Catching up ... again ...

It's been a hectic couple of weeks around here, but that's really nothing unusual anymore. Got hit by a massive lazy-attack and haven't been doing a whole lot other than work, read trashy novels, play computer games, and ride the bike. The only really interesting thing that's happened is that I broke down and bought a heart rate monitor. Got a Polar S120 with the usual functions, including three 'training zones' with alarms. Riding with it is pretty entertaining: The alarm goes off if I go below or above a set heart rate range so it's kinda like a game keeping it within that range. The biggest change I've noticed in my riding is that it's made me a bit steadier: Instead of my usual habit of pushing really hard until I can't push anymore and then scaling wayyyy back while I recover I'm pedaling just a wee bit slower but steadily pedaling instead of the spin spin spin cooooaaast that I've gotten used to. And using more gears to keep spinning at the same rate instead of hammering.

More later ... gotta get to work ... have a wonderful day, y'all!

That was fun!

I really wasn't sure about riding in the cold, but I have to admit I greatly enjoyed it! I was pretty dubious when I first started out, but by the time I'd gone half a mile I was warming up quite nicely and was pretty toasty warm all the way to work. In fact, the only parts of me that got chilly at all were the ends of my toes (gotta do something about that) and the top of my head when I was going down a long hill (need a head cover for under the helmet). I took the short route 'cause I've got just a wee bit of chafing going on and didn't want to make it worse, but I really, really enjoyed the looks from drivers: Look! It's a psychopath! It seemed like they were giving me much more room than usual. Heh!

And the comments when I got to work were great too: Did you RIDE this morning? Ohmigod but it's SO cold! Weren't you COLD?! Nope. Heh.

I've officially decided that riding with contact lenses is a Good Thing. As I was huffing and puffing up a hill and watching the steam coming out of my mouth I was really enjoying not having glasses to fog up 'cause they would have been so fogged I'd have had serious trouble seeing. And what I got to see was the sunrise over the river through a bit of fog, all oranges and pinks ... should'a stopped and taken a picture ... beautiful!

For vj, my wardrobe: Thermax undershirt from Cabellas, fleece jacket, Wind Jacket from J&G Cyclewear (layered in that order), thick wool socks, cycling shoes, Wool tights from Rivendell, lightweight thermal gloves from the local sports shop, and a helmet. I looked like a mushroom!

Brrrrr!

Today's the day I find out if I can ride in the cold. Really cold. No, colder than that. 29F this morning with a breeze NNW. I'm shivering just sitting here thinking about it!

I'm gonna do it. The only question is, do I take the shorter route and go straight to work or do I go the long way and stop at Starbucks? *grin*

A slight change of tactics

Okay, so I've been thinking over the last few months ... what's worked and what hasn't worked at all ... and come to a few conclusions. First of all, some things have worked very well: I've gained some muscle and confidence, done some things I wasn't sure I could do, and acquired more bikes than I know what to do with *grin*

On the other hand, there's one thing that hasn't worked well at all. In pushing myself, I think I've actually set myself up for failure in the weight loss department. Allow me to explain: All summer I've pushed the envelope as far as my body is concerned. That has resulted in a level of soreness that has kept me from riding more often than not. Only being able to ride two or three times a week is not gonna get the weight off, funnily enough. I was really proud of myself for having made 100 miles last week, but was so sore that I only rode once this week. The changes in my body over that 100-mile week were pretty impressive, though. So I'm thinkin' ... instead of pushing myself, what might happen if I try to just ride five or six days a week but shorter, easier rides and avoid the massive hills for a while? Just ride an hour or so a day? Might I build a stronger physical base and get the weight loss happening again without having to take extended breaks from the bike?

Hey, what the heck ... worth a try ... I'll let you know how it goes!

100 Miles

I did it. Finally. 100 miles in one week. Whew!

The weather was too perfect last week: Cool, clear, no wind to speak of. I couldn't NOT ride! After having a few weeks of real laziness it was tough ... had to really push myself and I'm still really sore ... but I feel like I've really accomplished something. Rode to work and back five days taking the longer route (via Starbucks) each day, then finished up a with a 10-mile flat loop on Saturday ending at the Deli down the street for a mocha and a sandwich. Spent the rest of the weekend in a state of collapse, pretty much. ;-)

This week the weather's pretty icky, naturally, but it looks like I'll get to do some riding anyway. Maybe not 100 miles, but no reason I can't get 70 or 80. The one thing I know now is that it's gonna take a serious act of God to keep me off the bike for an extended period again ... unbelievable how much condition I lost so quickly!

Yes indeedy ...

... a few weeks of not riding much at all is a bad idea. I've started commuting again ... started with Sunday because I needed to go in and do some work on the servers that I can't do during the week ... and man am I sore! Not so much that I can't ride, but when I got out of bed this morning I was walking all bent over like an old woman. Won't be taking that kind of break again any time soon! Funny thing is that it's not bothering me so much this time around. More like it's a familiar discomfort, I know the cause, and I know the cure ... if that makes any sense.

On the bright side, I found a new route Monday morning ... takes me right past Starbucks. *big naughty grin*

Vj, I wish I had a picture of that bull too ... still kicking myself for not taking my camera, but the one I have is pretty unwieldy. I've ordered a new one that should arrive around the end of this week ... it's a bit more portable and a bit less fussy, so some ride pics soon!

In other news, for the first time in my life I'm wearing contact lenses. Without glasses I'm legally blind (horridly near-sighted) and I was finding riding in glasses a bit challenging for a couple of reasons. The first was no peripheral vision at all. Makes it kinda hard to look back over my shoulder at traffic. I could get a mirror for that, and probably will at some point, but the contacts help a bit. The second, and more important to me, was that the mornings are getting downright chilly around here and my glasses were fogging up something awful. With the contacts I still have to wear eye protection, even if just sunglasses with clear lenses to help keep my eyes from drying out, but when they get fogged I can just look over the top of them and keep going. Nice!

Welp, better get packed up and on the bike. Off to another day of database wrangling. Via Starbucks, of course. ;-)

Saturday morning coffee and rambling

Okay, I'm back. More or less. Probably less, if the last few weeks are anything to go by. ;-)

We did the Ellensburg-Manastash ride last Saturday. Too much fun! I only did the half route (35 miles) 'cause I was still trying to shake off that bug, while my husband did the full 62 miles. The short route was challenging enough -- lots of hills -- but I took my time and just pootled along enjoying the scenery. The weather was perfect: It started out chilly enough for a jacket and leggings but by the half-way point I was stripped down to shorts and a jersey. Blue skies, very light breeze. Gorgeous! The rest stops that the Ellensburg cycling club provided were pretty amazing too: Just about every kind of pastry and fruit imaginable, along with homemade choc-chip cookies, coffee from Starbucks, and all sorts of sports drinks and juices.

The high point of the ride? Coming 'round a bend on a long, twisty country road and finding a huge Black Angus bull standing on the center line. I decided that that was probably an excellent spot to stop and catch my breath while someone in a little gray Toyota herded Mister Bull back to his pasture. Very cool!

Oh, and as I was coming back through Ellensburg to the finish I came up to a short hill up to a stoplight and decided that I wasn't going to slow down for it because I was feeling strong and only had a mile or so to go so I stood on the pedals and hammered up it. When I got to the top and stopped for the light I heard a shout to my left, looked over and there was a truck full of college boys (E-burg is a college town). They were all grinning and one of them stuck his hand out the window and gave me a thumbs-up! I grinned back and took off as the light turned green. I wonder if they know what a lift they gave me?

We both had a wonderful time and agreed that we'll make this ride a yearly tradition.