Monday, April 21, 2014
A Quick Note about Fit
Last week I went and had my bike fitted for me. I was shocked. Turns out that my seat was REALLY low, almost 4". It's crazy how different my bike feels, and it's not even done. Jason was worried when they said that they would have to order parts to move my handlebars. He was worried that my bike was too small for me. Turns out its not the bike, it's me. I'm between sizes. I would have to make a small bike feel larger or take a larger bike and make it feel smaller. I have long legs, a short torso and short arms. The gentleman sizing me said "thank you for giving us a challenge." I don't think he meant it sarcastically at all. I am a challenge to size to a bike. He also said that most people have their bike seats too low and when they are adjusted most people gain 2 to 3 MPH more. If you're curious about your fit, go get a fitting, they are worth the money. Or if you think you can do it yourself, there are directions online. Your knee at the lowest part of the rotation should be at a 30 degree angle. When I get the handle bars adjusted and can ride it complete, with no wind, I will let you know about any changes.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Smoke, Wind and Sunscreen
Disclaimer *Remember when I said I have a tendency to ramble? Pretty sure this post is a ramble fest :)
I'm really proud of myself today. Yesterday, Jason, my brother Jon and I all did the Cabin Fever Ride in Wamego, KS. Jason and I were doing the 60 mile ride and Jon was doing the 36 mile. Let's start with Friday evening. Jason and I got off work, packed up everything and headed to Manhattan. We were excited for our first long ride of the season, and the weather forecast looked promising.
Now if you don't live in Kansas, you might not understand why on some non windy days farmers start setting things on fire. First let me reassure you that they are not just pyromaniacs, but the that the process is necessary and important part of maintaining the prairie. You burn off the old, so that new can grow and so that the old stuff won't start a wild fire during the thunderstorms. I bring all this up because it's that time of year, and with no wind it meant all the smoke was just hanging around. And it got worse as we headed towards the Flint Hills. We got to Manhattan and there was a very dark haze in the air. As someone who has allergies, contact lens issues and sometimes asthma, I was concerned. I have never seen the smoke so bad. The weather forecast said that the wind would stay down through the next day, meaning that the smoke would still be hanging around in the morning. Gross.
We stayed the night at my brother's house. The next morning we all got up and started getting around. Water bottles, helmets, snacks and all other necessary items. We then headed to Wamego for breakfast. Breakfast was part of the ride, so I was excited. It was pretty good, there was biscuits and gravy, egg casserole and sugary rolls. My good friend Melanie was there to take pictures. She and her husband help run Big Poppi Bikes in Manhattan. If you need a friendly bike shop, you need to go there. Melanie was commenting on my jersey. I was wearing the one Jason got me for my birthday, along with my Shebeest sleeves. She really liked it and was wondering where I got it. Ebay, and it was probably from China. We discussed the women's bicycling clothing industry. We both agree that they need to make plus size clothing with real sizing. There is nothing worse that normally wearing a 2xl tshirt and having to wear a 5xl in bike clothes. Not good for the self esteem. She actually gets to talk to the people in the industry so her voice gets heard. I love that she's advocating for me and others like me. Jason and I have even joked about making our own jerseys, he had trouble finding them that fit as well. Men's jerseys are sized for little skinny guys, not big guys with muscles. Jason also gets frustrated.
Side note on clothing. Did you know that they make nerd athletic gear? My brother came to the ride wearing a red underarmor shirt with a spider-man symbol on the front. Very cool.
Any way, we are all getting ready for the ride when we realize that the weather forecast lied. The wind had come up and was blowing. On the plus side, no smoke. We set off, out of town and straight into the wind. For about 3 miles or so, we just fight the wind, and then we turned. Someone asked me later which is worse a cross wind or a head on wind. I feel that a head on wind is worse. Cross winds can be brutal too and apparently someone wiped out after getting hit with a gust. They came away with a scraped knee. Wind is a tricky thing. The first quarter of the ride was really nice, beautiful country. And although we were fighting the wind and going pretty slow because of it, we knew we'd fly back the other direction. As we were riding, Melanie was parked taking pictures. Jason is not a big fan of pictures, and for some reason thought that sticking his tongue out would dissuade Mel from taking them of him. I seriously doubt it and when I get a copy of the pictures I will post it. And we ride. The fun part of these kinds of things is that you meet others who are also training for BAK. There is this very friendly community of bicyclists who always seem supportive and encouraging. It made me feel better, knowing that they are so friendly. At the 2nd SAG, is where we left Jon. It was his turn to ride back. We still had 10 more miles or so, all against the wind. At this point I would like to say, that I was feeling pretty good. Took off my sleeves and went searching my back pockets for my sunscreen. The sunscreen I made sure to grab when we packed yesterday. The sunscreen that was still packed in my bag at my brother's house. I told Jason, that I was going to regret taking the sleeves off. But it was hot, and I was willing to risk it. (When I say risk it, what I mean is guaranteed sunburn. I have fair skin there is no maybe if I don't have sunscreen.)
Okay, back to the ride. The Flint hills area is beautiful. I would love to go ride this route again, preferably when I'm not fighting a 20-30 mile per hour wind. But by the time we reached the last hill before the last SAG, I was having less than fun. I've been more miserable on rides but my feet and legs kept falling asleep this time, it was weird and uncomfortable. This ride had something none of my other rides had before. Lots of support vehicles monitoring the route. Since we were the last ones, we had a personal escort following us. I really didn't care for it. I know it's nice and all but I felt like it was the vulture waiting to pick off the weak animal at the back of the pack. This is my own thinking issue, and the gentleman following us couldn't have been nicer. It was just a constant reminder that we were the last ones out. Team Turtle was living up to its name. When we came back the other way it was a different story. I think it took half the time to come back than it did to go out and we reached the middle SAG in record time. While there I complained about my feet and legs. The middle SAG was being run by Melanie's husband Aaron and the Big Poppi Bus. He said I need to get my bike fit check and maybe a thinner seat. I could be squishing arteries in my legs causing the numbness. I told him I'd be into the shop soon, this whole legs numb thing is not good.
We headed back to Wamego. Cross wind pushing us all over. And the ride began to feel like work. Jason was worried for me. I wasn't grumpy but I wasn't having fun anymore either. And then we hit the fire. A farmer had decided to burn the ditch by his house right off the road where we were cycling. Now, I'm not a farmer but the strip he was burning was super small so I couldn't understand why he'd even bother AND it was WINDY. Quarter mile of smoke to ride through. Not fun. We make back to where the wind would push us back into Wamego, and it did. I don't think I pedaled for almost a mile heading back in. We made it back to the finishing point. They were packing up. We were the last ones in. We did 60 miles in 6 hours. Not terrible fast, but when we looked up the wind speed we felt pretty awesome. We fought a 20 - 30 mile sustained wind not counting gusts most of the day. I didn't have a meltdown, and it was our longest ride ever. We may never be the fastest but at least we finished.
Today, the only things that are sore are my sunburns (both arms have red sleeves) and my sit bones. My body did great, my shoulders didn't get tense this time and my legs aren't killing me. I think once I get my bike fit and seat figured out, I will have more stamina. Yesterday told me that BAK is possible, I will make it and I will be okay.
I'm really proud of myself today. Yesterday, Jason, my brother Jon and I all did the Cabin Fever Ride in Wamego, KS. Jason and I were doing the 60 mile ride and Jon was doing the 36 mile. Let's start with Friday evening. Jason and I got off work, packed up everything and headed to Manhattan. We were excited for our first long ride of the season, and the weather forecast looked promising.
Now if you don't live in Kansas, you might not understand why on some non windy days farmers start setting things on fire. First let me reassure you that they are not just pyromaniacs, but the that the process is necessary and important part of maintaining the prairie. You burn off the old, so that new can grow and so that the old stuff won't start a wild fire during the thunderstorms. I bring all this up because it's that time of year, and with no wind it meant all the smoke was just hanging around. And it got worse as we headed towards the Flint Hills. We got to Manhattan and there was a very dark haze in the air. As someone who has allergies, contact lens issues and sometimes asthma, I was concerned. I have never seen the smoke so bad. The weather forecast said that the wind would stay down through the next day, meaning that the smoke would still be hanging around in the morning. Gross.
We stayed the night at my brother's house. The next morning we all got up and started getting around. Water bottles, helmets, snacks and all other necessary items. We then headed to Wamego for breakfast. Breakfast was part of the ride, so I was excited. It was pretty good, there was biscuits and gravy, egg casserole and sugary rolls. My good friend Melanie was there to take pictures. She and her husband help run Big Poppi Bikes in Manhattan. If you need a friendly bike shop, you need to go there. Melanie was commenting on my jersey. I was wearing the one Jason got me for my birthday, along with my Shebeest sleeves. She really liked it and was wondering where I got it. Ebay, and it was probably from China. We discussed the women's bicycling clothing industry. We both agree that they need to make plus size clothing with real sizing. There is nothing worse that normally wearing a 2xl tshirt and having to wear a 5xl in bike clothes. Not good for the self esteem. She actually gets to talk to the people in the industry so her voice gets heard. I love that she's advocating for me and others like me. Jason and I have even joked about making our own jerseys, he had trouble finding them that fit as well. Men's jerseys are sized for little skinny guys, not big guys with muscles. Jason also gets frustrated.
Side note on clothing. Did you know that they make nerd athletic gear? My brother came to the ride wearing a red underarmor shirt with a spider-man symbol on the front. Very cool.
Any way, we are all getting ready for the ride when we realize that the weather forecast lied. The wind had come up and was blowing. On the plus side, no smoke. We set off, out of town and straight into the wind. For about 3 miles or so, we just fight the wind, and then we turned. Someone asked me later which is worse a cross wind or a head on wind. I feel that a head on wind is worse. Cross winds can be brutal too and apparently someone wiped out after getting hit with a gust. They came away with a scraped knee. Wind is a tricky thing. The first quarter of the ride was really nice, beautiful country. And although we were fighting the wind and going pretty slow because of it, we knew we'd fly back the other direction. As we were riding, Melanie was parked taking pictures. Jason is not a big fan of pictures, and for some reason thought that sticking his tongue out would dissuade Mel from taking them of him. I seriously doubt it and when I get a copy of the pictures I will post it. And we ride. The fun part of these kinds of things is that you meet others who are also training for BAK. There is this very friendly community of bicyclists who always seem supportive and encouraging. It made me feel better, knowing that they are so friendly. At the 2nd SAG, is where we left Jon. It was his turn to ride back. We still had 10 more miles or so, all against the wind. At this point I would like to say, that I was feeling pretty good. Took off my sleeves and went searching my back pockets for my sunscreen. The sunscreen I made sure to grab when we packed yesterday. The sunscreen that was still packed in my bag at my brother's house. I told Jason, that I was going to regret taking the sleeves off. But it was hot, and I was willing to risk it. (When I say risk it, what I mean is guaranteed sunburn. I have fair skin there is no maybe if I don't have sunscreen.)
Okay, back to the ride. The Flint hills area is beautiful. I would love to go ride this route again, preferably when I'm not fighting a 20-30 mile per hour wind. But by the time we reached the last hill before the last SAG, I was having less than fun. I've been more miserable on rides but my feet and legs kept falling asleep this time, it was weird and uncomfortable. This ride had something none of my other rides had before. Lots of support vehicles monitoring the route. Since we were the last ones, we had a personal escort following us. I really didn't care for it. I know it's nice and all but I felt like it was the vulture waiting to pick off the weak animal at the back of the pack. This is my own thinking issue, and the gentleman following us couldn't have been nicer. It was just a constant reminder that we were the last ones out. Team Turtle was living up to its name. When we came back the other way it was a different story. I think it took half the time to come back than it did to go out and we reached the middle SAG in record time. While there I complained about my feet and legs. The middle SAG was being run by Melanie's husband Aaron and the Big Poppi Bus. He said I need to get my bike fit check and maybe a thinner seat. I could be squishing arteries in my legs causing the numbness. I told him I'd be into the shop soon, this whole legs numb thing is not good.
We headed back to Wamego. Cross wind pushing us all over. And the ride began to feel like work. Jason was worried for me. I wasn't grumpy but I wasn't having fun anymore either. And then we hit the fire. A farmer had decided to burn the ditch by his house right off the road where we were cycling. Now, I'm not a farmer but the strip he was burning was super small so I couldn't understand why he'd even bother AND it was WINDY. Quarter mile of smoke to ride through. Not fun. We make back to where the wind would push us back into Wamego, and it did. I don't think I pedaled for almost a mile heading back in. We made it back to the finishing point. They were packing up. We were the last ones in. We did 60 miles in 6 hours. Not terrible fast, but when we looked up the wind speed we felt pretty awesome. We fought a 20 - 30 mile sustained wind not counting gusts most of the day. I didn't have a meltdown, and it was our longest ride ever. We may never be the fastest but at least we finished.
Today, the only things that are sore are my sunburns (both arms have red sleeves) and my sit bones. My body did great, my shoulders didn't get tense this time and my legs aren't killing me. I think once I get my bike fit and seat figured out, I will have more stamina. Yesterday told me that BAK is possible, I will make it and I will be okay.
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