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!