Some firsts for me...

I rode the tadpole on Sunday and notched a new distance in my one hour ride along the Legacy Trail. I think I could do better than the 16.32 miles in 60 minutes because my tires were all low. The ride was less jarring and almost comfortable on those high pressure Schwalbe tires. Yesterday, when I pumped up the big wheel to 130 and the smaller ones in the front to 110 it rode noticeably easier, but more brain rattling. I rode to la Isla de Antelope and back. It was 64 miles. I used Cytomax, GU and Laura Bars along with a secret new energy source -- peanut butter and honey on whole wheat. I wish I had take along two of them instead of one. At the end of the ride, as usual, I felt a bit nauseous. I need to keep working on nutrition. I have read several reviews about Cytomax that it promotes bloating and GI distress. It does appear to lessen stiffness and soreness in the muscles. Maybe there is at least a placebo effect too since I felt otherwise pretty good riding the distance. Altering the diet a little next time might make a difference. Hydration was not a problem and maybe I drank too much since I had to stop a number of times along the way. There are no restrooms along the Legacy Trail or anywhere else along my path for the most part. An In and Out Burger would be an advantage at the half way point I am thinking.

Foul weather returns tomorrow so it may be back to Gold's Gym for the next ride, yuck.

Cross Training This Week...

Thursday through Saturday my boy scouts and I hiked the length of Mule Canyon in Southern Utah. The Anasazi Indian ruins were spectacular. The boys were very well behaved and I carried a 60 pound backpack around the canyon except for this day hike to explore and photograph the pictographs we found in this alcove.

I am wondering what the benefit of backpacking is to riding... Hiking a few hours every day for three days has left me with some sore and stiff muscles. I am optimistic it was good cross training. This week the new trike recumbent travels to Nor CAL and I am interested in riding some hills on Branscomb Road. I have a very low granny gear and unlike the other recumbent if you go at a slow speed you do not fall off since it is a trike.

My doc has me taking some horse pills for an upper sinus/respiratory infection. I told him I needed to be in shape for a century on Saturday. I have read in my 'Biking over Fifty' book that serious aerobic exercise compromises your immune system and one must be careful of infections. I have been fighting this cold and congestion off and on for a month. Hopefully the prescription helps.

Medical Conditions

There are so many ads for various chronic and acute medical conditions on TV lately by the drug manufacturers. You need a Merck Manual to look them all up. Most of the time you have no clue what the malady or ailment is either. I have discovered in my preparations for the NCAC 330 mile ride in May that I have a medical condition. It is called ABS. It afflicts new riders, especially recumbent bike riders. Because I have been sitting in my executive's chair for so long at work and the recliner at home I have what is called Atrophied Butt Syndrome. The glutes and the hamstrings have atrophied from no exercise for too many years.

On a positive note there was a noticeable improvement by putting new pedals on the Catrike that allow me to clip in to a pair of biking shoes I used to wear in riding the Stout. My mentor Em recommended I do this on the RANS recumbent. It does make a difference. It is less effort and easier to spin when you are pulling as well as pushing. That will be an important part of the two month's training by developing a better spin and cadence. Maybe the ABS will go away in time. This article said it would take 8 to 12 weeks of intense exercise to overcome the condition.

New Training Guide for us seniors...

Found this great book today and it describes so much in detail about training and riding for us seniors. RA will benefit from it as well. I have been primarily burning calories and dieting with my riding and that does not work for the distances and back to back rides of the NCAC. Need to eat and need to hydrate more than I have been which promotes recovery and prevents cell damage in the muscles.

Tomorrow is a long ride but I will keep it in Zone 3 or less for 50-65 miles, either a half century or a metric century. Next week is rain and snow so likely we will be in the gym and that is so boooooooring!

101 for the week...

The weather was cooperative today so I rode 31 on Legacy with the new trike. A little adjustment was required and the geometry is a little different than the Rans recumbent. Slightly different muscles maybe... I rode 26 miles and managed to average above 15 and for the first time ever on any recumbent I managed to catch and pass a group of folks on their upright bikes. As I passed them I overhead them say what a fast pace they were keeping. I think the trike is another mile or two per hour faster than Juan Luis. It is really fun around corners and it appears to handle high G turns. Coming to stop lights and signs at intersections is OK too. You just sit there as if you were in a lounge chair.

Tomorrow I want a metric century or at least 50 miles. I need to know if any more adjustment is required for the head support or length to the pedals may be necessary. The pedals are equipped for shoes to be locked in so I will try that as well. I think it will be more efficient and the feet will stay on the pedals better.

Josh and I are spending the day together and we have a few tasks to complete include getting photos of the Burley Tandem and the Rans for immediate sale. In between our tasks we have to find lunch, supper, a movie and a few games.

Maybe an upgrade?

I going to Payson today to visit a bike store and take this beauty for a spin around a couple blocks. I am unhappy that people I know who are new to riding can get 17+ per hour on Legacy having never ridden before. I am talking about Pablo from our branch. It may be time to retire my Rans Stratus XP. A very comfortable touring recumbent but in spite of upgrades and training it goes no faster.

Here is what the web site says about the new ride I am looking at: "The Catrike 700 was built for all-out speed. Its aerodynamics seating position, fast rolling 700C wheel and high gears, make this a fast high-performance trike. It is arguably the fastest recumbent trike in the World...When people ask me what is the fastest trike in our shop, I don't hesitate to answer, it is the Catrike 700. This trike has been created for one purpose, to go fast. So, if that is your number one consideration there is no better production trike available. This trike is for all the speed freaks out there looking for something that can compete against any road bike."

I am not a speed freak but I have grown weary of being passed by nearly everyone but 15 year old boy scouts on Legacy Trail. I do want to be more competitive with the good folks of the NCAC and not have them waiting for me to clean up the rest stop and put away the bagels.

UPDATE ON THE UPGRADE:

Yes, I have a new speedy recumbent trike in the garage. We went to Payson and I test drove the Catrike 700. It is as shown in the photo. It is black and it is faster than Juan Luis. We will be having a bike sale this weekend. The new trike gets up to speed quicker and there seems to be less resistance to maintain higher speeds.

The angle for pedaling is different than my two wheel recumbent. It takes some different muscles to make it go. Steering is interesting, as it "turns on a dime", as they say.

Th weather is supposed to be in the low 50's tomorrow and not raining or snowing so a ride is scheduled. It will be interesting to see how I do in a one hour interval and if a ride in a lower heart zone. The owner of the bike shop rode his Catrike around Utah Lake in a century and completed the ride in five hours and change. He is a younger man and in very good condition.

Heart Rate Zones and Apple Pie...

With the real intent of improving my training after the disappointing performance over the weekend I attached a heart rate monitor to my chest just below the breast bone. It is an accessory to the Garmin GPS enabled computer for cyclists. I have probably been riding blind as at some point in my preparations for the NCAC ride in May I need to know if I am training and improving my cardio capacity. According to the little guide that came with the computer if I ride along with a sustained heart rate of between 80 and 90 per cent of my capacity I should see not only improved aerobic capacity but anaerobic capacity and threshold. Also I can expect to increase my speed, which is important. I rode 26 miles today before scout meeting tonight and kept the HR Zone for more than an hour around 4.5 which is about 85% maximum. The last half hour I cruised back home keeping the heart rate in 2 to 2.5 which is recommended as a good recovery pace.

I also tried out a Larabar for the first time. Em, my mentor, recommended the apple pie among others. It did not disappoint. I am going looking for a source for these things rather than from a bike shop. They taste way better than GU.

I think my riding and training has been satisfactory to this point and that was confirmed by the heart rate monitor. I just need more training, more hours, more miles, and more weeks on the recumbent. I rode about the same profile today as my other rides. Give it about all you've got for one hour, average 15+ and then cruise the rest of the way. That means Zone 4+ for an hour then switching between zones 2 and 3 for the balance. Zone 3 is optimum according to the little book for developing aerobic capacity. For the next 8 weeks I will continue pushing into Zone 4+ and try climbing some hills on the rides. Em recommended Parrish Lane. RA said to try the road to the Bntfl. Temple. Glad Em is my mentor on this.

Benchmark Rides in CA

Busted or nearly so this weekend... I have come to the realization I have much to do in the two months remaining before the NorCal Aids Challenge Ride in May. More fundraising to achieve as well. With regard to my training regimen I downloaded a Kindle book and started reading about using the heart rate monitor per H and Em's explanation and encouragement. I need to maximize the time I have left to train for this ride in May. I am hoping to get in close to a hundred miles a week for the 8 weeks remaining and get the heart rate training I need.

The people I rode with were very kind, supportive, and patient. I generally brought up the rear in both rides and even cut short the distances I rode. Managed to get in 70+ for the weekend. RA enjoyed 20+ along the American River Trail on her recumbent trike. That trail has to be one of the best rides in America.

"If you're 62 it is one dollar..."

Some warmer temperatures today prompted me to try and get in a metric century in preparation for the Winters Nor Cal Aids Challenge Ride on Saturday. A late start limited me to 50 miles. I headed toward Antelope Island and I made it to the park entrance a little shy of 25 for the one way journey. The nice lady ranger said it would be $3.00 to ride a couple miles out on the causeway. "Yes," I said, "but I am not going to the island. I just need to get my 50 miles in today." "How old are you?" she asked. "If you are 62 or older then it is just one dollar." I paid her the dollar bill and rode out about 2 1/2 more miles. I have not ridden that far on the recumbent for a couple years. By the time I got back to Centerville it was getting dark, but my 50 miles were done. The ride was worth 3800 calories according to the Garmin Bike GPS and computer and I averaged 13.3 mph into northwest headwinds all the way out. Coming back they began to subside as the sun was setting so I did not get a lot of assistance from a tail wind. It seems to happen that way in the afternoons and evenings. Tomorrow the boy scouts and I will ride the first 10 mile installment for the Cycling Merit badge.

The frogs and toads were out in greater numbers than I have ever heard them along the Legacy Park Trail. It really is astonishing how many there are and what a cacophony of sounds they can make in the marshes along the trail.

Building a shed is not aerobic exercise...

Almost two weeks in CA building a shed over the pump and well did little to help my riding today. I was about fasting/dieting with little food today before I rode 30 miles. I installed a new Garmin GPS. It is near my right hand and I can change the display without too much effort. It seemed about the same as the previous bike computer as to speed and distance. It tracks calories burned also. You enter in your age, weight and even the weight of the bicycle and it counts them. It was about 2500 calories for the ride. I managed 15+ miles for one hour and rode 30 altogether. The rear cluster on the bike needs to be changed and I am ordering a spare wheel set to avoid the problems with the ride I could not make in Northern CA last week due to three flat tubes in less than 30 minutes.

Juan Luis and me today...

I have been waiting impatiently for spring to arrive and finally had my chance this morning to get Juan Luis out of the garage and on the asphalt. I rode on the new Legacy Parkway Trail from West Bountiful over to see Jack, Andy, CP and their parents in NSL. The first ride I think in more than a year. The first five miles were the worst. I was hoping the old out of shape body would have some memory of what is was once to ride with Juan Luis. Sure enough the last 11+ were actually better than the first five.

There are lots of people on the trail, kids and moms walking, bike riders, harses even, and a couple old guys like me. The photo is of some unknown person I found on Google Images of the trail.

I have to conclude this is one road the Sierra Club got wrong. The commute is scenic and relieves I-15 and we can get 55 mpg in the Prius driving to work at 55 mph. The bike riding is safe and I am enthused to ride again soon.

Que bueno!