Digital Gee

I did it!

I took the challenge of riding your age for your birthday today. My birthday is actually on the 19th, but today was an ideal day for me. I'm going to be 55, but I got to thinking -- if I can ride 55, I can probably ride 62 miles -- and I did!

In the begining I had two inner children tagging along. One constantly whined "This is toooooo hard -- you'll never do it!" while the other said, "This is so cool -- imagine how proud you're going to be!" Eventually, after about twenty miles, they fell asleep, thank goodness.

I created a flat urban route circling the city of Coronado, next to San Diego. Round and round the city I rode, 5.8 miles each loop. Boring? Hardly -- this is a town of beautiful homes for retired admirals and sea captains, and a beach on one side, and a harbor and view of San Diego's skyline on the other. I just didn't want to deal with hills. Coronado is flat. Very flat.

I took a stretch break each loop. All in all, I drank three Sobe's which were purchased at a deli along the way -- ice cold and spectacularly refreshing. I ate one banana and three breakfast bars along the ride.

I'm tired, but I'm fine. No knee pain, no wrist pain, no chafing, just some lower back pain that's not related to the ride -- it's something that started flaring up a few weeks ago. Temperatures were perfect -- 65 degrees at sunrise when I started, and about 80 when I was finished.

This is the longest I've ever ridden in one day in my entire life, surpassing the 50 miles I rode ONCE on a sponsored ride from Rosarito to Ensenada, Mexico. Today I was on my own.

Here's something that astonishes me: I now have 752 miles on the bike (purchased in June). Today represents over 8% of that total, all in one day. I don't know why but that flabbergasts me!

I'd like to thank lookinUp for posting the "ride your age on your birthday" challenge back in July. If there had been no challenge, I doubt I would have set this as a goal this year. But there was, and I did, and I MADE IT! WOOHOO!

p8rider

Waayyy to goooo!!! DG,
Knew you could do it and a metric as well you sly dog. Now I have to have a metric before winter sets in!

FarHorizon

You go boy!!!

Digital Gee

Okay, now it's been four hours since my 62 mile ride came to an end, and I feel like a lead brick. Feels like I weigh 500 pounds. Everything is sore, but not horrible sore, just sore. Mostly I just feel like I was transported to Jupiter or something.

Question: tomorrow, or Sunday for that matter, should I be riding? If so, how far? (My normal rides are 10-15 miles weekdays, 15-20 one weekend day). Or should I just lolligag?

Never haven ridden this far, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do the next day!

p8rider

After my birthday ride I thought a nice slow recover ride would be in order. I wound up going 27 miles! Of course then I took two days off. Just do what feels right.

cheeseflavor

Congratulations, DG! Sounds like a great way to spend a day!

Steve

cheeseflavor

Every time Linda and I do a "long" ride (meaning anything twice or more our usual ride), we have a trail that is very scenic that wraps around a couple of the city lakes, past some wetlands and through some nice woods here in Plymouth. The ride is about 20 miles and because of its location, we tend to take it easy and soak it up. To us, that "feels" right after a long ride and we still get our ride in. We've got the rest of the week to hammer.

Point is, do whatever you feel like your body can accomodate.

Later!

Steve

stapfam

What a fantastic ride and well done,. If I remember rightly, you are one of those that had doubts as to whether you could do it this year. So again-- WELL DONE.

Your body will let you know what to do the day after a ride, and I dare you to sit on the saddle. Unless you have Buns of steel, you will get off it very quickly. So NO, do not ride today.

Recovery should involve some exercise so take a trip down to the bottom of the garden and lie in the Hammock, or the sun or just lie there. Today is rest day. you will feel hungry, so forget the diet and get some carbs inside you, celebrate with a chinese or an italian meal, or even Indian with plenty of rice and protein. Not a burger or fatty foods, oh and get a good few drinks inside youto ward off dehydration.

In a couple of days, go out for a gentle ride. If you have recovered it will not be gentle as you will speed up a bit, but try to cut the speed a bit or take out the big hill.

Well done but when is the 100miler due?

lookinUp

Gary!

Spectacular!! You are the MAN! Congratulations on your ride, what an outstanding achievment. But... be careful. What I've noticed after my 65 mile ride was I've increased my daily mileage to at least 20 miles and 'have' to ride around 40 miles (just for fun) one day per week.

Great Job! Again, Congratulations!

LookinUp

FarHorizon

Take a day off and then start up again with a really easy ride. You've earned the break!

DnvrFox

OK, Gary.

I have to do this! The devil is making me do it.

Here is your VERY FIRST POST to the 50+ bike forum on June 5th.

Read with pleasure.


Prophetically, here was MY response:

(and you ultimately chose a mtn bike which "spoke to you.")


And on June 20th you posted

And on October 7th you posted:

Isn't making progress exciting and great? Won't be long before you are posting about your "Ride Across America." (RAAM)

p8rider

That's a really nice pull together DnvrFx. It shows in a snapshot real progression. Again congrats to DG!

TaosWoman

Be careful what you say to DenverFox, he remembers even if we don't!

Way to go DG, I would take a walk just to stretch things out the day after that long of a ride but mostly rest. Don't you live near the beach? Maybe a nice walk along the water and some fresh seafood afterwards.

The second day after I would be ready to get back on the bike!

Congrats!

Digital Gee

This morning I'm blown away by and extremely grateful to the posters on this board. You have all been so helpful, so willing to give advice and opinions and most of all encouragement. Without this board and the people on it (particularly the 50+ forum), I really doubt I would have stuck with cycling.

Cycling (for me) is such an isolated endeavor. I don't ride with any group (although one of these days I'll try it), so I'm out there by myself with only my own inner voices to hear. But yesterday, on my birthday ride, I could swear I could hear each and all of you, egging me on, telling me not to quit, giving me attaboys when I started another loop after a stretch break, and so on. You were on the bike up ahead that I decided to catch and pass. You were standing alongside the road giving me a wave as I pased.

I thought many times, during my ride, of what I would say in my post about the ride. I composed it on the bike. I almost couldn't wait to get home and tell all of you about my accomplishment. Maybe that's a bit strange, and I'm a bit off my rocker, but so what? There were real live people around the planet who actually cared whether I made it or not. And without these people, and my own determination, I probably wouldn't have even tried.

So thank you, thank you, thank you! And a special thanks to DnvrFox for pulling together all those posts I wrote. That was a wonderful gift -- to see my own progress in my own words. It's amazing to me that a ten miler now is just a way to get warmed up, that a twenty miler is a nice stretch, and that a thirty or forty miler is a good ride.

Someone asked when I'm going to do a Century now. I even thought about THAT on the ride. I heard myself saying, "That's way too far!" and I heard myself saying, "You know, that's not out of the realm of possibility..." I suspect that a few months from now, perhaps next spring, I'll do my first Century.

Anyway, I realize I'm (once again) rambling, so I'll close. Just leave you all with one thought -- it is the community of people on this board who add so much to my experience of cycling. Thank you again.

KeithA

Absolutely fantastic, Digital Gee!!!

Truly a great accomplishment and a happy birthday to you.

GrannyGear

Gary,
More congratulations to heap on you....what a great way to go into fall season, with a big summer ride under your saddle. There will come a time soon enough for you when a 60 miler will be just another weekend's ride. Considering the short time ago you started, to have come so far in so short a time means a lot to other people here. I think you have crossed over from being inspired to being inspirational.

So, no sitting on your laureled butt tomorrow 8-) ....go for an easy spin if you feel like it and plan new rides.
David.

Stv

DG,

Good going !

Stv

rck

congrats dg! A bit of advice for long rides-it helps me a lot to ride with another or others. The miles seem to go by so much more quickly. So try a group ride sometime you generally meet some very nice people and get to try some new roads!

cheeseflavor

I agree. This is a great group of folks here. Means a lot to see that others struggle (or have dealt with) with the same problems I have.

So... did you go for a ride today??

Steve

Digital Gee

Man, I was so tempted to ride today! But my thighs said "No. Not today." So I took TaosWoman's advice and went for a long walk along the beach. Then I came home and grilled some delicious chicken sun-dried tomato sausages with some onions and peppers, and had that with some coleslaw, and decided the world is an okay place, after all.

I'll ride tomorrow, for sure!

backinthesaddle

congratulations on the ride, that's quite an accomplishment. I've yet to work up that distance, so it's something to aspire to

and also congratulations on having the ability to kick back and enjoy yourself the next day, we don't have to ride every day and sometimes those rest days are the best part

TaosWoman

How's the body feel today? That chicken sausage sounds good but I was really in the mood for fresh seafood. Hey if we can ride with you we can also eat with you, right?

When we lived in CT a trip up the coast for some fresh lobster was always a treat. No fresh lobster in New Mexico.

Digital Gee

Ah, Taos is one of my favorite spots on earth. I've stayed at the Mabel Lujan Dodge Lodge several times, walked the reservations, hiked in the mountains, and thoroughly enjoyed myself in a beautiful, spiritual, special place!

As to your questions; I feel GREAT today. Yesterday my thighs were protesting and complaining, but otherwise I was fine. I'm going to ride today, probably around the bay. Thanks for asking!

And lobster sounds great too, but I'm on a sausage budget.

berts

my congrats on your achievment. i wish you many more goal achieving years, happiness and health.
recovery: see training and nutrition forum. basically sound nutrition, muscle relaxation techniques such as massage, light exercise and adequate sleep. hitting the couch is not a good idea.

Digital Gee

Just a postscript:

Today i took a "recovery ride." It was stunningly beautiful in San Diego today (after being unreasonably chilly yesterday!). For those of you familiar with my fair city, I swept through Balboa Park, glided downtown, explored the suddenly empty parking lot at Petco Park (home of the Padres, swept in the post-season yesterday), rode out behind the convention center, over to the harbor, out to Pt. Loma, back up to Old Town, and back home. I rode through probably eight different tourist centers...and it was fun.

Here's the good news as far as i'm concerned: NOTHING hurt. Nothing. I felt "at one" with my machine. I wasn't hammering, of course, but I did find stretches of road to move right along. The only major challenge occured when I got sort of lost trying to get from Old Town up to Hillcrest without going up Juan Street. (Locals know why I tried to avoid Juan. It feels like it goes STRAIGHT up.)

But I got confused and found myself in a maze of streets between Old Town, Little Italy, and Banker's Hill and they are all UP and DOWN like San Francisco -- the hard parts of San Francisco. Since I didn't want to back track, I plowed up and worked my way through and made it up every hill but one, when I hit a wall and had to walk half a block.

The entire ride was 23 miles; it was fun from beginning to end, the 62 miler was almost a distant memory already. So here's my question, especially for you long-time cyclists:

Have...I...finally...gotten...a....little....bit...fit?

Is this what it's like to be in shape? I've been out of shape so long I don't know what "in shape" feels like!

Now I'm off to relax, and later I want to do a bit of bike maintenance.