My Dearest Readers,
Today is day three of the
official training regimen. In the past, one of my most difficult days. Usually
it’s the day when I start gorging on junk food and decide not to work out… I’m
sure some of you know the feeling. Well, I already pigged out on grotesque
amounts of Oreos yesterday and the day before so that’s out of the way and my
route is planned out so at this point there really is no excuse to not ride.
There. It’s officially on the blog for all to see so I must ride.
Now that that’s taken care of…
Yesterday’s ride was my first “official” training ride by myself. I mapped out
a route similar to the one we rode on Monday but this one had a few
alterations. For one, I nipped out the unfortunately large hill on Gilbert. I
also cut out Kellog on the way back and decided to try something new.
Fortunately, I did not get lost once and actually spent a few miles of the ride
along side two other cyclists. They were part of a larger group of “casual”
riders so eventually I had to move on.
A few things I noticed in
comparing Monday’s ride with Dr. Jayne to my solo ride yesterday: On Monday,
Dr. Jayne and I worked quite a bit on drafting. I don’t think I fully
appreciated the extent of energy that saved and how much easier it made the
ride for be. Tuesday’s ride was quite a bit harder without another rider to
break the wind for me. Instead of averaging around 18-19mph, I probably
averaged 14-16mph. The entire ride out had a fairly decent head wind and just
my luck, it didn’t become a very good tail wind when I began heading the other
direction. In addition to having a more difficult ride speed-wise, I also
struggled quite a bit with my cadence. Monday I was pretty consistently above
90rpm, spending most of the ride around 93-96rpm. Today, it was a struggle to
hold 91rpm on the flats.
After Monday’s ride, Dr. Jayne
talked to me about the way my left foot bows in when I ride. He asked me if
this was a natural pigeon-toe or if it was something that occurred mostly when
I ride. I don’t have a pigeon-toe naturally but I definitely noticed yesterday
that my left toe turns in when I get tired. I struggled to adjust this for most
of the ride. If it persists, I am going to try adjusting the float on my left
pedal. Hopefully a little less float will limit the amount my foot can turn
without effecting the way my body naturally moves. I will play with it and see
what happens.
Time for a mini rant: I try to be
understanding of other riders on the road but there are just some people I do
not understand. For instance, people that insist on biking in the middle of the
road but refuse to go at a reasonable pace… Yesterday, I encountered a
gentleman riding towards me, in the wrong direction, down a bike lane. Let me
explain what I mean by “gentleman”. This wonderful sir was riding a bike that
was clearly too small for him, wearing an oversized t-shirt and cargo shorts,
and listening to music on his very “stylin” beats head phones. As we approached
each other on the painted in bike lane with special arrows to explain which
direction you should ride in, he turns off at the last second, smiles, and
waves as if he too is just another jolly cyclist out for a ride on a beautiful
afternoon. I am completely baffeled by this. If anyone can explain the insistency
of novice bikers to ride in the road, in the wrong direction, in my way, please
tell me. I would LOVE to hear it. This is why we have to have “share the road”
signs. This is why cars don’t like bikes on “their” roads. Because half the
people out there don’t know what the heck they are supposed to do the second
they put their two wheels on the pavement! Well let me explain… Drive the same
direction cars drive!! This is America. We drive, bicycle, whatever on the
right side of the road. Not the left. Also, for all those drifters out there,
stop. You will make cars angry and make them not like cyclists. A rage which
they will likely release on us law-abiding cyclists by driving uncomfortably
close to us.
Thanks for bearing with me through
that much-needed rant! Hope you are all enjoying your summers as much as I will
(one more final exam on Thursday and I’m free for a whole week!).
Yours Truly,
Naomi
“Ambition is the path to success.
Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” ~William Eardley IV
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| This is the route I took yesterday. It's about 23.4mi. (Route 4 on my google maps at the url below) http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid= 204824175833049123999.0004c1c2ccec0f6e00e17 |
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