After such a successful outing on Saturday I was ready for a more challenging ride on Sunday. I know I need to get used to riding multiple days in a row, my training so far has been every other at most. I also have a long way to go in being able to handle hills.
I decided to head to Griffith Park, which offers more inclines for me to ride on, and train my body for the difference. I haven't been on a hill since Thanksgiving, but thought with the new pedals I'd have a stronger stroke and do OK. HA!
Within 1/2 a mile I learned otherwise. I was stopped at the crazy 6 point intersection of Lankershim/Vineland/Camarillo, I had my right foot out and on the ground. Next thing I know, I'm tilting to the left and there's not a damn thing I can do to stop it! Didn't get the left foot out in time for a save, no I went down and went down HARD! My elbow took the brunt of the fall - OUCH! I've been saying if I wipe out I want to catch it on video for everyone to enjoy, no such luck this time, but at such a major intersection I did have a very large live audience to my collapse. Good times.
After picking myself up and getting situated on the bike again, I tucked my bruised ego away and got on with it. I don't know if it was the back to back riding days, the crazy wind resistance or the inclines on the route that I'm not used, but this ride kicked my ass! It was probably a little of everything, but I couldn't even get up the first hill at Griffith Park without stopping. My rep calls my lower gears "granny gears" but without them, I don't know that I'd survive and inclines! At least not yet.
I made it around the loop with a detour to the LA River bike path. They've extended the path another 3 miles, which makes for a nice long stretch. However, I have two issues with the river path, one is the DAMN GNATS! Constantly in my face, my nose, my mouth, it's very distracting and skeeves me out! The other is the extremely inconsiderate gatherings of people who don't know how to share the road! Slowing down so I don't hit your kid, dog, grocery cart while you stare at me confused is just RUDE!
Got through the ride and the frustrations along the way. Have a big bruise/scrape on my elbow. It joins the one on my calf as well as one on my knee that I have no recollection of getting and the beautiful brown one on the inside of my elbow from having blood drawn! I am a rainbow of battle scars these days :)
My new goal is to keep going back to Griffith and riding that loop until I master the incline without needing to stop to keep from having a heart attack! That combined with base miles will be the schedule going forward.
I've got my first century this Saturday, the Paul Hulse ride in Santa Clarita and the 65 mile "Day on the Ride" the following Sunday. Those two biggies with my continued base miles and inclines will hopefully prepare me for the ride in June!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Next Level: Clipless Pedals
The more I ride and the more I educate myself on the world of cycling one of the things that keeps coming up is clipless pedals/ Yes, you actually clip in to them but they're called clipless (there's an explanation on how the misnomer came about and you can google it, if you care). After talking with more experienced riders about the upgrade and if I should take the leap I went and checked out what I would need and how much it would cost a few different cycling shops.
This past Saturday, I ventured down to Cynergy Cycles and with a lot of helpful assistance I purchased both the shoes and the pedals. I appreciated that they didn't try to convince me i had to buy the most expensive of everything, which had happened at on of the shops I visited earlier in the week. Because it was such a trek I didn't bring my bike with e to Cynergy. Once i got home I headed over to Metropolis (where I bought my bike) to have them swap the pedals and give me a helping hand getting in and out of them.
Every time I talked with people about the pedals they assured me I would fall, it's just what happen when you get in to them for the first few time. Seemed illogical to me, why not just practice clipping in and out while standing still to get used to the motion. I figured with adequate practice, I'd be fine.
After the fabulous staff at Metropolis put on my new pedals and helped me out getting the hang of clipping in and out, I was off on my first clipped in ride! I should also mention, that while at Cynergy I found a few pieces of apparel on sale. One of which was a pair of capri-like, knee length spandex. I have a pair of spandex shorts already, but they've been sitting on a chair in my bedroom with the tags still on for 9 months now. I just haven't been able to bring myself to ride out with them on. The longer length made me more comfortable - think about it, with spandex shorts things bulge over at the waist, at the hem, I just have too many body issues to go out in public like that. the knee length spandex, on the other hand, keeps everything squeezed in where it should be! So it was not only my first ride clipped in, but my first ride in spandex!
I went on a 30 mile ride, relatively flat on the Chandler path. And i did not fall! i did however have a few "almost" falling moments. I clipped out my right foot when I stopped, but often found myself leaning left to hit the pedestrian crosswalk button. This was when I'd start to tilt and having my left foot still attached to the pedal, I couldn't put my foot down to balance myself. Each time this happened I'd end up popping my foot out just in time. I'm sure I looked very graceful during the flailing and stumbling, but hey - that's how you learn, right?
I have to say, the pedals really do make you more efficient. I find myself increasing my speed quicker than I used to. I need to shift to a higher gear often when I first get going after a stop, to avoid pedaling air and have some resistance. I'm still learning how to be a better cyclist and how to pedal faster versus stronger, getting cardio versus strength, but these pedals really do make a difference. At the same time they do make me feel vulnerable, being attached to the bike, like if I need to get off quick, it's not going to happen.
I thought I finished my ride unscathed, but later, when getting in the shower I found a nice huge purple welt on the inside of my right calf, I'm guessing I fell in to the pedal on my near misses to the left! Ouch.
This past Saturday, I ventured down to Cynergy Cycles and with a lot of helpful assistance I purchased both the shoes and the pedals. I appreciated that they didn't try to convince me i had to buy the most expensive of everything, which had happened at on of the shops I visited earlier in the week. Because it was such a trek I didn't bring my bike with e to Cynergy. Once i got home I headed over to Metropolis (where I bought my bike) to have them swap the pedals and give me a helping hand getting in and out of them.
Every time I talked with people about the pedals they assured me I would fall, it's just what happen when you get in to them for the first few time. Seemed illogical to me, why not just practice clipping in and out while standing still to get used to the motion. I figured with adequate practice, I'd be fine.
After the fabulous staff at Metropolis put on my new pedals and helped me out getting the hang of clipping in and out, I was off on my first clipped in ride! I should also mention, that while at Cynergy I found a few pieces of apparel on sale. One of which was a pair of capri-like, knee length spandex. I have a pair of spandex shorts already, but they've been sitting on a chair in my bedroom with the tags still on for 9 months now. I just haven't been able to bring myself to ride out with them on. The longer length made me more comfortable - think about it, with spandex shorts things bulge over at the waist, at the hem, I just have too many body issues to go out in public like that. the knee length spandex, on the other hand, keeps everything squeezed in where it should be! So it was not only my first ride clipped in, but my first ride in spandex!
I went on a 30 mile ride, relatively flat on the Chandler path. And i did not fall! i did however have a few "almost" falling moments. I clipped out my right foot when I stopped, but often found myself leaning left to hit the pedestrian crosswalk button. This was when I'd start to tilt and having my left foot still attached to the pedal, I couldn't put my foot down to balance myself. Each time this happened I'd end up popping my foot out just in time. I'm sure I looked very graceful during the flailing and stumbling, but hey - that's how you learn, right?
I have to say, the pedals really do make you more efficient. I find myself increasing my speed quicker than I used to. I need to shift to a higher gear often when I first get going after a stop, to avoid pedaling air and have some resistance. I'm still learning how to be a better cyclist and how to pedal faster versus stronger, getting cardio versus strength, but these pedals really do make a difference. At the same time they do make me feel vulnerable, being attached to the bike, like if I need to get off quick, it's not going to happen.
I thought I finished my ride unscathed, but later, when getting in the shower I found a nice huge purple welt on the inside of my right calf, I'm guessing I fell in to the pedal on my near misses to the left! Ouch.
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