Upped my Goal...

Goal: 10.00 km (6.125 miles)
Yesterday: 10.26 km (6.4 miles)
Today: 10.44 km (6.5 miles)

Yesterday, I rode up East of Juan Tabo to Chelwood Park, and then west to Wyoming.
Today, I rode East to Juan Tabo, and West past Wyoming to Louisana. It seems the trail ends at Louisiana. I've seen the map, but I was kind of hoping it was not true. The trail ends at Louisana and there you have a bus station. I am not using my left gear very often. I think I need to get it fixed... You have to force it so far over to shift it's actually a hinderance to my really learning my gears. I discovered a whole new set of gears that seem to work well for the times I am going really fast. I can pedal and have it mean something. Not that I really am all that anxious to hit 30.... 20 seems exciting enough at the moment.

Hmmmmm..... someone asked about healthy vegan treats on the trail. I find the Oreo suggestion suspect -- not in veganness, mind you, but healthiness. Oreos.... healthy.... Oreos.... healthy..... Hmmmmmm..... I have an idea for my next blog entry.

Experiences with Muscle Soreness, but a Total Lack of Sound Advice

Goal: 8.00 km Actual: 14.12 km (8.825 miles)

Okay.... So I was relieved today, because my arm soreness subsided... Well, specifically, my tricep soreness -- the soreness that would not let me completely lift a tomato to my mouth without some help from my neck -- had subsided. This is a good thing. A coworker of mine, who I would consider to be in enviable shape for his age, informed me that as you get older, your muscles will not just be sore after a work out longer, but also wait longer to tell you about it. You'll get to your height of soreness 2 to 3 days after your workout instead of the next day. I just turned 34 last April. This is about the age you start learning these things from your co-workers. I guess I shouldn't feel bad at all. One of my friends, only a year younger than me, and in better shape than most people ever are in their entire lives, apparently is detecting signs of aging in himself. "I just can't work out like I used to." I usually have no idea what limitations he's facing to be honest. Well, I know maybe one thing about him that I would consider to be a sign of aging, and though it would hold some people back, I imagine it might frustrate him, but not hold him back.

So, what was I getting at anyway? Oh, well right when I came in from biking.... like 5 minutes before I started this blog entry, my arms were taking a breather from supporting me on the handle bars and they immediately announced to me that I was going to have trouble getting a tomato up to my mouth again. (I have no idea what is with me and putting tomatoes up to my mouth... Just keep reading. ;) ) After having sat a spell to write this blog entry, I am beginning to have my doubts that this is the case. I can flex my fist pretty close to my shoulder, which is a good sign..... Yesterday, I had a solid 30 degree angle going and my fist did not want to get any closer. I put my triceps on ice for a short while -- like 10 minutes, because that is such an awkward place for an ice pack -- and then hoped for the best. I am clueless to tell you whether it was ice or time that did the trick. Other cyclists are suffering worse and far more interesting travesties as I write, so on to other things.

The "challenge" of today's route was to bike some on the East side of Juan Tabo.... At least cross the street for crying out loud. So I biked up the trail all the way to the dip and came back. If you haven't caught wind of this already, I worry much, much, much too much. I wonder if that's why my parents bought me the Sweet Pickles' Worried Walrus book. It was cute. I think he worries about something that will happen while he's riding a bike too. I was exhausted, but I think the small amount of anxiety I had about the whole thing just made me slightly more exhausted than I should've been. The incline really was not all that bad.
So, here I go again today biking in low visibility conditions wearing dark colors. The clouds were trying to convince me it could rain in Albuquerque by dashing some water on me. When it became nearly dark, my thoughts were "Hmmmm.... I am not ready to give up biking just yet. I've reached my goal of 8, so I could stop, but I don't really want to." I varied between my living on a bike thought, where I just tried to keep the bike going, then I would forget and try to see how fast I could pedal the bike uphill. I think I'm getting the gears and that I had them backwards before. Going uphill, you switch to a lower gear, which means a smaller gear so that it gets easier to pedal. I am starting to get it now, but it's taken a while for me to learn.... I've noticed that I slow down when I am going uphill, so I switch to a higher gear so I can get more gumption out of my pedalling. You know the results, however. You make it uphill.... You make it uphill faster.... But your muscles are a lot more sore and you exhaust a lot faster. I am keeping this in mind. I had tried switching to a lower gear because I was getting tired and then I would get flustered because it would take me 5 rotations to go 2 inches. I think, perhaps, I was switching my gears down too quickly. It's also simply possible that my gears need some kind of maintenance that I am not aware of yet. Being my third year that I've owned this bike. That's entirely possible. I really should buy and read a biking 101 book, I suppose. I am glad I've made it as far as I have. :)
One final thing before I get some supper. I made it past 20 miles per hour!!! I made it past 20 miles per hour!!! Nope, I did not pedal that speed uphill or anything.... That was a downhill speed. It's good for me, though, because I don't like to go so fast I feel out of control. That was definitely my next experience for the day. Today was also my first day of biking through drizzle. I've forgotten what it's like to voluntarily be out in the rain and not care. Okay, well, here, it is just as often as not accompanied by thunder and lightning so I don't usually consider it real safe to be out in. Today, there was no lightning.... just rain. It felt good.

Is it the wind or is it just me?

Last week, I went out on my bike suspecting it might be another "weak" day, but I really had no idea. I am not quite to where I have a good feel for what I am going to be able to do on a certain day, but I had no idea this day was going to be so bad. I think the wind was blowing towards the Northwest and I was struggling against it going East uphill. I am not sure how hard the wind actually makes it, but I am certain there's a definite difference. I only made it about 5.5 km that day. :p

I've actually biked a few times since my last entry and will record them here for prosperity:
Goal for each day: 8km
5.5 (the windy day)
10.5
11.5 (estimate)
~5 (I was going to meet a friend for coffee and found a quick opportunity to hit the trail. It wasn't to the Starbucks, though. I will probably not ever have enough audacity to get out on a busy street here where there's no bike lane.)
12.55 (Today!)

I "took it easy" on the bike trail today and actually ended up going further than I've ever recorded myself going. This was a really nice trip come to think of it. It had all the great features I've been seeing lately, including the trail that's not closed when you approach it from the East, but is suddenly closed when you come back to it from the West. Needless to say, I've simply gotta get back home, so I ignore the trail closed sign and keep right on tracing my steps. The "closed" path is through a part of the trail that I think is rather odd. It's in a park near my elementary school and the park usually has at least one family in it. The families like the trail, but it's a park and nobody keeps in mind it's a bike trail, despite the signs. I get to stop and talk to people frequently due to this.

I talked to a family tonight that was getting onto some kids for riding on the handlebar of the bike. They apparently did not realize that here you go with traffic, so they mentioned that too. Nope, here you go with traffic when you're riding in the bike lane. (Am I right or am I right?) No matter.... I seldom ride on the road except when it's necessary to connect to an adjoining bike trail. I know, this blog needs some pictures.

I did not have the bike gear going today for sure. The back reflector fell off my bike, but to top it off, I wore all black today. I was not really thinking about being on the bike until it happened. I really should get some bike-friendly clothes.... but trust me, the city is in no way ready to see me in spandex yet.

So, I wish I could remember names along with faces. Why? Because I passed by someone who had an exhibit at Earthfest and I could not tell you who the heck he is for the world. He had an exhibit that gave a very environmentally friendly plan for the US as a network of eco-villages, one of the features being gravity-driven bike ramps for connecting between the villages. He wore a cap with a solar fan on it to keep him cool. I saw that crisp face and smile right under his helmet as he waved happily to me. I doubt he remembered me, but I can't forget that man. I love idealism in general. If you can't dream far out, how are you going to get half-way there?
Hmmmm?

One thing that gets me is that ever since I started biking, my arms and chest have felt it a bit. It made me nervous at first because I knew about lower body benefitting from cycling, but upper body? Well, apparently the forward lean onto the mountain bike as I ride around is benefitting my arms and chest. After some comments by someone very close to me that my arms had gotten stronger, I decided that I would lift some weights, so on Monday, I went to the gymn and did my first set of curls, bench press, backpress, etc. in at least a year if not more. Let's just say it's Thursday and I am still sore. After my bike ride today, my triceps were really getting to me. I think I am helping the tomato get to my mouth by bending my neck.... I am not totally sure. Anyways, I am sure it will go away in time. Just for now, I am sore as heck and biking did not help. :p We're on for tomorrow!

Bleah.... Weak Day

Goal: 8.00km Actual: 8.51 km

I've got to remember that I would have days like these at the gymn as well. Days where easy things are hard and hard things are impossible. I am so not sure whether this is on the list of things you should not do or if it's on the list of things that hardly matter. I had a thick slice of whole wheat bread with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese and rosehip jam before I went riding today. Forgetting about the fact that the ingredients sound exotic we could say what I did was equivalent to eating a couple of slices of Hawaiian pizza before my ride. I also downed a glass of water because I am almost always not quite hydrated and then I went for a ride. Did I mention I was tired today? For lack of a better name, I call these "weak days". Nonetheless, I met my goal. As I walked in the door with my bike, I felt like I could have honestly gone further. Where was that feeling when I was on the bike? Now that I sat down, I know I made the right decision. That, and the fact that I am scared of being out in a lightning storm. My bike has rubber tires, my boots have rubber soles.... I might just be in luck.

To think I was going to up my goal to 10km. Days like these are good reminders of why I must be patient with my goals. They have to be something I can attain and raise gradually. One day, this distance for a goal is going to be laughable. Till then, this is my goal.

Dips and Roadsigns...

Since this is a guy learning to ride his bike, you'll probably find many of my points as relevant as some guy learning to drive and observing that a steering wheel turns in circles and is round... like a wheel. Whoa!

Nonetheless, on today's ride, I noticed the overabundance of "trail closed" and "detour" signs. Not to worry... I was on the part that was apparently the detour and was to me, the main route. The trail that was closed was a minor turn-off point on the main trail, but nonetheless, you had signs announcing that the trail was closed miles ahead, with no clear indication of how far up it was closed and for that matter, if you would be able to make it to the mountains, etc. The whole time, you were on the detour, but the detour would not, from what I could see, ever lead you where the closed trail would've taken you. City, you're confusing me -- but in no bad way. Every part of the trail that I wanted to ride on was open.

What was pretty cool is that a part of the trail that was closed last time I tried to take it was open this time. I was really glad. This portion of the trail has just enough incline to keep your bike going, but not so much that I get out of breath when I ride back up it. The main feature of this trail is lots of dips. The trail is right by a large arroyo (open cement drainage ditch that runs from the mountains, meant to catch melting snow from the mountains and waters from flash floods) and there are a whole lot of dips in this portion of the trail where open ducts are made to redirect water to the arroyo. (They're dry 99% of the time.) Most of them are really shallow and just give me a minor thrill on my bike. I am new to dips anyway. Then as I get further down the trail, the dips start getting bigger and bigger. I sort of remembered this, and as a matter of fact, when I was biking with a friend of mine, he had to stop and encourage me to ride my bike through the dip because it looked steep to me. He cheered me on, though he and I mutually felt like a toddler was being cheered for successfully placing one block on top of another. "Congratulations! You made it over the... uh...... gradual incline.... yeah." As a matter of fact, when I got to the first large dip today, I was thinking, "Well, that was hardly worth writing home about." I got to a second larger incline that my memory had failed me on, and I thought, "Well, I made it over that one. That was the one!" Then, finally I see what incline it was that scared me. Honestly, it looked like the Grand Canyon with a steep drop-off. Remembering last time, I just took the thing without any problem. I am going to use my bike as a mountain bike one day, just like it's meant to be. Really, I am.

About the biggest problem on the trail, really was this older lady who walked really slow and wasn't too steady. It wasn't so much that I needed her to be aware that I was passing her.... I just needed her to stay straight. She actually wandered closer to my bike as I was passing her. That wouldn't have been fun for either one of us.... She could barely walk, poor lady. Glad she was actually out walking, though.

My thought for today actually had to do with the plausibility of "living on my bike." I am sure some people do this. It's not really anything I have time for... but you know, you could just get your bike going, and just practically spend the rest of the day on your bike. It's really hard to put the exact feeling I am going for in words. I mean, it does require energy to bike, but it seems like if you achieve a groove, you could just keep going all day without problem. Am I making any sense?

A black woman with a very beautiful voice yelled, "Passing on your left." today. It was her voice I found remarkable.

Today's goal was 8km (5 miles). I went 11.19 km (almost 7 miles). My goal is to do this at least 3 more times this week.

Not the World's Best Spitter

I am an adult who never learned to ride a bicycle as a kid. I grew up in this fairly bike-friendly town of Albuquerque, and it's not like my parents and brothers did not try to help me learn. They bought me a black bicycle with Space Invadersque characters all over it and the caption "Space Star". To think of it, that seems pretty cool now, but as a kid, I did not really think much of it. It could have lost the "Space Star" label and that would've been alright. My bike had training wheels and my parents took me out to the caldesac near my house and helped me do laps. I hated any kind of physical activity at the time and did not have a lot of confidence in my coordination. I did foster my passion for computer programming at the time and had fun doing it, but that's a whole nother blog. I had brief stints during my teen years and early adulthood where people tried to teach me how to ride a bike. One friend gave up me almost right away when I did not just take off like a rocket. One of my girlfriends just took me to the college with her and let me figure it out for myself on her mother's bike. Quite honestly, that's one of the best things she's ever done. I figured out that riding a bike was feasible. By the way, don't ever leave your girlfirend's mother's bike outside in Florida. That bike was not in such great condition when I returned it.

So, a couple of years ago, I decided I was going to learn how to ride a bike. I bought a mountain bike from one of my friends and decided to hit the trail. Most days I've ridden the same stretch of trail up and down. And I still kind of do, expanding out on occasion. I think the previous two years, I've just had lack of goals and boredom. It was okay that I wobbled along the path as long as I did not hit anyone. Other activities quickly became more pertinent and endurance was not built.

I've hit the trail much harder this year, I think. I did not have an odometer in previous years, so it's really hard to tell. I know I've been biking more consistently, though, and I am beginning to feel some progress in terms of leg strength and endurance. Mind you, enduring 6 miles with some of it downhill and 15 whole seconds of extra leg strength is not a big deal. But for this boy, it's a start. And now this boy has goals! I want to be able to ride my bike to work, and I want to start doing it daily. The hurtles involve coming out of my comfort zone on certain points. We have bike paths that run along the streets, and it may be necessary to use them to a certain extent. It almost certainly will. I do not trust cars, and this is a good thing. I just have to make sure I have enough control of my bike to be around cars. Right now, I don't feel I do. (It's easy to start wobbling when I feel tired.) The other part is distance. Home is all uphill, though most of it should not be very steep. Riding up in the general direction of the mountains is good exercise and I am finding it challenging to say the least.

So, now that we have that covered, I'd like to record my progress today. My goal is to be sure I ride 8km (approximately 5 miles) about 4 times this week. Today, I made 10.22 km. One of the things I am working on right now is being able to turn my head to look around me without turning the handlebars too. Silly as it might sound, I am finding hard to look over my shoulder without accidentally turning right. Even better. Don't consider spitting to be a skill? Didn't partake of spitting contests as a kid? You may live to regret it. I know I am. Today, a bug flew into my mouth while I was biking. I turned my head and spit right on my arm.