Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Bike update 2
Bike ride number 5 was on the 3rd of December.
The physical portion was the total opposite of every other ride Ive been on. Gone were the sore knees, the pounding chest, the cramps in my side, and every other ache and pain (except for the damn elbow), and in its place was The. Best. Ride. Ever.
I felt good, I rode good, everything was good. I was happy and excited, not just for how I felt, but also because today was proof that I wasnt as bad as my previous rides had suggested I was. I had even managed on a couple of occasions to catch up to, and keep pace with, "real" bike riders. Yeah, if it were a race theyd leave me in the dust, but for now, I was their equal. And that felt good. But what felt the best was that I was FINALLY able to keep up with Stephanie. I had always felt bad - for me, for her, and physically - that I was always pulling up the rear. But now, I was right beside her the whole way. And for once I "got" what this biking thing was supposed to be.
So what was the difference? Gears. Yep, just the gears. I had been riding with 2 on the left gear and 3 on the right - or on 6 - and this time I went all the way to 3 and 7 - or 21. I had feared doing so because I was a rookie and high gears are "just for good riders", but upon going higher my whole ride changed. Yeah, I had to work for it because it was harder, but it felt good, and I never felt pain.
And for the first time, we managed to ride each way in 45 minutes. And considering we did like 90 minutes the first time and then an hour the other times, 45 minutes was amazing. And once we were done, I was looking forward to the next time for the first time since we started riding.
Bike ride #6 was on the 6th of December.
For the first time CJ was able to join us. Same route. Same times. The only major difference this time was that we decided to eat at a different place. We had some BBQ and it was good, and like the Italian place, it was alot of food. Too much to eat in one sitting and especially too much to eat on a bike ride.
Oh, and on the way back I was riding behind a guy who was in a bike that was powered by just his arms. Not sure if he was paralyzed or just doing upper body work, but he was able to keep an 11mph pace... with his arms. Insane.
Number 7 is on Tuesday, and Ill update you soon after. So, until then...
-- DBW --
The physical portion was the total opposite of every other ride Ive been on. Gone were the sore knees, the pounding chest, the cramps in my side, and every other ache and pain (except for the damn elbow), and in its place was The. Best. Ride. Ever.
I felt good, I rode good, everything was good. I was happy and excited, not just for how I felt, but also because today was proof that I wasnt as bad as my previous rides had suggested I was. I had even managed on a couple of occasions to catch up to, and keep pace with, "real" bike riders. Yeah, if it were a race theyd leave me in the dust, but for now, I was their equal. And that felt good. But what felt the best was that I was FINALLY able to keep up with Stephanie. I had always felt bad - for me, for her, and physically - that I was always pulling up the rear. But now, I was right beside her the whole way. And for once I "got" what this biking thing was supposed to be.
So what was the difference? Gears. Yep, just the gears. I had been riding with 2 on the left gear and 3 on the right - or on 6 - and this time I went all the way to 3 and 7 - or 21. I had feared doing so because I was a rookie and high gears are "just for good riders", but upon going higher my whole ride changed. Yeah, I had to work for it because it was harder, but it felt good, and I never felt pain.
And for the first time, we managed to ride each way in 45 minutes. And considering we did like 90 minutes the first time and then an hour the other times, 45 minutes was amazing. And once we were done, I was looking forward to the next time for the first time since we started riding.
Bike ride #6 was on the 6th of December.
For the first time CJ was able to join us. Same route. Same times. The only major difference this time was that we decided to eat at a different place. We had some BBQ and it was good, and like the Italian place, it was alot of food. Too much to eat in one sitting and especially too much to eat on a bike ride.
Oh, and on the way back I was riding behind a guy who was in a bike that was powered by just his arms. Not sure if he was paralyzed or just doing upper body work, but he was able to keep an 11mph pace... with his arms. Insane.
Number 7 is on Tuesday, and Ill update you soon after. So, until then...
-- DBW --
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