Birthday ride report: Toughing out a personal challenge
08-26-07, 04:33 PM
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Birthday ride report: Toughing out a personal challenge
Today I set out to do something special. Everything was in place:
--Sunday with nothing but a special ride on the agenda
--Sunshine, 80's, light wind...near-perfect conditions
--It happens to be my birthday today.
When I walked out into the sunshine this morning to give the bike the once over before I left I thought to myself, "Yup, this is a day to try to do something special on the bike."
I set out to do a long lake and back ride. But on the way there something dawned on me, and I never made it to the lake. Six miles down the road from the lake is La Grange, and once again this year I figured the Backyard Bikes shop would be a rest stop area for the Cream City Century riders, which I took part in last year. My plan changed. I would ride all the way out there to use them as my re-fueling and rest place. I also thought it would have been cool to run into some of the guys riding the century from here at BF. I know the BIFNIC group from Illinois was riding today. I really wanted to surprise them by seeing them there. They rode that century with me last year and we stopped at that same place late in the ride.
I was there from 1:15 until 1:30, taking advantage of several peanut butter cookies and their cold Gatorade. I saw some riders come in, but no one I recognized. Not one BF rider to surprise. Drat. It was still worth the effort of going there, and a solid plan for my day.
I had a hint of the problems to come when I crossed my legs to put my shoes back on. Twinges of leg cramps already at the halfway point.
The ride back slowly but surely became a ride of survival, trying to protect those legs from totally locking up. I would stop every five miles or so to have a drink, a few Bloks and a stretch. That helped, and it got me pretty far.
I stopped in the middle of nowhere on a little country road called "ZZ" to simply stretch out in the grass for about five minutes. That got me a good chunk of the way back as well. Your mind wants to quit and call home for a ride back. You have to fight through that, talking to yourself all the way.
Little by little I was clicking off the miles with very weak legs that were on the verge of knotting up at any point. If there was an uphill, I'd go into the triple to try to protect the cramping. It was the inside of my thigh/quad down to the knee on my left side that was going first. That's NOT the hip replacement side either.
I drank enough. I had the usual electrolytes in the water too. I ate well enough. This is simply muscle fatigue because lets face it, I haven't gotten a lot of miles in due to the rain. Plus, this was the longest ride of the season...longest since back in May....so I really was pushing my body way beyond what it was used to doing. My legs felt like it too.
I had to stop quickly twice later on the way back in. Both times it happened on a big hill, when I was trying to go as easy as I could in the easiest gear. But the left leg would start to cramp....then the other would start to lock up and I had to quickly unclip and stand in pain. On the big Sunny Slope climb toward the end of the ride the knot was so severe that I was yelling in pain and standing really funny, all in an attempt to find that position that's just right so it will stop hurting so bad. You pound your fist into it too in the hopes that it helps.
I was so close now there was no way I wasn't going to finish....if I had to walk I would. Things calmed down enough for me to get back on and complete the ride. It hurt.
I set the bar high for my birthday challenge, and I did it.
It hurt like hell at times, but once accomplished there is no better feeling in the world. Fail? Today? No. Not today. Not on my special birthday ride of 81.2 miles. .2? Yeah, I'm counting every tenth!
Heck I came within 19 miles of doing a solo century with no training whatsoever on a very hilly course. Not bad.
Now...off to dinner and birthday pie.
--Sunday with nothing but a special ride on the agenda
--Sunshine, 80's, light wind...near-perfect conditions
--It happens to be my birthday today.
When I walked out into the sunshine this morning to give the bike the once over before I left I thought to myself, "Yup, this is a day to try to do something special on the bike."
I set out to do a long lake and back ride. But on the way there something dawned on me, and I never made it to the lake. Six miles down the road from the lake is La Grange, and once again this year I figured the Backyard Bikes shop would be a rest stop area for the Cream City Century riders, which I took part in last year. My plan changed. I would ride all the way out there to use them as my re-fueling and rest place. I also thought it would have been cool to run into some of the guys riding the century from here at BF. I know the BIFNIC group from Illinois was riding today. I really wanted to surprise them by seeing them there. They rode that century with me last year and we stopped at that same place late in the ride.
I was there from 1:15 until 1:30, taking advantage of several peanut butter cookies and their cold Gatorade. I saw some riders come in, but no one I recognized. Not one BF rider to surprise. Drat. It was still worth the effort of going there, and a solid plan for my day.
I had a hint of the problems to come when I crossed my legs to put my shoes back on. Twinges of leg cramps already at the halfway point.
The ride back slowly but surely became a ride of survival, trying to protect those legs from totally locking up. I would stop every five miles or so to have a drink, a few Bloks and a stretch. That helped, and it got me pretty far.
I stopped in the middle of nowhere on a little country road called "ZZ" to simply stretch out in the grass for about five minutes. That got me a good chunk of the way back as well. Your mind wants to quit and call home for a ride back. You have to fight through that, talking to yourself all the way.
Little by little I was clicking off the miles with very weak legs that were on the verge of knotting up at any point. If there was an uphill, I'd go into the triple to try to protect the cramping. It was the inside of my thigh/quad down to the knee on my left side that was going first. That's NOT the hip replacement side either.
I drank enough. I had the usual electrolytes in the water too. I ate well enough. This is simply muscle fatigue because lets face it, I haven't gotten a lot of miles in due to the rain. Plus, this was the longest ride of the season...longest since back in May....so I really was pushing my body way beyond what it was used to doing. My legs felt like it too.
I had to stop quickly twice later on the way back in. Both times it happened on a big hill, when I was trying to go as easy as I could in the easiest gear. But the left leg would start to cramp....then the other would start to lock up and I had to quickly unclip and stand in pain. On the big Sunny Slope climb toward the end of the ride the knot was so severe that I was yelling in pain and standing really funny, all in an attempt to find that position that's just right so it will stop hurting so bad. You pound your fist into it too in the hopes that it helps.
I was so close now there was no way I wasn't going to finish....if I had to walk I would. Things calmed down enough for me to get back on and complete the ride. It hurt.
I set the bar high for my birthday challenge, and I did it.
It hurt like hell at times, but once accomplished there is no better feeling in the world. Fail? Today? No. Not today. Not on my special birthday ride of 81.2 miles. .2? Yeah, I'm counting every tenth!
Heck I came within 19 miles of doing a solo century with no training whatsoever on a very hilly course. Not bad.
Now...off to dinner and birthday pie.
08-26-07, 05:08 PM
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Fuji Shill
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Long solo rides are my mainstay, Hip. I know exactly how you feel. Congrats and Happy Birthday!
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08-26-07, 05:25 PM
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Up on the Down Side
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Shouldn't this be posted in the 70+ sub-forum? 
Hey, Hip, sorry we missed you out there today. Would have been great to wish you a happy birthday, but we were probably just getting to the East Troy final stop around that time.
We'll do ride reports later on, but you'll be delighted to know we spotted a Tour de Phil jersey just before the Elkhorn stop. I would have taken a picture, but couldn't find the guy again.
Did it have a screw cap and are you sipping it out of blue plastic cups?
Enjoy!
Hey, Hip, sorry we missed you out there today. Would have been great to wish you a happy birthday, but we were probably just getting to the East Troy final stop around that time.
We'll do ride reports later on, but you'll be delighted to know we spotted a Tour de Phil jersey just before the Elkhorn stop. I would have taken a picture, but couldn't find the guy again.
Did it have a screw cap and are you sipping it out of blue plastic cups?
Enjoy!
08-26-07, 06:05 PM
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AWESOME on the Tour de Phil jersey. Now I must know who it was!
....nah, this wine wasn't as good as ours last year after the century...I mean, I had to use a cork screw to open it for cryin' out loud!
Hey...I just got a nice Tommy Bahama yellow watch from Mrs. Hip.
....nah, this wine wasn't as good as ours last year after the century...I mean, I had to use a cork screw to open it for cryin' out loud!
Hey...I just got a nice Tommy Bahama yellow watch from Mrs. Hip.
08-26-07, 06:45 PM
#9
Rawwrrrrrrrrr!
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Happy Birthday Hip
08-26-07, 08:36 PM
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pan y agua
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Older Golfers like to shoot their age. My Goal is to ride my age. For the last several years, I've tried to ride my age in mileage each birthdY. (No big deal at 48) But in a few decades it will become a worthy goal, and IMHO kinda of a neat tradition to follow thorugh on.
Ultimate stretch goal is a century at 100.
Ultimate stretch goal is a century at 100.
08-27-07, 06:56 AM
#15
grilled cheesus
nice ride. nice report. happy birthday! later.
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08-27-07, 07:49 AM
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