Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
First there's Saturday morning. 41 miles! More than halfway to 75 in one shot, which in itself is sweet in my book. All of a sudden, 75 miles isn't seeming so bad. It was the first time I've come in contact with one of those long lines of bike riders going the same direction I am at the same time and place..and it was just a tiny bit demoralizing. I'm cranking along, doing my thing and behind me I hear, "On your left."
The next thing I know, I'm getting passed (on my left, of course) like I'm a couch potato....over and over again. I look down at the little speedometer thing and I'm doing 18 miles an hour, so these guys gotta be doing 22, 23 easy...maybe more...not looking like it's a struggle at all. I know they have that whole drafting thing going on, but still....dang! They came and went though, and I just stayed the course and kept pedaling. Those guys are on a whole different plane than I am.
It's kind of a neat thing out there early on Saturdays. The only other people you meet are other people running, or walking, or biking. Everybody smiles and waves, like you're all part of some loosely organized group. You start seeing some of the same people, and smile and wave, say "good morning", even though you really have no idea who they are.
Getting close to the end, I was cursing the little speedometer/odometer thingie, because it kept quitting on me. You could tell it knew I was still moving, because the display never died...which it does when you stop for about a minute. It was still there, but it read zero and the milage froze. I'd smack it a few times and it would work again for a while. The thing was, it was reading about 38 miles for the trip, and I desperately wanted to make it say 40 before I quit...and I did. I rode a bit extra, and kept smacking it every time it stopped...and pretty much willed it to crank over 40...getting to 41 when I hit the driveway at home. So yeah, I really did more than 41, but how much more, I have no clue. I just wanted to know I did at least 40 miles, and I know that.
When I do this whole bike deal, I get salt on my eyelids. I'm not sure if its from sweat that evaporated or tears streaking off the sides of my face, but my money's on the sweat thing. It doesn't bother me at all until I stop. I guess, up until then, the sweat is streaking off my face too, but as soon as I stop, gravity starts working. The next thing I know, my eyes are burning from the salt that was on my eyelids, but is now making its way into my eyes. Saturday, when I finished, I just put the bike down, went inside, soaked a tissue and rubbed my eyes to get rid of it. That worked fine..no more burning. It left my eyes all red though, and when I walked the rest of the way in the house, the wife was all concerned. She's constantly worried that I'm biting off more than I can chew. "How far did you go? You look awful! Are you sure you should be doing this? Are you sure you're OK? Your eyes are all red and you look like hell." Well, I looked like hell because I just rode 41 miles. The eye thing, I explained. After sitting for ten minutes and a Powerade, I looked and felt fine...or relatively fine. Rest and Powerade can only do so much with the raw material they are given.
About then I decided to do something I told myself I wasn't going to do. Ever since I started on this quest to finish the 150 mile ride, I told myself I was doing it on the bike I had....the Trek road bike I bought in 1984, when I was still in the Navy, teaching flight school and riding a lot. To this point I have been riding that bike..and it was the one that made it 41+ miles...but it was creaking and groaning at the end...more than I was. Literally...it was creaking. I thought...this old bike may not make it until September and at the rate I'm riding it...maybe I should update the ride. I went to a bike shop and "looked". That's really all it took. I saw what new bikes are like compared to what I was riding and....oh man! Then there was the sticker shock, but...oh man! Bikes have come a long way. I discussed it with the wife, who was all over the idea. "You go out there every Saturday morning any more, and ride a long way, and your bike is more than 20 years old. Get something new." Part of this though was a new commitment. If I got something new, it would mean that this whole bike riding thing can't stop after I do this ride. If I'm making that kind of investment in equipment...this better keep happening long after that ride ends. I thought about it for a while...and really...I should keep doing this. Of the methods of exercise I have practiced, biking is the least like drudgery for me. I get out there and ride. The scenery goes by at a pace that keeps my interest and I can lose myself in the fun of the ride...something that running could never do for me. It's a whole lot easier on the knees than running too. I am slowly losing weight and there's no denying I'm healthier, so that's all good stuff.
So we went back to the bike shop, and I am now the proud owner of a sweeeet new bike. Didn't pay quite what it's listed for in the link, but it wasn't cheap, either...and unlike the picture in the link, mine came with pedals. Let's just say this whole bike riding exercise is costing me more than I ever imagined, but it's also probably very good for me as well. They put me on a training thing and fitted the bike to me and everything. It weighs almost nothing. One thing I noticed...it didn't have the nice gel padded seat that I bought for my old bike. I asked the guy in the store about it..like why did this expensive bike not have a cushy seat, and should I swap them out. He said that as I ride farther, the smaller seat (with less padding) that's on the new bike will be more comfy, and the butt padding in the shorts should be sufficient for its purpose. The gel seat would be good for someone just starting to ride distances, but as you get a "road butt", it wouldn't help much and just weighed more. I'll be the judge of that. I rode the new bike around the neighborhood yesterday for a while...not a long ride but just to try it out longer than the little "test drive" at the shop. I busted the neighborhood 25 mph speed limit more than once (granted, by only half a mile an hour and down wind). I really didn't want to get off the thing. It will make the long ride a lot easier on me...and will be part of my Saturday mornings for a long time to come. As Napoleon would say...it's a very sweet bike, but no, it's not going off any jumps.
The old bike isn't going anywhere, though. The youngster wants it. He's figured out that road bikes aren't much for jumps and tricks and stuff, but they can go a lot faster with less effort. We lowered the seat as much as possible and it's still a bit big for him....but we can keep it until he grows into it. He won't beat it the way I've been, and if he does, maybe it'll take him long enough that it'll be time for him to buy a new bike.
The next thing I know, I'm getting passed (on my left, of course) like I'm a couch potato....over and over again. I look down at the little speedometer thing and I'm doing 18 miles an hour, so these guys gotta be doing 22, 23 easy...maybe more...not looking like it's a struggle at all. I know they have that whole drafting thing going on, but still....dang! They came and went though, and I just stayed the course and kept pedaling. Those guys are on a whole different plane than I am.
It's kind of a neat thing out there early on Saturdays. The only other people you meet are other people running, or walking, or biking. Everybody smiles and waves, like you're all part of some loosely organized group. You start seeing some of the same people, and smile and wave, say "good morning", even though you really have no idea who they are.
Getting close to the end, I was cursing the little speedometer/odometer thingie, because it kept quitting on me. You could tell it knew I was still moving, because the display never died...which it does when you stop for about a minute. It was still there, but it read zero and the milage froze. I'd smack it a few times and it would work again for a while. The thing was, it was reading about 38 miles for the trip, and I desperately wanted to make it say 40 before I quit...and I did. I rode a bit extra, and kept smacking it every time it stopped...and pretty much willed it to crank over 40...getting to 41 when I hit the driveway at home. So yeah, I really did more than 41, but how much more, I have no clue. I just wanted to know I did at least 40 miles, and I know that.
When I do this whole bike deal, I get salt on my eyelids. I'm not sure if its from sweat that evaporated or tears streaking off the sides of my face, but my money's on the sweat thing. It doesn't bother me at all until I stop. I guess, up until then, the sweat is streaking off my face too, but as soon as I stop, gravity starts working. The next thing I know, my eyes are burning from the salt that was on my eyelids, but is now making its way into my eyes. Saturday, when I finished, I just put the bike down, went inside, soaked a tissue and rubbed my eyes to get rid of it. That worked fine..no more burning. It left my eyes all red though, and when I walked the rest of the way in the house, the wife was all concerned. She's constantly worried that I'm biting off more than I can chew. "How far did you go? You look awful! Are you sure you should be doing this? Are you sure you're OK? Your eyes are all red and you look like hell." Well, I looked like hell because I just rode 41 miles. The eye thing, I explained. After sitting for ten minutes and a Powerade, I looked and felt fine...or relatively fine. Rest and Powerade can only do so much with the raw material they are given.
About then I decided to do something I told myself I wasn't going to do. Ever since I started on this quest to finish the 150 mile ride, I told myself I was doing it on the bike I had....the Trek road bike I bought in 1984, when I was still in the Navy, teaching flight school and riding a lot. To this point I have been riding that bike..and it was the one that made it 41+ miles...but it was creaking and groaning at the end...more than I was. Literally...it was creaking. I thought...this old bike may not make it until September and at the rate I'm riding it...maybe I should update the ride. I went to a bike shop and "looked". That's really all it took. I saw what new bikes are like compared to what I was riding and....oh man! Then there was the sticker shock, but...oh man! Bikes have come a long way. I discussed it with the wife, who was all over the idea. "You go out there every Saturday morning any more, and ride a long way, and your bike is more than 20 years old. Get something new." Part of this though was a new commitment. If I got something new, it would mean that this whole bike riding thing can't stop after I do this ride. If I'm making that kind of investment in equipment...this better keep happening long after that ride ends. I thought about it for a while...and really...I should keep doing this. Of the methods of exercise I have practiced, biking is the least like drudgery for me. I get out there and ride. The scenery goes by at a pace that keeps my interest and I can lose myself in the fun of the ride...something that running could never do for me. It's a whole lot easier on the knees than running too. I am slowly losing weight and there's no denying I'm healthier, so that's all good stuff.
So we went back to the bike shop, and I am now the proud owner of a sweeeet new bike. Didn't pay quite what it's listed for in the link, but it wasn't cheap, either...and unlike the picture in the link, mine came with pedals. Let's just say this whole bike riding exercise is costing me more than I ever imagined, but it's also probably very good for me as well. They put me on a training thing and fitted the bike to me and everything. It weighs almost nothing. One thing I noticed...it didn't have the nice gel padded seat that I bought for my old bike. I asked the guy in the store about it..like why did this expensive bike not have a cushy seat, and should I swap them out. He said that as I ride farther, the smaller seat (with less padding) that's on the new bike will be more comfy, and the butt padding in the shorts should be sufficient for its purpose. The gel seat would be good for someone just starting to ride distances, but as you get a "road butt", it wouldn't help much and just weighed more. I'll be the judge of that. I rode the new bike around the neighborhood yesterday for a while...not a long ride but just to try it out longer than the little "test drive" at the shop. I busted the neighborhood 25 mph speed limit more than once (granted, by only half a mile an hour and down wind). I really didn't want to get off the thing. It will make the long ride a lot easier on me...and will be part of my Saturday mornings for a long time to come. As Napoleon would say...it's a very sweet bike, but no, it's not going off any jumps.
The old bike isn't going anywhere, though. The youngster wants it. He's figured out that road bikes aren't much for jumps and tricks and stuff, but they can go a lot faster with less effort. We lowered the seat as much as possible and it's still a bit big for him....but we can keep it until he grows into it. He won't beat it the way I've been, and if he does, maybe it'll take him long enough that it'll be time for him to buy a new bike.
Labels: It's all about me
John put this out here at 8:50 PM
2 Comments:
Congrats on the new ride. I'm jealous. Been thinking of getting a bike myself, but sheesh! At those prices, I might have to dig my 1979 bike out of my dad's barn and see if I can make it work! :-)
Hindsight is always 20/20, but it is there. I looked today because someone else told me about it and they don't have much in bikes my size, but a great place to look to find a good bike cheaper is ebay.
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