I walked to into town to meet a friend for lunch today. That was fun. She did give me a ride home. It wasn't my intention but there were some work items I wanted to work on this afternnon and knew I wanted to try to bike out.
So I walked a little over a mile on my way to lunch.
Later in the afternoon I decided - OK let's get this show on the road.
I pryed the bike out of the shed - promising myself I would straighten it out to better fit the bike when I got back.
I toyed with getting it on the rack - I would say this is rather difficult.
And got in the car - phone ringing. It was KP. And we had a wonderful idea to go ride together. It didn't happen. The logistics of getting her bike out of the garage were not in our favour. Long story...
So I headed on my own to McMullen Greenway. I go there often. I started going there when I first moved to my second apartment. Then when Bacchus was a pup and he could still do a 3 mile walk and before the drought so he could also play in the creek - we would go alot. I got out of it in recent years as it is a bit of a distance from my house. But I figure this is the safest area - off the road and with minimal hills. You would be surprised by the hills around my house...
Well much to my excitement - the new entrance to the greenway was open - you could say the trails are now 4 mile closer to my home than before. (I'd have to paste a map in here to explain more and I don't feel like it). So into the newly paved parking lot I went and transitioned to riding with little hesitation. This parking area is newer and queiter than the other so I didn't have much of that - hey they say it's like getting back up on a bike for a reason and I sure hope they're right or else you are all going to see me fall any second now - feeling.
And off I went. It was fun. Thank goodness for the comfy seat - that sure helps. And the hills weren't too bad. And thanks to JC, MD and a few others I think I understand the concept of gears on a bike now. I have found I prefer 2 and 6 - that way when I get to a hill I still have lots of gears to go down to manage going up the hill. And it is a grip shift which is cool - almost like a throttle (a girl can pretend can't she?) - no awkward thumb action needed.
So I went out 2 miles and back. It turned out to be a bit longer than that but the overall signage...
And the other really cool thing about it - from the new entrance I saw all new parts of the trail - nothing I had seen before. You see all this time at the other entrance I only go a little over 2 miles out and it is a 4 mile trail. I will need to do the whole trail over the next few weeks.
Only 4 weeks to go!!!
It's best for me NOT to think about that.
1 comment:
Coupla fun tricks I had someone teach me about gearing.
get in the habit of leaving your bike in the lowest possible gear at the end of every ride. the day you do the tri you will forget to make sure its now on a hard gear. rookie mistake.
just before you reach the top of a hill, start gearing up again. even if it hurts a little. because it will give you a push once you get over and start moving fast again. so gear up a little earlier than you want to.
try practice rides in as high a gear as you can do. sometimes even try the hill in the biggest gear. it will help condition your legs to it more. have one training day where you go out and "mash it" which is where you really have to fight those pedals. keep it for a shorter ride, but that harder workout will benefit you huge in the long run.
but most of all, enjoy the ride. its my favorite part of the tri. cause swimming and running suck nuts. :)
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