It was a bit chilly this morning. Since I didn't go to any parties last night and therefore didn't have anything to recover from I was determined to get a ride in. It was about 50 degrees when I left, determined to beat my time of last weeks' ride to Disneyland. Thankfully I bought a long-sleeve cycling jacket on eBay this week, a perfect time to try it out.
About 3 miles in I started to question my decision. My fingers were freezing (memo to self, get closed-finger gloves), and my legs were already getting a little sore. I started thinking that since I put in over 70 miles last week, and had a club ride in 2 days, AND a hockey game next Wednesday, ... that maybe I'd make Disneyland a stretch goal with the option to turn back at the bike shop (10 miles out). My cyclometer had me pegged about 14MPH as I continued; last week I was doing 16+ on this stretch.
I was feeling pretty good as I passed the bike shop/LB Town Center mall and continued on. Soon I found myself playing 'leapfrog' with a city bus: I would pass it when it stopped for passengers and it would pass me afterwards. This went on for about 8 miles. What did I say last week... it is the little things that keep you going? I wonder if the driver found it as amusing as I did. Sometimes I had to push a bit to catch up which helped my time, although I purposely had my cyclometer set to NOT show me elapsed time.
Disneyland was even more crowded than last week. Not that I stayed long - just enough to take a couple of selfies, stretch the legs a bit, down a gel pack, and I was back on my way...
Somebody asked me about gel packs. My friend Kia introduced me to them a few years ago, giving me a couple of packs called 'GU'. I would take one before hockey games, didn't think they made a big difference. Just about everyone in my bike club brings them, I tried ones from Clif and have been carrying them on every ride. I usually take one at the half-way point of a ride, no matter how far it is, and I will never go on a ride without them! (Another memo to self: put some in your hockey bag before your game next week.)
The ride back was uneventful. Strangely I was going faster on the return trip after struggling a bit on the way out, rather than the other way around last week. Maybe the wind was at my back? I didn't check, as it wasn't as strong as last week.
I hit the fog about mile 33, it wasn't so much the legs getting tired as it was the overall feeling of fatigue. Shortly after that I turned the corner and looked up at the 1.25 mile incline ahead... No matter what route I took I was going to have to so some uphill riding. I downshifted the front crank which I rarely do - I wasn't looking to set any speed records I just wanted to get up the incline without stopping. There were 2 signals along the way, as much as my legs wanted to stop both were green as I went through them a pedestrian-like pace of 9MPH. Soon I was rewarded with a 25MPH trip down the other side where my legs got to rest. From that point, other than a slight incline going over the 710 freeway, the rest of the ride was basically a smooth cool-down period.
In the end I went .15 miles further than the week before, and it took 7 minutes less to do it.
Not sure when I'll have the time to do this ride again, but it is cool to say I did it. Twice. :)
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Thursday, December 25, 2014
My Christmas Day bike ride...
I had been thinking about doing this over the last 2 weeks. I've been into cycling for a while, getting serious about it six-months or so ago when I joined a group that rides on Saturdays. I had no other plans for the day; my wife and kids visiting our oldest daughter and her family in South Dakota, and with the holiday I figured traffic would be light. So today I rode round-trip from my house to Disneyland.
Sounds grandiose, but according to my cyclometer I completed 46.63 miles in 3:46. I had never gone that far in one shot before, so I wasn't sure how fast to push and when to pull back. Now that I've done it I have a better idea what to do next time. I didn't push for speed, so I know I could do it faster if I wanted to. Since it was on surface streets I did not bring any headphones or music, so I had a chance to make a few observations:
- I must have upset Mother Nature because I spent almost the entire trip riding into the wind. Seriously, the wet-finger test confirmed it several times. On the way back I was riding into it while crossing over the 710 (my last uphill stretch), and I could feel it moving to the north - and sure enough when I turned right I was going straight into it again.
- Cyclists can be some of the most friendly folks you'll ever meet. There isn't much time to talk when you are facing each other at 15+ mph, but you'll frequently get a word of greeting or encouragement as you pass by. Didn't see a lot of them today, but there were a few.
- It was interesting to see who was open and who was closed on Christmas day. Walmart was closed as were most other department and grocery stores, as well as most restaurants and fast-food places. Starbucks was open of course, as was Denny's, Sizzler, Albertsons, Jack in the Box... I wonder if Denny's even puts locks on their doors - they never close.
- The ice rink where I play hockey was closed. Usually they have tournaments over the holidays, maybe the parents didn't want any games scheduled on Christmas. Yet every soccer field I saw had players on it, several were clearly league games. I guess soccer players are like golfers (who I also saw a lot of) they will seize any chance to play.
- Sometimes it is the little things that keep you going. I was hitting a wall around the 30 mile mark and my legs were starting to feel it. Suddenly I looked up and realized that things were looking familiar, knowing I was getting closer to home pushed me on for a bit. Or seeing my favorite chain of Mexican food places and thinking I could go there after my ride. Or Sizzler? Can you tell I was getting hungry? LOL
- I rode through Long Beach, Lakewood, Hawaiian Gardens, Buena Park, Anaheim, ... and it is sad to say that by far the worst drivers were in Long Beach. I got cut off once and had a driver lay on the horn because I wasn't moving fast enough for him when crossing an on-ramp. No other issues with the ride.
And my biggest observance of all: It is more fun to ride with a group than it is to ride alone.
My Fuji road bike performed wonderfully. I don't think I could have made the same trip on my mountain bike, but that is why I bought the road bike.
Hopefully I'll have enough strength left for my regular club ride on Saturday!
Sounds grandiose, but according to my cyclometer I completed 46.63 miles in 3:46. I had never gone that far in one shot before, so I wasn't sure how fast to push and when to pull back. Now that I've done it I have a better idea what to do next time. I didn't push for speed, so I know I could do it faster if I wanted to. Since it was on surface streets I did not bring any headphones or music, so I had a chance to make a few observations:
- I must have upset Mother Nature because I spent almost the entire trip riding into the wind. Seriously, the wet-finger test confirmed it several times. On the way back I was riding into it while crossing over the 710 (my last uphill stretch), and I could feel it moving to the north - and sure enough when I turned right I was going straight into it again.
- Cyclists can be some of the most friendly folks you'll ever meet. There isn't much time to talk when you are facing each other at 15+ mph, but you'll frequently get a word of greeting or encouragement as you pass by. Didn't see a lot of them today, but there were a few.
- It was interesting to see who was open and who was closed on Christmas day. Walmart was closed as were most other department and grocery stores, as well as most restaurants and fast-food places. Starbucks was open of course, as was Denny's, Sizzler, Albertsons, Jack in the Box... I wonder if Denny's even puts locks on their doors - they never close.
- The ice rink where I play hockey was closed. Usually they have tournaments over the holidays, maybe the parents didn't want any games scheduled on Christmas. Yet every soccer field I saw had players on it, several were clearly league games. I guess soccer players are like golfers (who I also saw a lot of) they will seize any chance to play.
- Sometimes it is the little things that keep you going. I was hitting a wall around the 30 mile mark and my legs were starting to feel it. Suddenly I looked up and realized that things were looking familiar, knowing I was getting closer to home pushed me on for a bit. Or seeing my favorite chain of Mexican food places and thinking I could go there after my ride. Or Sizzler? Can you tell I was getting hungry? LOL
- I rode through Long Beach, Lakewood, Hawaiian Gardens, Buena Park, Anaheim, ... and it is sad to say that by far the worst drivers were in Long Beach. I got cut off once and had a driver lay on the horn because I wasn't moving fast enough for him when crossing an on-ramp. No other issues with the ride.
And my biggest observance of all: It is more fun to ride with a group than it is to ride alone.
My Fuji road bike performed wonderfully. I don't think I could have made the same trip on my mountain bike, but that is why I bought the road bike.
Hopefully I'll have enough strength left for my regular club ride on Saturday!
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