Mar. 21 Spin 60
Somewhere in here it gets all fuzzy...
. I lost track of my days and haven't been checking in here as I should. However -- I'm back and now I'm actually on the road as I have the bike. I had a 54 cm version first (the cm refers to the height of the frame of the bike) and after two brief rides on it, I realized that it was a wee bit small (I was described as appearing like a circus bear on a tricycle by the owner of a bike store I rode in to). At any rate, I told Gary and we swapped (he is just a tad shorter than me - wink, Gary). So I have the 58 cm and it's working better. I could probably deal with a 60 cm, but this one is fine for now.
Just riding the bike has been quite an experience -- it's an awesome machine. My first time rolling down hills of any significance is a true white knuckle experience. I know I have to learn to trust the bike (and the road, the traffic and myself), but right now I'm riding the brakes pretty hard. I'm also riding close to home -- I guess so that if anything happens I can scream loud enough for Annamaria to come get me.
There's also the gear (riding outfit). I don't have any official gear (we'll have uniforms I've been told for the actual ride), so I'm sort of cobbling what I can together from thrift stores (money is more than tight at the moment as my financial work is unsteady). The good news is I've gotten comfortable enough on my two wheels to engage in the road work in earnest.
April 4 Hills, Dips and Valleys -- only 30 minutes, but good cardio
April 5 Malibu -- 90 minutes, seeing the beauty of the coast line doesn't suck. Saw dolphins!
April 6 Hermosa -- beautiful stuff -- have to find a better route south of Manhattan as things get gummed up here even in the morning with traffic
April 7 Malibu (about 10 miles further north) -- even better! Some ugly traffic though -- will save this route for the weekend to avoid the PCH mess.
Fri, Apr. 8 - One hour bike ride along Balona Creek (Culver City area). This ride got abbreviated by the fact that when I hit some rough road my water bottle slipped out and fell into the creek -- mind you this is down a 20-foot sheer embankment, nothing I could just scuttle down and pick up. Not wanting to dehydrate, I cut the ride short, went home, then trained for an hour (weights/stationary bike) at the gym.
Sat., April 9 -- A ride up to malibu, up Temescal Canyon (serious hills), back down through Brentwood. Approx 90 minutes.
Sunday -- OFF
Monday -- Ballona Creek, Lincoln Hill (not bad), Manhattan Beach -- serious sand storm made the path a bit rough.
Tuesday -- Gym -- 45 Stationary Bike + weights (back/biceps).
Wed, April 13 -- Gym -- 45 Stationary Bike + weights (shoulders/chest)
Thursday, April 14th - Up to Malibu and back through Mar Vista, Ballona Creek. Approx 110 Minutes.
Fri. April 15th - Ballona Creek + Manhattan Beach and back this morning. The waves were really something this morning -- hard to keep my focus on the path.
I added about 10 minutes of weights when I got back which I really enjoyed -- I think I'll start making that a regular deal.
Sat April 16th - Spin class, 60 minutes
Sun., April 17th - no ride (basketball for 45 -- we lost
)Mon, April 18th - Ride to Pepperdine -- approx. 36 miles round trip -- whoo! My longest yet!
Tues, April 19th - Ballona Creek -- one hour -- shortened as I had background work on some silly TV show.
Wed. April 20th -- to the edge of "the hill" @ Palos Verdes (approx. 30 miles) This hill is legendary, known to chomp quadriceps in a single bite. I'll go after it on one of my "extender" days. My goal right now is to keep riding for about 2 hours five days a week, then one day a week do one of these extender rides where I see what it feels like to be in the saddle for say four, then four and a half, then five hours -- working my way up to the regimen of approx seven a day during the roadie! Maybe tomorrow will be my first extender -- Leo Carillo is approx 32 miles (64 round trip). Hmm...we'll see. Sometimes it's fun to just get out there and let it rip. I felt good this morning -- just wary of the time...I wish I could just keep riding but I have to be cognizent of my work (and I do have a fair amount to do).
No comments:
Post a Comment