Test Ride

I am currently on the search for a riding partner. I've put out a couple of verbal ads so to speak.  They go something like this:

Wanted

Riding partner for a 32 year-old male just getting back into cycling, but taking it seriously this time.  Ideally my wife would fill this position, but just like everything else in my life, my children are complicating the issue.  Not looking for a serious or long-term relationship.  Just someone to take turns breaking the wind.  Does not need to be a conversationalist, married to spandex or have dreams of riding the Tour de France.  Required:  ability to pedal, set a decent pace, and enjoy the experience.  Professionals need not apply.

I recently got an inquiry to my ad.  A friend from church expressed interest in going on a ride.  "How far can you go around here" he asked. 

"As far as you want to as long as you are comfortable riding on roads" I responded.

He suggested a Saturday morning 30 miler.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm all for knocking out a good 30 on a cool Saturday morning.  However, I'm not cool about getting 15 miles into it and realizing that this guy has no idea about his ability level and having to do CPR while I wait for the ambulance to arrive.   I decided to suggest a shorter route as a test ride.  A 10 mile loop that began and ended at his home seemed appropriate.  It took us a couple of weeks to coordinate our schedules, but the day finally came.  In the event that things went south and we had to abort half way through, I decided to ride half the loop before picking him up and the other half after I dropped him back at his house to, in effect, ride the course twice and double my mileage for the evening.  

I got the first half of the loop done in good time and arrived a little early to pick him up.  I don't think he was expecting to see me in a full Cannondale kit, gloves, shoes, etc and asked if I was sponsored.  I told him that I had a friend that worked for the company and that I really like their products.  He seemed satisfied with that.  I don't think he was quite brave enough to ask about the shaved legs.  He pulled on some workout wear, helmet and sunglasses and hopped on his bike.  I learned long ago not to judge an athlete by their appearance or gear.  Skill is skill.  Still, that nervous smile on his face gave me the impression that he might be a little over his head.  I decided to start us out easy down a trail and then turn on to roads for the rest of the loop.  I set the pace at first and he stayed right with me.  It was a good sign.

We finished the trail and pulled out onto the road.  I led for about a mile and then pulled over to let him take the lead and set the pace.  I was looking forward to having someone take the brunt of the wind for a change.  He pulled ahead of me and took off!  He was in a high gear and pumping hard and I had to stand and sprint for a moment to catch his wheel.  

"Oh man, I have seriously underestimated this guy" I though in my head.  "I may have to push myself to keep up with HIM!"

Despite the fast pace, it was nice to ride behind someone and I noticed a difference in energy output.  I really liked being able to draft!  We turned north and hit a brisk head wind.  He slowed a little, but kept the pace high.  I cruised right along behind him reveling in this wonderful thing I had found.

We stopped at a traffic light and he pounded some water and made a comment about the wind killing him.  I said I would take a turn at the front for the next little while.  The light turned green, we pedaled through the intersection and I returned to our previous pace anticipating that he would hang on my wheel and enjoy a break drafting.  I looked back to see how he was doing and found him struggling to stay within shouting distance.  The game was up.  I sat up in the saddle, slowed and waited for him to catch up.  We slowed the pace and kept on going.  Thus began the back and forth game of yo-yoing for the rest of the ride.  I would set a very comfortable pace anticipating that he could match and look back and find him struggling.  I'd slow down some more and the game would begin again.

About halfway through the ride he asked me about my cadence.  I explained how I kept my legs spinning at higher rpms to avoid lactic acid buildup and fatigue.   I suggested that he give it a try and that he might find some relief from all of the hard strokes he was taking.  I don't think he believed me.  We approached the one quick hill of the ride and I told him that I was going to attack it and would wait for him a the top.  Once he arrived he asked if we could take a stretch break.  No problem.

We pulled into a parking lot and he dismounted and began to work on his calves.  

"One calf cramping is bad enough, but both of mine have locked up," he explained.  

I told him to take his time.  I really wasn't trying to drop this guy and I surely didn't want to kill him.  For the rest of the ride I set the pace and tried to keep him near enough so that he could enjoy a little easier go behind me.  We had one final uphill segment before his home and it was hard on me to go slow through traffic to stay with him.  We finally pulled into his neighborhood and I could see the relief on his face.  

"Should I take a warm or cold bath tonight?" he asked.

"Cold. Definitely cold."

I dropped him off and finished the second half of the loop to complete my double loop ride.  Test ride over.  Analysis complete.  Results:

He burned out setting a high pace during his mile turn at the front and struggled the rest of the way.  I think he anticipated it being a jaunt like he takes with his family.  I'm pretty sure that he is thanking his lucky stars that I didn't take him up on that 30 miler. 

He texted me later on that night to say that he had "enjoyed" (code for "survived") our ride.  He said that his schedule would be "busy" for the next few weeks so he couldn't go for another soon.  I took this as code for, "don't call me, I'll call you." 

So where does that leave me...

Wanted

Riding partner for a 32 year-old male just getting back into cycling, but taking it seriously this time.

Harassment

I had a near perfect cycling day.  Allow me to enumerate.

First:  The weather - cool 60's and clear in the morning and pleasant 70's and a little overcast during the day.  The was a light breeze to keep you from sweat staining a dress shirt on a lunch run, but not enough to impede progress.   

Second:  The ride - commuted to work and felt great.  I set a few PRs on my way in.  At lunch, I rode a few miles up the street and met my wife and kids and rode back to work.  After work, I finished the commute home.  Three separate rides in one day - that's a record!

Third:  The energy - recently I have struggled with my energy levels.  Most of this has to do with managing diabetes in day to day life.  Integrating cycling with this has been a challenge for me.  Over the past week I have found my rhythm with my riding and blood sugar management.  

Fourth:  The harassment - I was nearly home on my commute from work when I am run onto the shoulder by a green pickup truck.  The driver slows to match my speed, rolls down the window and begins to verbally berate me because he didn't think I stopped for long enough at a stop sign before pulling out.  Granted, it was not my longest pause, but I did slow down and check to make sure nothing was coming.  Obviously, he saw this as he came up the hill and decided he was going to fix all that was wrong in the world.  I was clipping along at about 20mph and couldn't say much.  After about a quarter of a mile of just taking it from this guy I noticed that there was oncoming traffic and this guy was still looking at me and trying to instill some sort of apathy in me.  I got up enough breath to remind him that he needed to watch the road while driving. "I am watching the road"  he shouted as he was looking straight at me (and not the road).  Oh well.  While you might think this distracted from everything else that was going right, I look at it as a badge of honor.  It is official.  I have earned my stripes as a cyclist by being berated mid ride by some vigilante motorist hell bound on righting traffic infractions as he sees them.

Like I said - a near perfect cycling day.

Setbacks

Keeping life's demands in order can be a challenging thing.  For instance, keeping a clean house with three active kids, one of which has not been feeling well, is nearly impossible.  One thing or another seems to get in the way.  Especially when the older two feel like they have little to no responsibility when it comes to maintaining their (I say junk) possessions.  Last night we had reached a fever pitch in the family and I could tell that my wife was about to go over the proverbial cliff regarding our house unless something happened fast.  So, I put our little guy down early (he screamed for a while but eventually caught on that no one was coming to rescue him) and the rest of us got to work straightening, sweeping, mopping, etc.  By the end of the night, the house looked and felt good again and that crazy look had vanished from my wife's eyes.  Another crisis averted.

Cycling has been like this for me the past few weeks.  One thing or another has kept me from logging miles.  First it was flat tires.  Then extremely high heat.  Earlier this week I got sick, thew up at work, slept for 17 hours, drug myself back into work and somehow managed through the day.  Well yesterday I got up, felt fine, the weather was nice and my tires were full.  No setbacks today!  I spent the whole day ready to get back in the saddle.  I promised myself to take it easy and just back into the swing of things for a leisurely ride.  I was amazed how good it felt to be back at it again.  I had energy.  There was a cool breeze.  I didn't feel like I was breathing in a cloud.  Life was good.  So was the ride!  Great to be back at it!

Commute

My main goal in getting back into cycling is to improve my health and fitness.  I have many other goals that relate to this overarching one like eating better (still need to work on this one), increasing my overall pace, increasing ride distance, and increasing my ride frequency.  Longer days and warmer weather have provided opportunity to work on these benchmarks.  Commuting to work has been another goal that I have been working up to.  My fitness and endurance are increasing but heavy road work in the area has forced traffic onto usually quieter back roads complicating finding a safe route from my home to work.  Also, I have needed to find a place to store my bike safely at work.  All of these factors have made it seem that commuting was a long way off.  Yesterday, I was unexpectantly motivated to step up my time table.  The catalyst: car trouble.


Some unsettling sounds and an upcoming 12 hour road trip to the beach have landed our family minivan in the shop.  Couple that with an unusually hectic Thursday schedule for my wife and kids and you get me without a car.  So, yesterday I found myself scrambling to figure out the feasibility of my first commute.  I made of list of things I would need to bring like clothes to change into, my cell phone, keys, building access card, food, bike tool, etc.  Near the end of my work day I popped in to our practice administrator's office and inquired about a safe storage place for my bike.  He offered the conference room and I took him up on his offer.  Then it was back to my office to map out a route that I thought was safest.  On my way home I drove the route and found several detours due to construction.  I noted them and altered my plans accordingly.  A quick weather check confirmed clear weather in the morning with storms in the afternoon.  Okay, I could get to work, but might need a ride home.  "That is doable" I thought, "and might be a good start to a commute to just have to ride one way on the first day."

When I got home I went straight upstairs, grabbed a bag and began packing everything I would need.  Luckily, it all fit into a nice small messenger that could hook around my waist to avoid any unwanted shifting.  Despite my preparations, my mind was troubled all night long.  I went to bed early, but kept waking up, questioning if I should really pedal to work in the morning.  There was a pit in my stomach declaring that my nerves were heightened.  To reassure myself I began visualizing each leg of the trip and how I would ride; where I would push the pace and where I would recover.  The night passed and as it always does, morning came.

I awoke early enough to allow myself about an hour to make it to work.  I showered, shaved, pulled on my cycling gear and bag and kissed my wife goodbye.  In the garage, I pulled my bike off the wall, strapped my helmet on, took a deep breath and started off.  It was cool, but pleasant.  I felt overwhelmed as I pulled out of the neighborhood and onto the street.  "This is silly" I told myself.  "You have ridden longer than this many times before.  You have the stamina and strength.  Just keep your wits about you and you will be okay."  I decided to just focus on small parts of the trip.  That seemed to work and keep my mind from thinking about the distance as a whole.  The route I had planned worked well and I only flubbed a clip once with a skinned ankle to show for it.  "hopefully, that is the worst of things" I tried to comfort myself.  I kept a steady, but not fast pace and felt good despite a headwind most of the way.  As I pulled into the practice parking lot, I felt a great sense of relief and accomplishment.  I had done it!  I checked my app that I use to track time, distance, speed, etc.  45 minutes - not too bad.  That left me plenty of time to stash my bike in the conference room, change in my office, pound down a few cups of water and settle in to my morning. 

During my ride in I kept thinking, "This would be so much easier in the car."  Now that I have settled in to my day, I feel the same as if I drove in.  I guess that is the point.  Same result, healthier means.  Plus I save on gas which is always good these days!  Most likely, I am done for the day.  Heavy thunderstorms are forecast to arrive right about 5pm.  I think a lifeline call to my wife will be in order.  One thing at a time I guess.

Hurting

Mixing up my route has kept things interesting on rides now that the weather is warming, the days are longer and I am able to be on my bike more.  I found a nice paved trail that I can take for some recovery during rides.  I was speeding down this trail the other day and stopped where it crossed a busy street to wait for traffic to clear.  When I had my chance to cross I gave one pedal stroke, stepped into my right pedal, thought I clipped in, fumbled, leaned left, panicked and dropped to the asphalt in the middle of the road.  Both lanes of traffic stopped.  I looked down, saw blood and hobbled across the street as quickly as possible. I really hope no one caught that with a smart phone.  I'll have to keep checking YouTube to make sure I don't suddenly appear. 

 Once I cleared the curb I assessed the damage and was happy to find that the worse thing injured was my ego.  Second was my body - scrapes on the left calf, abrasion down the right shin with a nice welt, sore hip and nothing more.  Third was my bike - scraped left pedal and minor damage to the left side of my saddle.  My seat post had turned slightly.  Overall, I just felt stupid more than anything.

I had been feeling great up until this point on my ride, but this incident really took all of the wind out of my sails.  I took the most direct route home and cut my losses, grateful that things had not been worse.  I had just enough time on the way back to figure out how I would reassure my wife that I was okay and that there was no need to worry about things when I ride.  Luckily, she was very understanding.  I realized later that I should have taken some pictures to document the event.  I am just about healed now and hopefully, there will not be another incident to report.

Seize the Day

Over the past few weeks, my wife has had a busy weekend schedule which has meant that the responsibility for watching our three children has fallen to me.  I am certainly not complaining.  I love spending time with my kids and my wife definitely needs some significant blocks of time to herself without the constant calls of "Mommy!" bouncing around.  However, watching three kids all weekend is exhausting and does not afford time for riding.  Being February, the weather is still an issue as well. 

This past Saturday, the stars seemed to align for me.  My wife returned from her day out around three in the afternoon and announced that she was done with her errands for the day.  The older kids were happy and occupied and the youngest was down for a nap.  The weather was even cooperating with about 37 degrees and sunshine.  Now was my opportunity to get back on the road!

I had mapped out a route in my head, keeping in mind that it has been a little over a week since my last ride.  I didn't want to push myself too hard, but still wanted to hit double digit mileage.  It turned out to be a great day for a ride.  The first half had a few short hills which pushed me.  I came up to a light crossing a highway and for some reason, did not get a green through one cycle despite there being several cars also waiting to cross.  The wait for the green light took much longer than I had expected and I had started to tighten up a bit which made the second half of the ride a little more challenging.  Overall I put in 10.5 miles in 45 minutes.  Not stellar, but not terrible considering how long I sat at that light. 

Wind and Heat

Cold temperatures and long work days ensured that a full week went by without a ride.  Saturday came along with temps in the 40's.  I waited the cold out in the morning and was rewarded with 47 degrees after lunch.  I pulled on my fleece tights, a long-sleeved base layer, jersey, cycling cap and gloves.  My son wanted to ride a little with me so we did a lap around the neighborhood before I headed out on the roads.  We pedaled down our street and turned south on a drive that loops around the boarder of our community.  BAM!  We both were smacked in the face with a wall of wind.  My son nearly came to a complete stop.  I had to wait and wait and wait as he struggled to pedal through the force of the air.  The wind also sent a chill through me.  We slowly made it home and I pulled on a fleece jacket and set off.  I felt good and warm. 

Pulling out on to the street was exhilarating.  After a full week I was back in business.  I turned south and BAM - another wall of wind.  For most of the ride I battled with a hard head/cross wind that felt like someone was grabbing my saddle and pulling me backwards while knocking me from side to side.  I had decided to push it a little further this ride, but second guessed myself with all the wind.  I finally gritted my teeth and decided to keep pushing the extra few miles.  It was painful, but well worth it.

A few miles into the ride, with all the effort I was expending against the wind I began to get hot.  Very hot.  I realized what all the advice givers meant when they said they want to be a little chilly when they start a ride and that they quickly heat up.  Yeah - heat up is right.  I unzipped my jacket and at a red light, pulled off my cycling cap and shoved it into a pocket.  The breeze through the vents in my helmet felt great from then on.  However my arms were still smoking.  I now see the utility in a good pair of arm warmers that are quick off and easily stored in a jersey pocket if things start to warm up.  Lesson learned.  I ended at 12.2 miles - most of them very hard fought - in just under an hour.