Finally, I got another chance to commute again. The world has kind of ganged up on my schedule and so riding hasn't been in the cards for the past two weeks. Today the gods of the ride smiled on me. Yes!
Since my last ride I added another shim under my cleats. Getting in and out of pedals was easier today. I'm still not very consistant at it. For example I fought for most of a mile on 1900 west to get clipped in this morning. It didn't help that it was uphill and so I couldn't coast very far as I fought with the pedals.
This morning, out of the apartment complex and up the hill to 1900 west. I unclipped my right foot at the stop sign. I sat there for about a minute. Then a hole in traffic opened to my right. So I checked left, and fell left! I don't know what happened to cause the fall, but the Artie Johnson was wonderful to behold. Picture it, here is this 50 year old fat guy on his fancy schmantzy bike and he does the slow motion fall to the left. About half way down I got my left foot out of the pedal, but it was too late. So I just sat there and cussed as the street came up to meet me.
Otherwise the commute was uneventful. The uphill ride to work was 4.77 miles in about 45 minutes. Max speed was 21.1 mph with a 6 mph average speed. Other than the very scary part under I-15 I rode the whole way. The downhill ride home was 4.78 miles in 28 and a half minutes. Max speed was 26.1 with 9.3 mph average speed.
What really caught my attention was that both ways the speed was up and time was down. In both cases fairly significantly down. Since I haven't changed anything on the bike, or ridden in 2 weeks I can't explain this. Very interesting.
Keep on spinning!!
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3 comments:
Do you have a heart rate monitor?
I'd advise getting one, and making it a goal to keep your heart rate under 70% of max until you've got some training in.
You might want to consider taking your Rocket out to someplace flat and level... like maybe the perimeter road around the runways (I assume you work at Hill AFB from your article). Try to ride a nice, slow, 10-mile ride with your heart rate around 70% so that you can breathe easily and could converse if possible (singing to yourself out loud is a good test).
Try doing that three times a week, while cutting back on your calories to around 2000/day, walking for 30 minutes at a leisurely pace on the days you don't ride, and see if the weight doesn't just pour off in a couple of weeks.
Good luck!
Do you have a heart rate monitor? For folks trying to get back into condition and lose weight I think a heart rate monitor is almost an essential.
In the meantime, consider putting your bike in your car and driving to somewhere level where you can ride a 10-mile round trip without any hills (looks like you work on Hill AFB from your post, perhaps the perimeter road around the runways would be good). Try to ride while keeping your heart rate as close to but below 70% for the distance. Yes, you'll be going slow but you'll be getting your heart into condition and you'll be strengthening your ligaments and tendons and preparing your muscles for more exertion.
Do the above ride 3x a week, and walk for 30 minutes on the days you don't ride, keeping your heart rate as close to, but below, 70%.
Drink plenty of water (8 glasses) per day, take a good multivitamin, fish oil capsules, and cut your calories to 2000 per day, low on fats and high on protein, and watch the weight pour off and your conditioning improve by leaps and bounds. In a couple of months you'll be down 20 lbs or more, you'll have a much stronger cardiovascular system and legs, and the commute to work will be ridiculously easy.
Good luck!
Currently I'm using the poor man's heart rate monitor, singing or talking. The last two weeks I have significantly slowed down. This has reduced the need to "blow" so I think I'm headed in the right direction. Basically I've taken to heart the adage "Go slow to go fast."
Currently, the only time I can get any training in is the ride to work. Getting time away, when I'm willing to work hard physically is tough for me because I'm a single parent. So I'm pushing my oldest boy, almost 20, to get up and get his little brothers to school so that I can ride to work. That's just under 10 miles a day. I think I'll get to three times this week. Then I want to try to stablise there.
Thanks for reading and commenting
Keep on spinning!!
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