One week down, 17 to go. We believe that our official training schedule for the ride is going to be a 12 week program, however, the catch is that this program assumes that you can already ride 20 miles on a bike "comfortably." What does 20 "comfortable" miles on a bike feel like? We do not know yet but hopefully we'll be able to figure that out over the next month as we work our way up to 20 and then move into regular "long" rides leading up to 105 on June 27th.
Last week was productive as we learned more about finding our "cadence" on the bikes and anticipating inclines and declines so that we can shift gears accordingly. Bike riding is much more scientific than I first thought it was when I learned to ride a bike without training wheels or rented one of those cheapo bikes at the beach to ride around on a warm summer day.
Away from the bike riding front, last week was also productive in another way. On Thursday I met with my endocrinologist and she was very helpful in talking through the management of my diabetes during our training and the long ride on June 27th. She also was nice enough to offer to talk with another patient of hers who is a more experienced rider. I am hoping to get connected with him so that I can have a fellow diabetic to strategize with as I learn more about managing blood sugars through strenuous exercise.
On Friday, Jessica and I quickly learned that riding bikes in sub-32 degree weather is a big mistake! After work we decided to try our hand at a quick 5 mile ride but less than a mile into the ride learned that ears and finger tips don't do well in extreme cold temps on bikes. We ended up getting a little over 4 miles in but wow, it took hours to thaw out.
One final note: we would like to send a special thanks to those individuals who have already contributed to our ride team. Although official solicitations will not be sent until next week, several folks have generously contributed and for that we are extremely thankful. As I go low after some rides or have days where my blood sugar is unexplainably high I remind myself that there is hope for a cure thanks to those who continually contribute to the funding of promising diabetes research.
This week we move to 7 mile rides for at least 3 days. We'll then have our first 10 mile ride next Sunday as we mark the 1st day of March.
Andrew
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tip for cold weather riding homeboy. . .
ReplyDeletea)beanie cap, I cannot stress this enough for ear tips
b)bandanna, wrap it around your face like you're a robber, this will help your nose warm, keep the temp in front of your face warmer on average, and prevent your from gulping large gulps of icy air
c)get some gloves, hit your LBS and find a nice pair of gloves. Personally I rock a pair of thick ass thinsulate fake suede gloves I picked up at wal-mart, but the only reason I do is the way my shifters work, I don't need much dexterity to hit the top shifter.
once again, good luck homie
--Patrick