Oct-3:
PUE: Act 1: --> BJP-Coley-partDocN-HickGr-L'ville-Norwood-Ray-Baileywick-"the neighborhood"; 36.9 m.; est 1534 ft; 2hrs, 23min; 15.5 mph;
- - - - Act 2: Leesville U-turn; 20.7 m.; est 782 ft climbed; 1hr, 18min; 15.9 mph;
- - - - - total: 57.6 m.; est 2316 ft climbed --> effort index = 80; 3hrs, 41min; 15.6 mph.
1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
2nd Qt. tot: 43 rides; 2124.3 m.; 134 hrs, 59 min; 15.7 mph.
3rd Qt tot: 36 rides; 1947.2 m.; 121 hrs, 48 min; 16.0 mph.
Oct tot: 1 ride, 57.6m.; 3 hrs, 41 min; 15.6 mph.
YTD: 100 rides; 4884.4 m.; 308 hrs, 0 min; 15.9 mph.
Rolling 12-mos.: 122 rides; 5874.8 m.; 367 hrs, 51 min; 16.0 mph.
It has been suggested that my e-mail rider-call for today was (the following is my word) "caustic". I had written that I was in neither mental nor physical mood / condition to be "hammerized". Little did I know just how prophetic those words would be -- I was in even less physical and mental condition for a 150 kilometer ride than I anticipated.
I woke with tired legs and a shoulder complaining of more pain than it had for a few days. I think everyone that rides with me "gets" that I start slowly to warm up my right leg and later in the ride can often ride "quite nicely". The twisting fall (it had to have been a twisting fall -- how else can I have gotten bashed on the front of the left knee and on the rear of the left shoulder -- and virtually no other part of my body made contact with the road -- certainly not in any serious way. The result? For the near term, I expect that not only will I be warming up the right leg at the beginning of rides, but I will also be warming up the left leg, too.
That has repercussions. Few, if anyone, probably realize or know that I have traditionally done a lot of "one-legged riding", using the left leg (which is my "weak" leg, btw, as I am right-handed) for most of my accelerations and hard efforts -- especially in the 2 hour or 40 mile "warm up" phase. For the near future, what leg can provide that?
But after the knots and twists in the left leg are warmed-up, and the muscles and tendons in the right leg are warmed-up, my advice is "look out".
In the meantime, whether slow or middling or rather quick, I intend to work on my pedaling stroke. Maybe I can find some power I have been wasting. I can only hope.
Enough lament.
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I did not even get to PUE until about 0730 today. And I got ready really slowly. The Gyro "B's" all arrived and left before I was ready to ride. Of course, I did have a couple chats with a couple people I know from that group. One guy is barely an acquaintance, but we usually chat about recent cycling fun when we see each other.
Upon finally leaving PUE at around 0815, I immediately set off for Blue Jay Point and the indoor facilities. After a significant reduction in body weight, I started the ride for real. Very slowly.
I got to Coley Rd about 12.3 miles into my ride, avg'ing 14.5 mph. I "zoomed" down the 3.65 miles of Coley to NC-98, taking advantage of the developing tailwind, and was avg'ing 15.0 when I got to the highway U-turn -- no Boyce Rd today. I worked my way up the first half of Coley to the stop sign at Kemp Rd. There I stopped and had a chat with a couple that looked to be on the upper end of the range of "Irregular" riders, talking about how nice the day was shaping up, the fall flowers and foliage in general, prospective rides on the Virginia Creeper Trail, etc.. I rode approx 1/2 mile with the couple after the stop sign as we continued our chat. Then, I picked up the pace and left them alone -- they were probably quite relieved -- at least the husband likely was.
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I rode the rest of the way up Coley practising improving my pedal stroke and trying to keep the cadence high -- into the wind and still slow.
Then across Carpenter Pond and Leesville roads still practising improving the pedal stroke and trying to keep the cadence high -- into the increasing wind.
Turned down Doc Nichols, and after about 1/2 mile, who did I see? The "Lash". Obviously NOT on a 20 or 30 mile ride. I decided to turn around and ride with her for a bit -- but a pick up truck needed to pass me before I could U-turn and chase back up DocN -- and it doesn't want to pass given the short site line ahead -- so I'm going slower and slower and Lash is getting farther away and a I finally had to pedal just to be sure to keep my balance -- and the pick-up finally passed.
U-turn. Up, out of the saddle -- yes, I CAN do that, but as everyone knows, I seldom do -- and the left shoulder does NOT like it one little bit -- but I decided I needed to get the speed and cadence up really quickly if there is any chance of catching the Lash. Up to a high speed for me given that I was going UP DocN, and I sit down and chase.
Around a corner, I see the Lash. I may actually be closing. She must be taking it easy. How else could I be closing going UPslope!
Onto Leesville, and I am definitely closing on the flats and slight downslopes, but it appears I lose ground on the slight upslopes.
Onto Carpenter Pond, and I start giving even more that I have been to the effort. I'm closing. SLOWLY. I'm closing even on the more-than-slight upslope leading to Hickory Grove Road !
I catch on to Lash's wheel just after the turn onto Hickory Grove. The chatting while riding begins.
M - I really had to work to catch you. L - I'm riding really easy. M - I can tell.
M - How far are you riding? L - 50. I couldn't stand not riding given the nice conditions.
M - You are completely out of alignment, you know. Mostly sitting on only one buttock, the bike is leaning to the left, your upper body is leaning to the right, your right arm is rigidly straight, the left arm has a bend in it at the elbow, your left shoulder is a good two inches, maybe more, lower than your right shoulder.
L - I'm trying to avoid aggravating "certain places".
M - I understand. But you haven't been that convoluted on the bike since before the last time you slipped out of alignment. We certainly don't want that. Maybe you should just stay off the bike for another week and let things heal.
L - Well, I've been riding well, and I don't want to slip out of alignment. Maybe you have a point.
Across Leesville Rd to Farless / Norwood to Ray to Baileywick. I finally had to let her go just as the steep part of Baileywick was passing behind us.
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I turned off Baileywick and returned to PUE via "the neighborhood". Lt. Dave will know what that means. One day, the rest of the "Irregulars" may also come to know.
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Return to PUE. Need some miracle recovery drink after that hard chase after the Lash.
Eat a second banana.
Nodding "hello" chats to others in the parking lot finishing their rides.
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Off to start Act #2 of the no-way-93 ride. Barely out of the parking lot I am greeted by the familiar face of Levi. He is riding with his wife, Cathryn (? sp). They had started with C's sister and brother-in-law, but had "sent" them back early. Nothing important chatted about, but we did cover a wide range of subjects and fritter away time.
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Onward to finish the shortened ride with a "no-hill" TT route. Into that ever increasing wind on Carpenter Pond and Leesville roads, again. U-turn at my usual place just beyond DocN, and then head back to PUE with a tailwind. Why is the tailwind never as strong as the headwind?
My confuser indicated my avg for the entire ride was down to 15.3 mph at the U-turn. So my expert numbers-guy guesstimate of the avg pace coming back Leesville to Carpenter Pond / Old Creedmoor to MVC (it is a "no-hill" TT route, not an actual no-hill TT route -- see the difference?) is 17.1 mph. Not that great given the tailwind.
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Tired.
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But tomorrow is a new day !
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