California Route 66 Trek: Getting In Shape

Just in case you are wondering (which you probably are not) how an almost 60 year old guy physically prepares for a 509 km (314 mi) bicycle trip across the State of California, and more specifically the Mohave Desert, I'll tell you.

Here's the Reader 's Digest version:

Three Key Conditioning Components:

1. Exercise Heart & Muscles
2. Stretch Those Muscles
3. Fuel Heart & Muscles With Quality Food and Fluids

I accomplish the exercise component by riding on my indoor trainer.

I do a few different variations of my training route, but just like all country music sounds pretty much the same, so also my indoor training looks pretty much the same.

I pedal from 15 to 40 minutes (depending on where i am in my training cycle; no pun intended :-)

Spinning the pedals works the leg muscles. The heart obliges by increasing its pumping rate to keep up with the legs and lung muscles' demand for lots of blood rich in energy giving oxygen.

During the first five minutes of indoor pedaling I take it slow and easy, but gradually pedal fast enough to get my heart rate up to a cruising speed of 120 beats per minute (bpm).

And at some point during each training session I make sure the heart rate spends several minutes in the 130-150 bpm range.

That's real work. I am huffing and puffing and sucking air in like a vacuum cleaner in that range. I hate the pain, but love the energized body it gives me. It's some kind of natural chemical rush or something, I'm sure.

After pedaling and sweating, I get off my bike and spend about 5 minutes doing some leg lift exercises my friend Chuck G. shared with me last year. This simple set of exercises have virtually eliminated my knee pain issues.

This is important because in March of 2012, Bro Mark and I aborted a trek early partly because of my knee pain. I don't want that to happen again.

If you want to know more about this knee strengthening exercise, let me know, and I will describe it in more detail.

Then I spend at least 30 minutes stretching just about every muscle I have. I use the same stretching routines utilized by joggers and runners.

I am totally convinced that stretching warm muscles soon after exercising is as essential as exercising them.

Stretching adds strength to those muscles as much as exercising does. Stretching also creates flexible muscles less prone to injury.

Good food is the fuel for all the above. I'm not a health food fanatic. (Proof: I drink a can of Dr Pepper on my way to work almost every morning :-)

But I consciously choose to eat reasonable. I eat lots of fruits and veggies. I avoid fast food (Although I really enjoy it).

Very important when I am increasing my pre-trip exercise levels like I am right now is to increase my protein intake. I'm not a big meat eater. So I make sure I eat lots of yogurt and nuts and eggs. Protein is the stuff of growing and maintaining strong muscles.

Drinking lots of fluids, especially water (Goal of at least 2 liters / 2 quarts each day) is very important to flush out toxins released by exercise.

There are many different ways to physically condition for a trip like this. This is just my style. But the basic goal of any good training program is the same: Healthy heart, and strong, flexible muscles.