Road Cycling - My week riding

I'm going to post this here, since it is more about road riding than commuting...I think!
For the sake of this story, I will begin last Monday. I got up and left for work early, as my computer had crashed, and I had to prepare a report on a new machine with new software, so I went straight to work, 7 miles. On the way home, at least I was able to work in a little detour, so that made the ride home 12 miles.
On Tuesday morning, I again got up early, and tried a new detour, that made my commute 27 miles! Then, my normal 12 mile detour to home in the evening.
Wednesday, I had a Doctors appointment (my annual physical...the Doc was amazed at the new and improved me!!) so I drove. Not wanting to miss a day of riding, I again got up early, and did 20 miles before I got ready for work.
Thursday, my golf/resupply day was to be another drving day, so I again did 20 miles before work.
Friday was the same as Tuesday, 27 miles to work, then 12 miles home.
Saturday, I did not ride...had to do some yard work to keep the bride happy!
This morning I woke to overcast skies and cooler temperatures. I took off to the west, and after 12 miles, I came to what we call around here the Lake Road. This road is very hilly, and starts with a killer hill. I had tried this hill once before, and could not make it all the way up without stopping to rest. Today, I attacked the hill with a vengence. I worked my way down to the lowest gear I have, kept my head down, and kept grinding away. All of a sudden, I was spinning easier, and when I looked up, I had crested the hill! I was huffing and puffing, my heart rate was way outside the aerobic zone, and my speed was only 6 mph, but I was grinning like some kind of maniac! I started grabbing taller gears, and continued to work the hills for the next 15 miles! I finally stopped for the first time since I left home, and had a quarter sandwich before I headed back. The only eventful thing that happened on the way home was a flat, but even that couldn't ruin what turned out to be a really great ride!

Way to go on the ride. I have been slacking on the daily rides but still keeping up on the distance.

I needed to read this story tonight as I go into a new week and I get my self more focused into riding. Next week will be my first 100 mile ride.

Thanks nebill for your weekly update on your riding....

How cool on doing a century! That is really something! I've done 30's, 50's, 70's and even a 77, but have never tried a century yet! Next weekend I will do 2 days at RAGBRAI, then as soon as I get back, I am going to start working my miles up to a century...at least that is what I am going to train for! Best of luck to you!

Fujidude, I did a 118 km ride on Saturday!! My longest 1 day ride so far. Yea, I know, it is only 73 miles, but I catching up to you. It was my first club ride. I got dropped in the first few minutes of the ride from the main group. It didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I learned a lot from this ride. I can't wait to do it again. BTW fujidude, thanks for the help. I used your standing water trick, and it helped me out again. :thumbup:

Originally posted by A F Baker
I used your standing water trick, and it helped me out again. :thumbup:
OK, so I was TOO selective and missed something somewhere! Fill me in on this "standing water trick." I've got to know! Now!

(Isn't standing water where mosquitoes breed???):eek:

No, no 'skeeters here! Just an idea to help eliminate a sore bottom...everytime you take a drink, which should be frequently in this heat, stand up on the pedals for a few seconds to give the bottom a break. Really helps the old comfort level out, especially when you are new to distance riding! I find that I have to do it less frequently now than I used to, but it still helps!

Good idea on the standing/water! I will use that. Just the other day I read a good visualization for smoother pedaling. "Float" your feet in your shoes so that you never really feel pressure from obvious pushing or pulling. You almost have to pedal circles to achieve the feeling.

Great week of riding, Bill!

Regards,
Raymond

Originally posted by RainmanP
"Float" your feet in your shoes so that you never really feel pressure from obvious pushing or pulling. You almost have to pedal circles to achieve the feeling.

Yes, that's a good thing to practice. I read that years ago and put it into practice, oh, I'd say about 1% of the time! (I don't know why, it just won't become second nature to me.)

If you have any knee soreness, you will find that doing this "float" thing instantly relieves it or makes it go away altogether--till you start "stomping" again.

As for the standing up to relieve soreness, since almost all my riding's done on streets that look like a major military battle had just been concluded on them, I stand out of respect for potholes, wavy surfaces, steel plates, etc. I get plenty of relief!

Since I don't like to drink while pedaling in the city traffic, I drink at stop lights. I get plenty of opportunity for that, too....

The 'floating' thing really works! My feet used to get so sore, I would have to stop riding and give them a break. I told Ba_Dg_Er about my problem, and he told me to relax my feet, in effect giving the same action as floating. He guessed (correctly) that this problem always happened toward the end of a ride, when the legs were getting tired. He explained that I was trying to pedal with my feet instead of my legs, so I needed to keep my feet relaxed. I've done this, and experienced no further problems! Thanks, Coach, where ever you are!

Yes, "floating" is valuable. After reading the post that first mentioned it today (and responding to it), I went for a ride and consciously tried to apply floating whenever I could, and I believe I enjoyed the ride much more because of it. Sometimes it's hard for me to get my left foot in the clip and strap when I start uphill after one of the thousands of traffic lights I encounter. This is a good reason to work on getting better at that (or better yet, returning to SPD's, which pose no such problem).