Why, you ask, would a guy load up his bike to long-trip weight, and put on multiple layers of warm clothing, and then pedal down the road when the thermometer reads -16 C (3 F)?
Answer: A test ride for several different reasons required.
First Reason: Concerns about my right knee.
Back Story: Before I started "serious" (but incredibly fun) long distance cycling about 3 years ago, I had some very painful back, leg, and knee problems. During the initial days of my cycling it was a constant battle to keep riding, believing the old adage about bones and old(er) age -- "Motion in lotion." In those early days I could have sworn the old saying might have been, "Motion is torture."
But the "lotion" power of reasonable, consistent exercise eventually paid off (after about a year of determined and often uncomfortable riding).
My back became much more flexible (yet not completely pain free. But heck. You can't have everything, eh?).
My sciatic pain in my leg slowly disappeared. (I think the many and intense leg stretches I did for my warm leg muscles after each ride had a lot to do with this leg improvement.)
My knee pain, mostly a reality because of osteoarthritis, was lessened. But remains to this day my "Achilles heel." (What a strange metaphor to use -:) It acts up frequently. It appears to be very sensitive to specific types of movement. When it "flares up," I have to rest it and try to avoid whatever "trigger" for that pain I have discovered.
Very recently, as I have been doing indoor training on my bike trainer, the Knee decided to complain. Bottom Line: I think just over did it. When I ride my trainer I like to do so intensively. I spin my legs really fast. Much faster than I would normally do on my bike. And that, I think, was the problem this time. I just over did it. (My wife, Debbie, diagnosed this much speeder than I :-) But my knee was hurting to such an extent that I wondered if I had done some serious damage.
So I rested it for about a week. While resting it, I devised my "recovery plan." A simple plan. Rest knee. That is, no more indoor trainer for awhile. And then wait for a day that I am home and the roads are free of snow and ice. When these conditions are present, I will bundle up and take my bike for a ride down the road.
My theory is that the artificial resistance my legs experience on the trainer is somehow bad for my knee. If my theory is that if my knee is not damaged and "ok," then I ought to be able to ride my bike for awhile outdoors and not feel any unusual knee pain.
And that's what happened today.
I was out riding for about one hour and forty minutes. The first half of my ride was a gradual descent over about 10 km (6 miles) to the Lake Huron shore. This portion of the trip was "easy" with the downhill slope and strong wind on my back. The second half of the trip was a much different story. I chose a steep 10 km route back home with the wind in my face.
My heart rate fluctuated in the 110-120 bpm range. (Ironically, my heart rate peaked at 135 before I even got on my bike while I was carrying my bike fully loaded through about two feet of snow from my back deck door to the dry road at the end of our lane way. A distance of about 30 meters/90 feet. )
My choice of winter ride clothing, with the exception of my clip-in bike shoes, proved adequate. Once fully dressed for the ride I felt like a wrapped mummy.
I had on my spandex bike shorts, covered by full length "athletic pants," covered by a pair of what we call in Canada "splash pants." These pants are essentially a single layer windbreaker for the legs.
My upper body was protected from the elements by a t-shirt, covered by a heavy duty long sleeve thermal shirt, covered by a medium weight jacket, finally covered by a wind breaker.
My head was covered by a Spider Man-like mask designed for biking. Bro Mark gave this to me. When it is on I look like a Ninja dude. It covers everything but my eyes. Over this mask, I wore a thin navigator type winter hat that covered my head and ears. And finally, of course, was my bike helmet.
Keeping my hands warm were a pair of long fingered bike gloves covered by a pair of "-30" thermal gloves.
And finally, the feet. All the above apparel did a great job. But the feet were a problem today. Despite the fact that I wore two pairs of thermal socks, my feet started "freezing" about half way through the ride. My bike shoes, necessary because my pedals require them to be clipped in them, are obviously designed for warmer weather and the expressed purpose of keeping my feet cool. That's not exactly what I needed today. Today my toes got way too cold. These cold toes were my only reason for ending the ride at one hour and 40 minutes instead of the 3 hours I had hoped for.
But the one hour and 40 minutes were all I really needed. If my knees were going to cause me major problems, they would have done so during this duration of time. But no real knee pain came. The "Test of Knee" experiment was successful.
Reason Two for this Ride: Testing the New Bike Bags.
I loaded them up and hooked them on. I even loaded them a little heavier, I think, then I will be loading them next month on the big ride across California on Route 66. They didn't fall off the bike or rattle or interfere with any bike functions. Test successful.
So now I return to a new training regime. I will be using the in door trainer, but in a very "light" fashion. I will not be pressing the pedals hard or spinning ridiculously fast (like I was foolishly doing before). I will be spinning my feet and legs just enough to keep those leg muscles toned for our ride.
As "fun" as today's ride was, I think I'll look forward to warmer weather for my next spin around the block.
I suspect I will be fit and ready for the big ride which actually begins one month and one day from now!
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| Big Picture of our Route 66 Trek from Santa Monica Beach (Los Angeles), up and over the San Gabriel Mountains, across the Mohave Desert to complete the journey at Pirate Cove (Needles) at the Colorado River (California / Arizona Border; where we ended our Route 66 Trek this past September). |
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| Here I am on my back deck about to roll out....Notice I have no gloves on my hands. That was quickly corrected. Regardless of the snow all over the everything else, the roads were clear and dry enough for safe travel. |
