the ride. Except...

I had made it almost to that bridge without any major issues, except for leg muscles starting to complain in a big way. Then I got hit with a hamstring in the right leg. I tried to ride it thru, but not having any luck. Then the left hamstring twisted up in a wad. From the pain I could feel my muscles and pictured one of those rawhide dog bones. The ones that are tied in a knot on each end. That is how my muscles felt right then.

I needed to stop and rest those weary muscles, but afraid if I did, then my ride would be over. There was one pit stop left, that was too close to the finish to even bother, but I bothered anyway. More pickle juice and some attempt to do any stretch that might loosen up my legs. But nothing worked. Not even the ant bed now realizing I had been sitting in.

The few minutes without the constant cranking of my legs around under load did help a little. The venom from those ant bites sure did not do any good. But I did get back on the bike and finish the last three miles, no matter how painful it felt. I took off trying to not load either leg any more than necessary. Unfortunately this next part was a very steep climb. But only for a short distance.

I barely made the climb, then tried to coast just as much as was possible. But I was still on a slight grade, so that was not working out so well. The pedaling had to stay constant or my muscles would try to cramp up worse. Then I saw the last part of the course before my bike would reach the final stretch. It was a very short uphill than went flat and smooth after you reach the peak. It was another bridge, but I never considered it to be one.

The home stretch was in sight, there it was. I even saw a group of people cheering everyone on that managed to finish the ride. I could not help myself.



Yep that is me you see ther with a nice breeze blowing under my jersey. When I crossed that finish line, I was a winner. I made the cut. I rode the 46 mile and finished in a decent time. Actually turned out to be a good average that was comparable to the previous rides. But I was done. My legs ached something awful. Just now hoping I could at least dismount the bike without falling off of it.

Now you might ask again, so what? Anybody that is in decent shape can ride a bike. Well I am and I did. But go out and try pushing yourself for any fairly long distance without major coffee breaks all along the way to rest up and see how it turns out for you.

Now I do want to add that riding on a hamster wheel and seeing your ride time averaging close to 20 mph for that few minutes pushing yourself is only a hypothetical look into what could be if everything was perfect. That would include your health and stamina.

In a time in the near future, when a bike is your only means of transportation to get the heck out of Dodge, then you better be prepared. Maybe you decide to buy a cool overpriced survival bike just for that emergency, but will not be in shape enough to make the trip to safety without a lot of preparation. As in ride time. Maybe you should have bought a dual fuel moped or electric bike instead.

 

Preparing for local charity ride May 2025

Yes folks, its that time again. Time for the springtime Charity Bike Ride. This year I am getting a slight head start. Last years ride in September was 46 miles, or something like that. I would have to scroll back up this thread somewhere to confirm. Anyway, this ride is only 29 miles. My other option is like 64 miles. Not doing that one. Not ever in the near future.



My dinosaur 43 year old road bike is a Panasonic. I was too lazy to take a pic of my actual bike, instead found this one on the interweb. So this is what I am riding. Except mine is a different color. The seat is a different brand. My handle bars are black padded, not taped. Mine has center pull brake levers, this one does not. Shift levers are on the handle bar goose neck, not the frame. Mine is not a "TEAM" bike, just the Sport 1000 model. So yea this looks nothing at all like my bike. But it is still a Panasonic.

My bike is still all original almost down to the air in tires. I had a small puncture wound last fall before the last ride, so that had to be addressed. Instead of repairing the tube, I just swapped it out with one that is ten years older. At least the air is fresh.

Tonight, or really it is early morning, I just made my first practice run preparing for the charity ride coming up soon enough. I have just over a month to prepare. Hoping to take full advantage of the time, this time. All of the previous rides I sort of waited up to the last week or two before stretching my legs.

My first time back in the saddle a few years ago on a road bike I had less than two weeks to get ready. At that time I didnt even have a ridable bike. After digging it out of deep six storage, I still had to round up missing parts. After a lot of piecing things together, I had an acceptable road bike. Or at least a decent one built back in 1982, that was about as non competitive of a level bike as one could buy.

This evening, or that was about two hours ago, I made the snap decision to put the bike on my practice training route. It is nothing more exciting than a horse shoe shape loop in an old industrial district in a bad part of town. Even the shadows no speak English.

In years past, I had problems with night wranglers jumping the fence at shop and grabbing anything at all. Just so long as they came back over the fence with something. Otherwise all wasted effort.




IN more recent years, a lot more car wrecks, no insurance, drunk driving including pedestrians, and surrounding buildings. Way too may Topo Chico water bottles laying on side of the road mixed with Modelo beer cans. A stark contrast from Mad Dog 2020 and Schlitz Malt Liquor in previous years. Geez I almost forgot about those old Colt 45 cans too.





Blown up against the fence or scattered around in parking lot, the usual syringes, loaded diapers, used condoms, and all kinds of trash. Some things are just nasty. The bottles full of stale pizz is really getting annoying. I would love to return them to the original owner thru a newly broken window in their car.

If I catch another hombre taking a dump in my parking lot, his butt cheeks are going to get perforated with double ought rock salt. Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest. The previous 15 years has really been getting unbearable with regards to this type of happenings all the time.

But tonight, it was mostly quiet. The air temp was a comfortable 72 degrees with humidity only pushing a mere 87 percent. Any hotter, I would say that is muggy. So I should not have any trouble making my first practice run preparing for the next charity bike ride.

Without further ado, I will proceed with tonights mostly boring practice session. But first I needed to air up the tires. The bike has been sitting since last September. The tires were low. At least they were still holding air. This time I was planning to fill them to nearly max pressure of about 90 psi.



The only problem with this is I did not have a way to measure pressure that high. So I swapped out a gauge on fill hose with one I thought went to 100 psi. Well that didnt go so well. It turns out this gauge reads in kpa and psi. I now know for an almost fact that 100 kpa is equal to 14.5 psi. Needless to say the gauge pegged hard, blowing up the the lens cover and now way out of calibration. Scrap one gauge.

Next I used one of those old mechanical pencil looking slide gauges that fits in your pocket. Like all of the gas station attendants used to carry around all chrome and shiny at full service stations. Whats that? You are asking me what the heck is a full service station? Well Google it yourself. Seems this one only goes to 45 psi.

So my last option was to let compressor build up to around 90 psi by the gauge connected to the tank. I filled both tires until the pressure equalized with tank. What little amount of air this size tube holds does not take but two seconds. They both still seemed soft when squeezing the Charmin, but both were equally soft. Leave things alone and get with it already.

The first practice session was finally under way. I found my hard turtleback shelled fingerless Tasco gloves. No literally I found these a few years ago right before my first ride. Dont know exactly where they came from of why I would even have them. The olive green color does match my bike shorts. So that is a plus.

Then I even forgot to put the gloves to use. No padded butt protectors and no skinny tight Lycra shorts. But I dont do the tights at all. For this practice, only some camo flavored cargo shorts. Nothing but the best tonight.

I finally roll out the bike and hop on. Then spend the next 49 minutes going in sort of circles, but not really. More like a horse shoe then straight section to tie it all together. But doesnt matter, I am just making laps.

I managed 20 laps at 1/2 mile per pass. After a whopping 49 minutes, if mathing the figures correctly, that equates to about 12.24 miles per hour. Even tho it was the first night back on the bike, I was still very disappointed with the results. Maybe I miss counted the laps. Yea that makes more sense. Your mileage may vary, void where prohibited.

Nothing really changed for the whole ride tonight. It was about the half way point did I even feel my arm muscles tensed up. A quick stretch and they were fine. Mostly from strong arming the handle bars. Not much I can do about that except more riding.

Even with the humidity at 87 percent, I did not break out into a sweat. Not a single drop. My throat did not go cotton mouth until almost the last two laps. Only then it was noticeable, not an issue. There was no tingling in either arms until after the practice session was finished. Good sign.

On my very first attempt to re-enter the biking realm a few years ago, I barely managed 6 laps of practice for a total of three miles. My body was toast. It was a start and a slow one, but all I could do at that point was improve. Which I did.

Tomorrow night will be time off. No more consecutive nightly rides especially close to the charity ride itself. I need time to heal and let muscles get used to being stretched again. At least the set of muscles that get a good work out only when riding a bike.

One major blunder that almost cost me what was left of this practice session. I yanked the bike handle bars up to avoid a jarring bump and felt a muscle pull hard in my right calf. This was with about 5 laps left to go. Without stopping, I only quit pedaling for a short distance, then continued on. Just not so much load on the legs for one lap.

This saved me from going all charlie horse and cramping a muscle. If it did get wadded up, I would be finished tonight. No reason to push any farther with a cranked up muscle. But fortunately the leg did not get all twisted on me. I salvaged tonights practice session with 95% of health points remaining, but only barely. Next time there will not be a next time to yank or jerk the bike over for any reason, unless there is no other choice.

So without any aspirin, or even a warm up, I made it thru the first practice session suffering no major failures. Right now I am not even tired or feel sore anywhere. But to repeat the same thing tomorrow night will not end up so well. So I will take one or two days off before continuing on to practice round two.

 

Dammit man ,,, I missed something early on in this bike race thing ,, I thought we was talking real cycles ,, " motorcycles" ,,,
Dangit man ,,, you have at it there cycle guy ,, just wondering tho ,, ain't there a bicycle club out there somewhere that would luv to hear your 'cycle news ,,,
You could have at least told me I was on the wrong cycle ,, for your preferences anyway ,,, carry on cycle guy ,, be careful out there ,,,