Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.J.C. Koto
07-12-08, 09:40 PM
So today was a totally grand day! I accomplished 3 different goals, and had an absolutely fantastic time doing it.
My original intent was just to do a little 25 miler to scout out a nearby lake keeping the eyes peeled for future camping potential. When I got to the lake (which seems to have nice camping too), I realized I was 18.8 miles from home. A little longer round trip, but what the hell. So I had a snack, looked around for a while, then decided to head home. On the way back, I noticed a sign indicating the way to a little town I've always wanted to visit, but never did, so what the heck? I got *nothing* better to do...
A few miles later (mostly downhill :D), I'm in town, and there's really nothing there. Very quaint, and some place I think would be a nice place to live. The people were nice, but the tavern was closed for some reason. I had intended to get a beer there, but it just didn't turn up Johnny. Oh well, there's beer at home.
So I kept heading the same direction knowing there's a rail-trail that way that can get me back home quickly. But, when I got to the trail, the promise of *good* beer (not the Keystone crap in the fridge) had something else in store for me. Instead of heading north, to home, i went south, to beer. And it was somewhere around here I had my first experience with pain.
I've known that the stock saddle of the LHT compleat is not really that great, but I've grown used to it, and know almost to the mile when it starts to get painful. And so it did. This was a good reminder to pick up a Brooks asap. So on to the beer, I'll stand and pedal if I have to. And so it was, standing then sitting until I got to the beer haven.
I got my beer and decided to head home. Found a nice scenic place to enjoy my well earned libations, and did that thing. Soon I was back on the bike, and a few surprising observations began to take over my thoughts:
1. My sit-bones no longer hurt. Who'd a thunk that?
2. A pound of good beer is a totally excellent thing on a ride.
3. My feet hurt?!
And so was my ride home. My mood went from B+ to Bliss, my general outlook on life became unusually optimistic, but the bottoms of my feet kept on hurting, while my bottom quit hurting. I remember thinking somewhere during this leg of the trip "Better parlay that saddle fund into a good set of clipless and shoes". Seriously, foot pain?
The ride home was fun, but uneventful, save for a little un-remembered single-track diversion. Well, it was uneventful for me, but I failed to mention to the older couple on a tandem who were headed the opposite direction, towards the single-track diversion that the trail makes some serious tight turns. Hope they figured *that* one out :)
So here I am, at home with more good beer, and I've never felt better :D Save for the afore mentioned foot pain. And 2 more surprises that were in store for me the whole time:
1. My legs feel *good*. I could easily have made 200 km if it weren't for the foot pain problem. Feet still hurt...
2. Calves can get sunburned :eek: I was too worried about putting sunblock on my bald scalp to try to prevent helmet-tan, that I forgot about other obvious areas... At least the nuts were covered.
And there it is. Even though many of you wouldn't consider this a long-distance ride, it's officially *my* longest. And although I'm not yet a randonneur, I've been bitten, big time. Sorry about the long post. If you enjoyed it, I'll buy you a cold one somewhere on the road, and if not, I'll do the same for sticking it out this long :)
Oh yea, those goals I mentioned at the beginning were neat to strike off. Daily goal of seeing the places I wanted to see, weekly goal of > 175 miles, and milestone goal of the first metric centruy.
Next weekend is an imperial...
EOP
My original intent was just to do a little 25 miler to scout out a nearby lake keeping the eyes peeled for future camping potential. When I got to the lake (which seems to have nice camping too), I realized I was 18.8 miles from home. A little longer round trip, but what the hell. So I had a snack, looked around for a while, then decided to head home. On the way back, I noticed a sign indicating the way to a little town I've always wanted to visit, but never did, so what the heck? I got *nothing* better to do...
A few miles later (mostly downhill :D), I'm in town, and there's really nothing there. Very quaint, and some place I think would be a nice place to live. The people were nice, but the tavern was closed for some reason. I had intended to get a beer there, but it just didn't turn up Johnny. Oh well, there's beer at home.
So I kept heading the same direction knowing there's a rail-trail that way that can get me back home quickly. But, when I got to the trail, the promise of *good* beer (not the Keystone crap in the fridge) had something else in store for me. Instead of heading north, to home, i went south, to beer. And it was somewhere around here I had my first experience with pain.
I've known that the stock saddle of the LHT compleat is not really that great, but I've grown used to it, and know almost to the mile when it starts to get painful. And so it did. This was a good reminder to pick up a Brooks asap. So on to the beer, I'll stand and pedal if I have to. And so it was, standing then sitting until I got to the beer haven.
I got my beer and decided to head home. Found a nice scenic place to enjoy my well earned libations, and did that thing. Soon I was back on the bike, and a few surprising observations began to take over my thoughts:
1. My sit-bones no longer hurt. Who'd a thunk that?
2. A pound of good beer is a totally excellent thing on a ride.
3. My feet hurt?!
And so was my ride home. My mood went from B+ to Bliss, my general outlook on life became unusually optimistic, but the bottoms of my feet kept on hurting, while my bottom quit hurting. I remember thinking somewhere during this leg of the trip "Better parlay that saddle fund into a good set of clipless and shoes". Seriously, foot pain?
The ride home was fun, but uneventful, save for a little un-remembered single-track diversion. Well, it was uneventful for me, but I failed to mention to the older couple on a tandem who were headed the opposite direction, towards the single-track diversion that the trail makes some serious tight turns. Hope they figured *that* one out :)
So here I am, at home with more good beer, and I've never felt better :D Save for the afore mentioned foot pain. And 2 more surprises that were in store for me the whole time:
1. My legs feel *good*. I could easily have made 200 km if it weren't for the foot pain problem. Feet still hurt...
2. Calves can get sunburned :eek: I was too worried about putting sunblock on my bald scalp to try to prevent helmet-tan, that I forgot about other obvious areas... At least the nuts were covered.
And there it is. Even though many of you wouldn't consider this a long-distance ride, it's officially *my* longest. And although I'm not yet a randonneur, I've been bitten, big time. Sorry about the long post. If you enjoyed it, I'll buy you a cold one somewhere on the road, and if not, I'll do the same for sticking it out this long :)
Oh yea, those goals I mentioned at the beginning were neat to strike off. Daily goal of seeing the places I wanted to see, weekly goal of > 175 miles, and milestone goal of the first metric centruy.
Next weekend is an imperial...
EOP