The Glade 4.0

OK, I'll join, even though I'm really not much of a joiner. But I would like to get back to regular riding, which I really haven't done since kids came along.

Anyway, I rode to work this morning. As measured on Google Earth, the route I take is 5.5 miles, which seems about right. Unfortunately, I can't easily ride door-to-door; maybe in the old days, but right now I'm just not up to a 500' climb with 15-20 pounds of stuff on the bike, at the end of the day. (It's a very steep hill.)

Total time: 25 minutes.

I'll ride home tonight, get in another 25 minutes or so. If I can do this once or twice a week, I'll be a happy camper.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Assuming you can ride every day 75% of work days, and get to the point of not having to walk the bike up the hill, 11 miles each work day, that's over 2,100 miles for the year.

That's not bad, but if you are looking at this as a means to get back into shape, you would be better off doing longer rides on the weekend than just 5.5 miles twice a day, 9 hours apart.

You will feel the burn now, and for a few weeks, but before long, that ride won't even register or provide a lot of benefit.

I still remember the original pic thread from the first (maybe second?) Glade. I recall the picture of you on your bike and it looked like there was a second tiny biker on your shoulder (odd perspective). Weird, the things you remember.

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Hokanu
Duty is a magnificent blessing because it is the sign of trust from the universe.
END OF LINE.

True. The sad part is that I don't even feel much of a burn right now, just muscles twitching a bit. I would like to do longer rides, but this is what I can get in. But you're right, I need to. I'm usually just getting warmed up by the end of the ride, really.


Hah! That was the LA Bike Marathon. The tiny biker on my shoulder was a friend of mine (her husband was way off in front of us by that time).

I don't even know what the story is on this year's ride, they've screwed around with it so much. Pisses me off. They used to do it on the same day as the LA Marathon, generally following that route about three hours before the start. It was quite the spectacle, 15,000 riders taking off in the pre-dawn light. Eerily quiet ... until someone crashed, at least.

Just looked around, doesn't look like they're even planning to do one this year.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

26 minutes home. Better than sitting on a subway, at least.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Rode in today - 27 minutes, straight from the house.

I have found a route with what looks to be a nice, gradual incline up the hill for when I go home tonight. It's about a 2-mile climb, I think, which I figure should take me about 20 minutes in my current state. So, that will add some nice time to the ride home (there's an opportunity for some nice cool down when I get to the top, too).

Unfortunately, still can't get my family or work schedule together to do this more frequently. Maybe if/when we move.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

I really need to get my bike in working condition. My gym is less than a mile away it'd be a good idea to bike there.

What kind of bike do you have Aethien?

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“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general”. - Mark Rippetoe

I use a mountain bike with road (commuter, really) tires. Funny you should ask, because someone at work wanted to see my bike, too (I took it inside rather than leave it on the street, since there's been a rash of bike thefts lately).

It's actually a very old bike - a 1992 Specialized Stumpjumper FS (for Front Shock - the first year they came out with a shock). It ain't the fastest or most modern thing out there, but I consider it an old friend, at this point. We work well together.

I used to have a road bike, but after I discovered mountain biking and put slicks on it, I kind of drifted away. Road bikes are certainly more comfortable and more efficient, of course, but I always felt I could abuse the mountain bike a bit more than I could the road bike, riding as I do through a major metropolitan area.

My ride home was good. Took me only 15 minutes to get up the hill (about a mile and a half on Google Earth). I really thought it was going to take much longer. So, it didn't really add much time at all.

The best part is that I don't have to use my car to take the bike down to the bottom of the hill. For some reason, it's a huge obstacle to riding more frequently. I really just prefer to get on my bike and ride from the house.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

I have one of those hybrid mountain bike / road bikes. I know what you mean, mine is old but it does the job. 2 wheels, brakes, some gears... good to go.

_________________
“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general”. - Mark Rippetoe

Biked yesterday, second time in six days, so that's good. Felt pretty good overall - didn't stop at the bottom of the hill this time, just rode straight through. 41 minutes to get home this time.

I feel like I have a little shin splint or muscle strain in my lower right leg, though. On the way in there was an awkward arrangement of cars at a stoplight (the people who just can't sit behind a bus for the extra 30 seconds it will take to make a right turn); I was paying more attention to traffic than my gearing, and ended up taking off in too high a gear.

Supposed to rain tomorrow and/or Thursday, so I'll shoot for a ride on Friday.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Did the ride on Friday - wish I didn't have to drag a laptop around in preparation for driving down to another office every so often, or I could keep to a nice 2x per week schedule.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

April just flew by, but I rode today. 24 minutes in, on 5 hours of (not-so-good) sleep. Not bad for an old guy!

Just an update for my own purposes that I rode home, making it up the hill in 19 minutes.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Oof, that hurt.

Decided to finally get on the bike today ... left the house late, but wasn't in a particular hurry or anything. Couldn't find the keys to where the bike is stored, for about five minutes.

Should have taken that as a sign not to ride, because about 10 seconds down the hill, I got my wheel stuck in a pavement joint. Slid down the hill, leaving large chunks of skin on the pavement, and pebbles embedded in my skin. Haven't even looked at the bike yet, but it didn't feel right coming home. Might have tweaked a wheel.

Ah, the joys of road rash. And, to think that I wasn't shaving my legs because I wasn't riding all that much.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Geez that sucks. Hopefully you have a quick recovery then jump right back on.

_________________
“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general”. - Mark Rippetoe

Thanks, man. Jumping back on is the best thing I could do, really; I've found that it helps the healing process. Thanks for the inspiration.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

So much for inspiration. Finally rode again today, it felt good.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Rode yesterday, so maybe I can bump this up to once a week, if I'm lucky. It's been pretty nice and cool lately, at least there's that.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Hah, twice in three days! I may actually maintain what little base I have, at this rate.

Had my usual close call, too. Some older woman came out of a gas station and went through a red light, well after it had changed and I had started into the intersection. Too bad she had her windows closed.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Rode yesterday, Friday. 23 minutes in, and 41 minutes.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Hah, this is becoming a habit. Rode yesterday, for the fourth time in ten days, I think, and I could actually feel improvement. Time is faster - under 23 minutes in, and under 40 minutes back. What's more, as I neared the top of the climb, I thought to myself that I was out of gears. Then I looked down, and realized that I was still in the middle ring, instead of the smallest, as I had thought. I still had a couple more to drop down, if I needed to.

I may be hitting that plateau that Lalas mentioned. But, that's OK, it's better than driving, in any case.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Rode yesterday. 26 minutes in, felt faster than that. But, coming home, about 38 minutes.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Oh, right, rode last week ... Thursday. No clue as to time, really, but I felt a bit slow.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Rode once more in early December, don't remember the date. That's probably about it for the year, given that the rainy season has started, and it gets dark really early.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Hah! Did one more ride yesterday, before today's rain hit. Felt fast - 24 minutes to work, 40 minutes home including the ride up the hill - but I was pretty toasted and crashed really early. I guess that's the point, though, right?

And, here's an encouraging article in the NY Times about maintaining your base. So, maybe riding once a week might actually be enough to keep some semblance of fitness.

Unfortunately, I only rode 16 times this year ... Barely 100 miles.

Edit: Oh, wait - 192 miles, forgot to do the round-trip mileage! May have done all of 200, then .. Sheesh, in the old days, I used to do that in a week. OK, not that often, but I usually averaged around 125 or so.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge