Going too far, too fast, not so good.

I love my bicycle. Riding it is one of pure enjoyment for me. Last weekend, although I felt a bit tired, the length of the trip seemed very managable right up to the end. I didn't really feel anything as far as discomfort until Wednesday. I took short rides during the week of perhaps a couple miles to stay in shape. Some discomfort there but nothing I felt was out of the ordinary. This morning however, I rode close to 15 miles and my legs turned to rubber just like they did on my first stage of the around Lake Michigan experience. All sorts of things are running through my mind, rashional or not it's like a steady stream of goofy stuff: Didn't I warm up enough? Did I mess something up big time last weekend? Is this part of the aging process? Am I drinking enough water or sport drinks? Was it too cool in the early morning darkness for my muscles to stretch properly? I think you get the idea. I'm still in the learning process. I don't know everything yet about my personal endurance capabilities. I think there is a good chance I simply over did and I have to ease my way back into riding again. Some challenges have arisen of late and I'm not quite sure if I can put any more miles in this weekend but I know for sure if I do I'll stop to rest way more often and try to tune into my inner self and when it's telling me to back off, rest or stop entirely for the day. The trip will happen. There is no immovable time line here. If I over extend myself it will take even longer. It's much too enjoyable to make stupid mistakes like that. Being a whole lot younger and having way more time available, walking around almost 50 years ago was a huge success. In order for this to succeed I have to remember those advantages are no longer in effect. In their exuberance, "Mature" people can sometimesa forget that. I am living proof. Ouch, I have to go rub my legs with Ben-Gay. Later.............Joe

Bicycle addiction

Aaaaahhhh! I finally went for a 19 mile, morning ride on my bicycle. Unfortunately it wasn't part of my ride around Lake Michigan but a great experience never-the-less. What with personal, business and weather related hurdles I hadn't been able to ride for almost two full weeks. I was suffering from some type of cycling withdrawal syndrome. Wanderlust, day dreaming, loss of focus, a yearning for the road passing under me with the wind in my face, stuff like that. I could tolerate it no longer and grabbed the opportunity on Saturday morning past. Woke up way before dawn broke, watered the flowers and garden while partaking of the mandatory intake of strong, dark, heart jogging coffee, walked into the garage for a rake, looked at my trusty two wheeler and made the decision to throw my other activities to the wind and go for a ride. Oooohhh! How nice it was. Down the street, around a couple corners, over a hill and onto the Kent Trails bike path. It was barely light enough to see the pathway ahead of me and already there were joggers, runners, bikers and skaters moving along in staggered positions, most with ear buds and some type of radio or Ipod or whatever it is that people listen to now. Exhilarating, to say the least. Trees, bushes, birds, creeks, bridges, ponds and even a water treatment plant leading to and coming from John Ball Park, back to downtown Byron Center and finally my driveway and home. The time passed way too quickly and here it was over two full hours in the saddle and a full 19 miles on my new tires. My legs were a bit testy and I wobbled for a while as I walked off the adrenaline but otherwise I had gotten my exercise fix after such a long stay of inactivity. I am back to being myself once again.

It is amazing just how much I missed riding and how it affected my every day ability to cope with stress. Every new day is an opportunity and on Saturday I took advantage of it. I encourage you to give something a shot also that perhaps you may be missing. It put me in a wonderful mood to savor meeting new people at a dinner party later in the day. I wasn't caught up in dreaming or doing the wanderlust thing. A great day all around. I love that bicycle.