last day of vacation...first day of high school
I scheduled this time off so it gave us lots of time to get a breather and get the youngster ready for high school, which started today. Nedless to say, he was a bit anxious, and probably will be for the next few days until he figures out it's not that big a deal...at least not yet...until he starts dealing with the peer presure and the cliques and whatever other social issues get in the way of actual school. It's a pretty big day in his life...well, in all our lives. It actually started last night at 6:00. They had a ceremony at the school, welcoming the new students...a freshman class of 89. The wife went back to work yesterday, so it was left to me to make dinner early (please don't laugh too hard) and get us out the door by 5:30. Close, but no banana. We ended up 10 minutes late, but just missed the welcome speech.
After I dropped him off at the bus stop (first time in his life he rode a bus to school), I went biking...53.35 miles averaging 17.8 miles an hour. One thing I learned from the new bike shop guys and their group ride is to not burn myself out...and it's helping. Ever since I got my first ten speed bike, I thought the object, if you want to go far and fast, was to get to the point where you were pedaling on the largest possible gear ring on the front where the pedals are, and the smallest possible gear ring on the wheel. This gets you the most distance for each rotation of your foot. Up until now, that's how I'd ride...downshift for stop lights and corners, but always make my way back to the big gear in front and little gear in back. The problem with that is that it works your legs harder and makes it easier to burn yourself out early. If you downshift a little, you make it easier to pedal. You have to pedal more, but it's easier, and easier to adjust to changing speeds, wind direction, and hills, because you don't have to work as hard to accelerate or maintain speed when you start going uphill. What it does after 50 miles, is make my knees feel better and builds a little more thigh muscle...and makes me feel like I could go a lot longer, because I can.
After I dropped him off at the bus stop (first time in his life he rode a bus to school), I went biking...53.35 miles averaging 17.8 miles an hour. One thing I learned from the new bike shop guys and their group ride is to not burn myself out...and it's helping. Ever since I got my first ten speed bike, I thought the object, if you want to go far and fast, was to get to the point where you were pedaling on the largest possible gear ring on the front where the pedals are, and the smallest possible gear ring on the wheel. This gets you the most distance for each rotation of your foot. Up until now, that's how I'd ride...downshift for stop lights and corners, but always make my way back to the big gear in front and little gear in back. The problem with that is that it works your legs harder and makes it easier to burn yourself out early. If you downshift a little, you make it easier to pedal. You have to pedal more, but it's easier, and easier to adjust to changing speeds, wind direction, and hills, because you don't have to work as hard to accelerate or maintain speed when you start going uphill. What it does after 50 miles, is make my knees feel better and builds a little more thigh muscle...and makes me feel like I could go a lot longer, because I can.
Labels: Family Stuff, It's all about me
John put this out here at 10:29 AM
2 Comments:
Sooooo.. I'm curious. What did you make for dinner?
:)
It was roast beef and steamed green beans...and it was ready in time and edible, but the wife was late getting home from work, and getting the youngster ready for something he's not sure he wants to do is like pushing a rope...so, we were a tiny bit late.
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