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Cycling
By FlightTest (Sun Feb 20, 2011 at 07:47:46 PM EST) Cycling (all tags)
Only cycling content within  - some bits rather SoCal/Orange County specific.

45.3 miles in 3:10 (2:55 in motion - darn traffic lights!) all essentially flat.

Yes, I'm like a kid at Christmas who just got the one thing he REALLY wanted.  I'm enjoying this tremendously.

I learned a few things;
  1. Darned if those funny-looking bike shorts don't make riding a WHOLE lot more comfortable!  HUGE difference.
  2. I was able to replace the camelback with 3 water bottles, and didn't touch the 3rd.  Drank one bottle of water, and one bottle of Gatorade.  Not having the camelback made riding noticeably more comfortable.  I do think I drank less, but I don't think I got dehydrated.
  3. The Santa Ana River Trail (at the least the tiny portion I rode) is in MUCH better shape than the Coyote Creek/San Gabriel River trail.  How does the SART rate?
  4. I'm getting comfortable riding on Pacific Coast Highway.  This scares me.  I'm alert, and paying attention on PCH to be sure, it's just a bit disturbing that the mere idea of riding on PCH isn't enough to scare me into not doing it.  The good part is that most of the people in the area where I was riding on PCH seem to be used to the idea of bicycles on the road.   There isn't bike lanes the whole way though.  Riding the path on the beach, even this early in the year, turned out to be no-go.  Too crowded.
  5. I think I need a cool-down exercise for my legs.  Maybe ride around our neighborhood in a lower gear.  When I stopped moving, I could feel them tighten up, so I walked around the house a bit.  A nice hot shower took care of most of the residual tightness.
Also some points not in the lessons-learned category;
  1. I'm not near as wiped as my previous 46ish mile (pre-GPS) effort.  My quads are sore, yes.  No saddle soreness though.
  2. I don't really care for fig newtons, I took a Snickers bar and ate that at my turn-around point.  There were, I'm sure, better choices that also weren't fig newtons.
  3. I'm contemplating riding the Century in May for the Tour de Cure.  45 miles wasn't that bad.  The last 40 of the Century is pretty boring compared to the first 60, but I'm thinking about it from a personal accomplishment point of view.  I need to find out how late I can switch from the 60 to the 100, or if they even really care.  I would imagine they care at the start so they know how many people are on each section.
  4. I'm thinking about the magic clip-in (clipless?  Yes, i read the FAQ on why they were originally called clipless) pedals.  Right now I just have borg-standard 1985 steel pedals with sharpish points.  I don't see many riders (except on beach cruisers) not using the magic pedals.
  5. Maybe I'll break 50 miles next weekend.
  6. I like being able to download my route from my GPS into Google earth. 
  7. Mrs. FT is looking forward to getting her back fixed and riding on the tandem with me.  I could do that as a short ride in the evenings when it stays light lo enough.
That is all, I think.
Life is Short, Fly FAST!

< Ah, bloody hands | 2011-02-20 >
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Tour de Cure (all answers in U.S. statue miles, unless otherwise noted)
- 100 miles (ALL DAY LONG!) 100%
- 61 miles (aka metric mile) - What I signed up for 0%
- 32 miles (half metric mile) 0%
- 11 miles (why push yourself?) 0%
- 8 miles (pansy option) 0%

Votes: 2
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Today's Progress | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)
Carbs by lm (4.00 / 1) #1 Sun Feb 20, 2011 at 08:15:54 PM EST
I'm pretty partial to Nature Valley's granola bars, the old fashioned crunchy kind.

But I don't do any exercise that really requires consuming calories while I'm doing it. So long as I eat normally the night before, running 5 miles in the morning is no big deal even without breakfast. But that's only 40 to 50 minutes of exercise.

Kindness is an act of rebellion.
Those are good by FlightTest (2.00 / 0) #4 Sun Feb 20, 2011 at 09:50:47 PM EST
I'm going shopping later tonight anyways, I'll look for a suitable carb source.


[ Parent ]
Stuff by Herring (4.00 / 1) #6 Mon Feb 21, 2011 at 10:04:30 AM EST
People are different. I think a mixture of sugars and starches is probably better than just one or the other. There is a lot written on the subject but it's damned hard to tell what's real and what's made-up quackery.

I just resent paying through the nose for the "proper" energy bars/gels/drinks all the time. I know guys who will go out and get through $10 worth off energy gels on a ride. Daft.

Bananas are always good but I find I always come to a junction (or something else when I need both hands) just when I've started one. Half a banana mashed into a jersey pocket is not a nice thing to put your hand into.

I have one of these for long rides/easy eating. Saves fiddling around in pockets on the move.

You can't inspire people with facts
- Small Gods

[ Parent ]
I appreciate the tips by FlightTest (2.00 / 0) #7 Mon Feb 21, 2011 at 02:18:29 PM EST
I'm mostly doing this on my own, so I'm certain I'm doing plenty of stuff "wrong".   I think you've probably a good point about mixing it up though.

The bag would be cool if the arrangement of my shifters and cables didn't pretty much preclude that.  The shifters are mounted onto the handlebar post.  I'm sure I can find something that will fit conveniently within reach for my bike though.

I've toyed with getting a new bike, but I want to make sure this isn't just going to be a flash in the pan for me.  Plus, my old bike, while heavy, is in pretty good shape, and it's mostly flat around here anyways.



[ Parent ]
Oh yeah by Merekat (2.00 / 0) #10 Tue Feb 22, 2011 at 12:20:19 PM EST
I keep one or two of something similar in my backpack for day hikes in case I get a bit woozy.

[ Parent ]
Carbs by dev trash (4.00 / 1) #2 Sun Feb 20, 2011 at 09:38:14 PM EST
When I'm on the trail I take along one of those 35% fiber bars.  It really hots the spot when I decide to turn around. And in the sun it's really soft.

I ride with a camelback that's frozen solid, what kinda discomfort did you have with yours?

--
I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BALLS! ->clock

It never felt right on my back by FlightTest (2.00 / 0) #3 Sun Feb 20, 2011 at 09:49:10 PM EST
It always seemed to end up riding up against my neck at the top.  Perhaps with more fiddling I could have got it to set right on my back, but in the end I prefer just having more bottles.  I got one of those deals that attaches to the seat post and holds 2 bottles behind the seat.  Also, since my bike has only one water bottle rack, I can take water and Gatorade.

I will probably find something more appropriate to take, but just didn't have time yesterday.  I hadn't thought about protein absorption rate until Hulver and Herring brought it up Friday.


[ Parent ]
Dude-- by ammoniacal (4.00 / 1) #5 Mon Feb 21, 2011 at 03:06:29 AM EST
PCH scares me, IN A CAR.

"To this day that was the most bullshit caesar salad I have every experienced..." - triggerfinger

True by FlightTest (2.00 / 0) #8 Mon Feb 21, 2011 at 02:37:28 PM EST
The width of the bike lanes seems proportional to the speed limit though.   And I'm by no means the only bicycle on the road there, it's quite a popular stretch for bicyclists.

Annoyingly, the north ends of the river trail heads don't have parking lots.  This is annoying because if you start early at the north end, you can get to the beach just as the onshore flow starts up, so you're not spending too much time going into the headwind.  I probably can't start at the beach early enough to make much progress back south before the onshore flow starts.  Technically, the trails are closed sundown to sunup.


[ Parent ]
It would be bearable if CA banned semis by ammoniacal (2.00 / 0) #9 Mon Feb 21, 2011 at 05:33:11 PM EST
along it, but that ain't gonna happen.

"To this day that was the most bullshit caesar salad I have every experienced..." - triggerfinger

[ Parent ]
Today's Progress | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

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