First bike ride of the year!

[Chumly]

I rode my bike 8 miles last night! I can't believe how hard it was! I was riding 60-100 miles a week in the past and this ride would have been a warmup. I feel so much better when I exercise, particularly when biking or hiking. Those activities are very enjoyable for me, once my stamina has built up. I felt exhausted after yesterday's excursion. I am planning to ride again Sunday. I haven't been feeling that good for years, and I know some of it stems from a lack of regular exercise. My food hasn't been consistently good either. I'm cleaning up my diet and getting into a regular exercise routine.

Michael

[Chumly]

I rode 10.6 miles today. It wasn't as difficult. I felt much better at the end of it. I'm planning to ride at least twice per week for a minimum of 40 minutes and work on building up leg strength and endurance so I can ride longer with less muscle soreness and fatigue. I am also working in hiking, yoga and strength training.

Michael

[Chumly]

I finished my 6th ride Tuesday (10.6 miles). My knees are still tender from the ride. I haven't experienced this in the past, but I definitely feel more pain in my knees than ever before. I will cut down on the distance and hopefully the soreness will eventually go away. Any advice on decreasing knee pain?

Michael

[sharonbikes]

Congratulations! I made a ceremonial traditional ride on New Years Day - it was very cold! Wind chills below zero. On days when it has been warm enough to ride comfortably, it has been raining or I have had other commitments. Soon.... As for knee pain, the number one thing to check first is to make sure your saddle is a the correct height. So many people ride with their seat too low. If you have a good local bike store, maybe take it in and ask someone there to watch you ride - they may be able to see some tweaks that you can't tell by yourself.

Another thing that can cause knee pain is riding in too high of a gear - especially for the first rides of the season, start with lower gears - spin at about 90 RPM - it may seem too low at first, but your knees will thank you. As you get back into biking shape, you will be able to spin easily at the higher gears.

Enjoy!

Sharon

[Chumly]

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for the encouragement and advice! My legs are nearly straight at the bottom of the stroke, so I think that's good. I do think I may be riding in too high of a gear. When my knees are back to normal, I'm going to try lower gears and shorter trips to condition my body.

Michael

[Chumly]

I've made an appointment with the Egoscue Center in Atlanta. I've been having pain and tightness in my hips, neck and shoulders and my left ankle as well as the recent issue with pain in my knees. It's time I sought some professional help to resolve this to this best of my ability.

Michael

[f00die]

do you do strength training? weight workouts?

[Chumly]

Yes, but mostly body weight exercises like push-ups, planks, squats and lunges. It takes about 15 minutes 2x per week. I haven't done any leg exercises since late last week. I did 10 squats and spent about 20 minutes on the elliptical. My left knee was sore the next two days. I'm hoping the Egoscue session Saturday will help me.

Michael

[Chumly]

The Egoscue lesson was very interesting! She spent about 2 hours with me first observing my posture in different static positions and while walking, then she gave me 9 exercises designed to correct my posture and align my body. I have 9 exercises to perform twice a day that take about 20 minutes each. I am going back in two weeks to be evaluated and see what else, if anything needs to be done. I am not doing any intense exercise or cycling until I meet with her again. I'm just walking the dog and I will practice yoga. I hope this helps me function without pain. It hasn't been terrible, but it is disconcerting to feel a fair amount of pain after walking and bike riding. I hope this helps a lot.

Michael

[Sonia Raga]

I also did my first bike-ride of the year a few days ago! I took it easy and did 15km flat. The winter is very cold in Germany and somehow I can´t get used to it so since October I haven´t been able to go for a ride. Now the weather is finally improving My next ride will be up the mountain. Wish me luck!!!

[Chumly]

Congratulations on your first ride! Riding bikes in cold weather is tough! I usually don't ride much in the winter unless we have a warm weekend (Georgia is much warmer than Germany). 15 km is a great starting point!

Michael

[Skip]

I did my first spring bike ride today with a new bike. I used to ride a Trek 7100 hybrid but I've upgraded to a road bike (Specialized Diverge) that has a carbon frame and disc brakes and thicker tires (38 cc) for more comfort and off road capabilities. It is way faster than the hybrid and more comfortable too.

[sharonbikes]

Yeah! for all spring bike rides! I have been out on my bike for the first "serious" rides of spring - we are going on our annual bike riding trek to Wisconsin in a few weeks - need to get back into "fighting" shape and soon! Friday night I had a bald eagle soaring over my where I was riding - I tried my best to hope he was fishing for dinner on the lake the bike trail runs alongside and wasn't just hunting me as I felt pretty slow and out of shape! Nothing better than getting outside on the bike!

Sharon

[Skip]

Sometimes I ride on a paved trail that has many walkers, joggers and other bikers. For safety, I had a bell on my old bike that I would chime to alert walkers, joggers, and slower bikers. Sometimes, people would get startled even though I try to give them plenty of lead time to react. For my new bike, I've decided to try this new device called the TIMBER Mountain Bike Bell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8P8D_Wz9ug
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_coEyE_2NA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0184 ... UTF8&psc=1

[sharonbikes]

That bell looks interesting. I prefer a simple "on your left" when I am on my
bike on a trail. If I am walking on a trail, a bell always startles me
and I am not sure what it means. But- both are better than an old whizzing by unannounced.