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 .