Week 7
Week 7 - Two Great Days and a Crash!
60 Miles Friday + 51 Miles Saturday
Friday
Ryan and I spent much of the week at the bike shop near work (Capitol Hill Bikes) where they were excellent at helping us fit our bikes and ordering needed equipment for my bike to try to get a decent fit (seems the people where I bought my bike sold me a "way too big bike" - the bums). But Capitol Hill said they could get it going properly with some adjustments. I picked it up on Thursday and because I was using the new one, Ryan used the Gary Fischer bike with much smaller tires. He was going to try that first and then the Volpe on Saturday.
Following the weather report is worse than following a ping pong ball. But we had decided to ride Friday and Saturday because Sunday was Easter and this would give us at least two days. Friday a.m. was a bit cold but we took our time getting ready so that it could possibly warm up some (I mean after all it was supposed to go up to the 60s). But it's still hard to know what to wear to stay warm in the a.m. but not be boiling on the way back.
We were pretty quiet on the way out except that we had to stop so that Ryan could fix my seat. I had felt as if I was right on top of the drops (or whatever they're really called) on the right..but he fixed that. We stopped at the top of OUR hill (8 miles) and stretched and then took off for more)
Oh by the way, I remembered my bike this time! But, alas, I forgot my camera and was disappointed because I like to chronicle our rides.
Being Friday and a bit cool (and no one really knowing what the weather was going to be allowed us to have a really nice ride out side by side. And I was happier with the smaller tires (remember how UNHAPPY I was last week with the fat tires...what kind of people there out there that tell you things that are not true - that I would not have problems with the tires because the "ridge" was high enough...baloney). The smaller tires were better but I think I can either go down to 25/26 or even go with a road bike. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked.
We made it out 30 miles to the Rock Quarry and stopped there for lunch (one reason I had wanted to remember the camera). What a neat spot with picnic benches, a porta potty and a great view. So, we took our time and ate our harvest and pria bars. We took 27 minutes for lunch. Needed it with a longer ride. I think it was there that I took off my sweatshirt and tried to cram it into my bag. I still had my thermal shirt and my bike shirt and riding vest. As we got on our bikes to head back, we both said "sometimes it doesn't pay to stop" meaning it's so much harder to really get started again. But we made it back the three miles to the little store on the street - we filled up on gatorade and water (and I realized I wasn't drinking enough water). The funniest thing happened there and I'm sure Ryan will tell it better but we were standing there at the store and I was finishing up the bottle of water and I had asked him if he was ok or tired or something (I can't remember exactly what I asked). He said he was ok and then a bit later out of the clear blue sky he said "I'm full from lunch" (our dinky little powerbar) - unfortunately for him he was standing right in my line of fire and I had just taken a drink of water and I busted up and spit the water all over him.......poor guy.
Then off again....off into the #$@$# headwinds...I've never figured out on this ride how there can be headwinds going out AND headwinds going back. That was very discouraging and very tiring for both of us. But we kept pushing and pushing and finally made it back to the car! We were both starving...we crammed the bikes into the back of the van, hopped in and found that it was Friday night (and Good Friday/Easter weekend) traffic. But we eventually made it to the Outback (thank goodness Ryan knows the back ways). We devoured a bloomin onion in record time as well as every other edible item they brought us. What a great meal that was. I took Ryan home and told him that I was going to ride in the a.m. and if it didn't rain then I'd pick him up but it would be later than usual so that he could sleep some. it took forever for me to get home because of the traffic but I was very glad to get home.
To Summarize the progress of the day: We were both very proud of reaching 60 miles (riding time 5:38 - total time was approximately 7 1/2 hours again (we seem to be stuck on that number but I cant' be more sure because I thought I had turned on my timer but apparently had missed the button). Considering the headwinds on the way back I think we made goo time.
My back did not really hurt on this ride and I attribute that to the modifications on the bike made by Capital Hill Bikes.
I did end up with something almost as scary for me though. By the end of the ride my first 2 fingers on my right hand were numb (like with the carpal tunnel syndrome). That may be because my hands were in the "drops" the whole time instead of being moved around (the aerobars do not feel right though). But this is worrisome
The seat needs some more adjustment but the bike is doing well. I'm much happier than last work
Saturday - 51 Miles Plus the unexpected..............
The plan for Saturday was to wait and see what the weather report revealed and play it by ear but certainly not really early. So, I got up on Sat and the temp was 65 degrees so early in the a.m. and there was this "scattered showers in the morning...clearing later" baloney on the tube but not a cloud in the sky. So, off I went (and I didn't have to worry about the bike cuz it was already in the car but I did remember my camera today). On the way to pick up Ryan I called him, told him the report and asked what he wanted to do...he decided to go for the ride and hope the weather report was as accurate as usual. We took our time getting ready and getting to our starting point.
Today he was going to ride the old Volpe (which our friends at Capitol Hill Bikes fitted for him to try). Today was day two on my revised new Volpe so other than endurance we were testing the bikes still. We ended up stopping at the same place as yesterday to adjust Ryan's bike this time (yesterday was to adjust mine). At the top of OUR hill going out (mile 8) we stopped as usual. This time I said..."we need to decide what mileage we're going to do so that we're not tempted to just "quit" whenever we get tired". Ryan said he didn't know if he could do the 50 miles we talked about and I said fine, let's shoot for 40 and we both agreed. So, off we went and really enjoyed the ride. We stopped at mile 20 and spent (2 hours 46 min). Took 24 minutes for lunch (our harvest bars). We stretched and decided to go at least out 22.5 (making it 45 mile total ride). and off we went. At 22.5 we decided to go farther..ultimately to 25 1/2 miles out. (That took 30 minutes - we stretched/rested/talked for 15 minutes). Then headed back, pretty proud that we felt so good at this point - much more than we have ever felt before..silently we were just hoping that there would be no more headwinds. We stopped at 7-11 to restock on gatorade and water (again, I was not hydrating enough). I felt better after that stop and we started out again.
By this time the traffic on the roads had really increased (it was a very nice day and there were bikers, walkers, joggers, roller bladers you name it they were there...and of course, each and every one of them owned the road - just ask them). We felt good enough that we were trying to sprint and beat our time back. Well, at mile 33 or 34, I tried to pass a couple walking on the right. Hollered out "on your left" and tried to go around the gentleman. As I pulled out to do this, I spotted a recumbent biker barreling along toward me with no obvious intent of slowing, moving off to the gravel trail, or anything. Whatever happened next I really don't remember much. I think the man stopped though (Ryan said that he turned to the right and not the left) and I slammed into him. Next thing I knew I was sort of flying but inhibited by my handlebars. I don't know how many times I smashed into my handlebars because it felt like I was bouncing on them several times...all on my left side. I know my head hit the ground a few times (another testimonial for helmet wearing). When I finally stopped moving I was very worried about the man I hit but also extremely worried that I had ruptured my spleen...perfect location and significant blows to that area. I finally got up and realized my ribs were either cracked or badly bruised and all the other bruises didn't even matter. my handlebars were bent but Ryan was able to fix that. They kept moving as we traveled on. Apparently the gentleman was as ok as you can be..his turning to the right helped him be spun and not smashed and he landed on the grass fortunately, not the concrete.
I knew I had to make it back to the car. I was really upset that I had hit that man - more even than being hurt but I was also still worried about a small tear. Anyway, I had to stop and walk up at least one hill that I normally wouldn't and also OUR hill I finally stopped and walked. Every bump was felt in my left side.
At the top of OUR hill Ryan announced "we don't have to go to dinner tonight" - to which I immediately said "why not" - indignant that he would think that I'd not want to eat. I told him that it was better for me to be around someone for longer so of course we went to eat at the OUTBACK. As each minute passed, the pain increased but there were no symptoms indicating that I had ruptured my spleen so I was happy. when I got home and tried to go to bed, I must admit that that was an experience...one I do not want to repeat. oh well. at least we weren't going to ride tomorrow anyway (since it is Easter) so I didn't feel too much as if I let Ryan down. hopefully I'll be better by next week (although I DO know the course of bruised or fractured ribs and it's a bit more than a week..oh well). It was 3 hours 56 min to get back (total time).
We did 51 miles (and Ryan did well on the Volpe and felt good) and so 110 miles in two days was a pretty good increase in our endurance! And the actual riding time for the 51 miles was 4 hours and 45 minutes (my cyclometer)! Keep your fingers crossed that I can recover pretty quickly. See ya next week!
Terrie
60 Miles Friday + 51 Miles Saturday
Friday
Ryan and I spent much of the week at the bike shop near work (Capitol Hill Bikes) where they were excellent at helping us fit our bikes and ordering needed equipment for my bike to try to get a decent fit (seems the people where I bought my bike sold me a "way too big bike" - the bums). But Capitol Hill said they could get it going properly with some adjustments. I picked it up on Thursday and because I was using the new one, Ryan used the Gary Fischer bike with much smaller tires. He was going to try that first and then the Volpe on Saturday.
Following the weather report is worse than following a ping pong ball. But we had decided to ride Friday and Saturday because Sunday was Easter and this would give us at least two days. Friday a.m. was a bit cold but we took our time getting ready so that it could possibly warm up some (I mean after all it was supposed to go up to the 60s). But it's still hard to know what to wear to stay warm in the a.m. but not be boiling on the way back.
We were pretty quiet on the way out except that we had to stop so that Ryan could fix my seat. I had felt as if I was right on top of the drops (or whatever they're really called) on the right..but he fixed that. We stopped at the top of OUR hill (8 miles) and stretched and then took off for more)
Oh by the way, I remembered my bike this time! But, alas, I forgot my camera and was disappointed because I like to chronicle our rides.
Being Friday and a bit cool (and no one really knowing what the weather was going to be allowed us to have a really nice ride out side by side. And I was happier with the smaller tires (remember how UNHAPPY I was last week with the fat tires...what kind of people there out there that tell you things that are not true - that I would not have problems with the tires because the "ridge" was high enough...baloney). The smaller tires were better but I think I can either go down to 25/26 or even go with a road bike. Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked.
We made it out 30 miles to the Rock Quarry and stopped there for lunch (one reason I had wanted to remember the camera). What a neat spot with picnic benches, a porta potty and a great view. So, we took our time and ate our harvest and pria bars. We took 27 minutes for lunch. Needed it with a longer ride. I think it was there that I took off my sweatshirt and tried to cram it into my bag. I still had my thermal shirt and my bike shirt and riding vest. As we got on our bikes to head back, we both said "sometimes it doesn't pay to stop" meaning it's so much harder to really get started again. But we made it back the three miles to the little store on the street - we filled up on gatorade and water (and I realized I wasn't drinking enough water). The funniest thing happened there and I'm sure Ryan will tell it better but we were standing there at the store and I was finishing up the bottle of water and I had asked him if he was ok or tired or something (I can't remember exactly what I asked). He said he was ok and then a bit later out of the clear blue sky he said "I'm full from lunch" (our dinky little powerbar) - unfortunately for him he was standing right in my line of fire and I had just taken a drink of water and I busted up and spit the water all over him.......poor guy.
Then off again....off into the #$@$# headwinds...I've never figured out on this ride how there can be headwinds going out AND headwinds going back. That was very discouraging and very tiring for both of us. But we kept pushing and pushing and finally made it back to the car! We were both starving...we crammed the bikes into the back of the van, hopped in and found that it was Friday night (and Good Friday/Easter weekend) traffic. But we eventually made it to the Outback (thank goodness Ryan knows the back ways). We devoured a bloomin onion in record time as well as every other edible item they brought us. What a great meal that was. I took Ryan home and told him that I was going to ride in the a.m. and if it didn't rain then I'd pick him up but it would be later than usual so that he could sleep some. it took forever for me to get home because of the traffic but I was very glad to get home.
To Summarize the progress of the day: We were both very proud of reaching 60 miles (riding time 5:38 - total time was approximately 7 1/2 hours again (we seem to be stuck on that number but I cant' be more sure because I thought I had turned on my timer but apparently had missed the button). Considering the headwinds on the way back I think we made goo time.
My back did not really hurt on this ride and I attribute that to the modifications on the bike made by Capital Hill Bikes.
I did end up with something almost as scary for me though. By the end of the ride my first 2 fingers on my right hand were numb (like with the carpal tunnel syndrome). That may be because my hands were in the "drops" the whole time instead of being moved around (the aerobars do not feel right though). But this is worrisome
The seat needs some more adjustment but the bike is doing well. I'm much happier than last work
Saturday - 51 Miles Plus the unexpected..............
The plan for Saturday was to wait and see what the weather report revealed and play it by ear but certainly not really early. So, I got up on Sat and the temp was 65 degrees so early in the a.m. and there was this "scattered showers in the morning...clearing later" baloney on the tube but not a cloud in the sky. So, off I went (and I didn't have to worry about the bike cuz it was already in the car but I did remember my camera today). On the way to pick up Ryan I called him, told him the report and asked what he wanted to do...he decided to go for the ride and hope the weather report was as accurate as usual. We took our time getting ready and getting to our starting point.
Today he was going to ride the old Volpe (which our friends at Capitol Hill Bikes fitted for him to try). Today was day two on my revised new Volpe so other than endurance we were testing the bikes still. We ended up stopping at the same place as yesterday to adjust Ryan's bike this time (yesterday was to adjust mine). At the top of OUR hill going out (mile 8) we stopped as usual. This time I said..."we need to decide what mileage we're going to do so that we're not tempted to just "quit" whenever we get tired". Ryan said he didn't know if he could do the 50 miles we talked about and I said fine, let's shoot for 40 and we both agreed. So, off we went and really enjoyed the ride. We stopped at mile 20 and spent (2 hours 46 min). Took 24 minutes for lunch (our harvest bars). We stretched and decided to go at least out 22.5 (making it 45 mile total ride). and off we went. At 22.5 we decided to go farther..ultimately to 25 1/2 miles out. (That took 30 minutes - we stretched/rested/talked for 15 minutes). Then headed back, pretty proud that we felt so good at this point - much more than we have ever felt before..silently we were just hoping that there would be no more headwinds. We stopped at 7-11 to restock on gatorade and water (again, I was not hydrating enough). I felt better after that stop and we started out again.
By this time the traffic on the roads had really increased (it was a very nice day and there were bikers, walkers, joggers, roller bladers you name it they were there...and of course, each and every one of them owned the road - just ask them). We felt good enough that we were trying to sprint and beat our time back. Well, at mile 33 or 34, I tried to pass a couple walking on the right. Hollered out "on your left" and tried to go around the gentleman. As I pulled out to do this, I spotted a recumbent biker barreling along toward me with no obvious intent of slowing, moving off to the gravel trail, or anything. Whatever happened next I really don't remember much. I think the man stopped though (Ryan said that he turned to the right and not the left) and I slammed into him. Next thing I knew I was sort of flying but inhibited by my handlebars. I don't know how many times I smashed into my handlebars because it felt like I was bouncing on them several times...all on my left side. I know my head hit the ground a few times (another testimonial for helmet wearing). When I finally stopped moving I was very worried about the man I hit but also extremely worried that I had ruptured my spleen...perfect location and significant blows to that area. I finally got up and realized my ribs were either cracked or badly bruised and all the other bruises didn't even matter. my handlebars were bent but Ryan was able to fix that. They kept moving as we traveled on. Apparently the gentleman was as ok as you can be..his turning to the right helped him be spun and not smashed and he landed on the grass fortunately, not the concrete.
I knew I had to make it back to the car. I was really upset that I had hit that man - more even than being hurt but I was also still worried about a small tear. Anyway, I had to stop and walk up at least one hill that I normally wouldn't and also OUR hill I finally stopped and walked. Every bump was felt in my left side.
At the top of OUR hill Ryan announced "we don't have to go to dinner tonight" - to which I immediately said "why not" - indignant that he would think that I'd not want to eat. I told him that it was better for me to be around someone for longer so of course we went to eat at the OUTBACK. As each minute passed, the pain increased but there were no symptoms indicating that I had ruptured my spleen so I was happy. when I got home and tried to go to bed, I must admit that that was an experience...one I do not want to repeat. oh well. at least we weren't going to ride tomorrow anyway (since it is Easter) so I didn't feel too much as if I let Ryan down. hopefully I'll be better by next week (although I DO know the course of bruised or fractured ribs and it's a bit more than a week..oh well). It was 3 hours 56 min to get back (total time).
We did 51 miles (and Ryan did well on the Volpe and felt good) and so 110 miles in two days was a pretty good increase in our endurance! And the actual riding time for the 51 miles was 4 hours and 45 minutes (my cyclometer)! Keep your fingers crossed that I can recover pretty quickly. See ya next week!
Terrie
posted by Terrie at
5:05 AM
