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April 10, 2006
I love biking!
How weird. I was reading Beth's blog this morning, and although she bought her bike about two months after I did, we both did our first rides yesterday. Biking is really fun. I think I have been wanting a second activity for when I am burnt out on running, when I need to do something different, when I am injured, or whatever. I think biking will be good to give my feet a rest when they get sore and tight, although I do think that it's harder on the knees than I expected. However, that could be because I am clueless about gears and stuff. Even though my ride yesterday was really flat I didn't really change the gears much and I think it would help my knees if I did, even on slight uphills.
So yesterday was a fun workout-filled day. I love that! I went to the park and ran 6 miles. Then I had coffee and some breakfast, and water, and then I met M. for our ride. We rode 16 miles in a little over an hour. Crazy, huh? And she kept saying how she felt bad that we had to go slow because she is injured. To me, that is not slow at all! We did a loop that is a little over 2 miles many times so it was not too action packed but I really enjoyed it, and it was a beautiful day. By the afternoon it was about 80 degrees out but in the morning it was nice and maybe in the low 60s. This is the best spring weather in Colorado I can remember. Usually April is miserable, so I am excited!
Today is shaping up to be a busy work and social day, so I am trying to fit my workout in either at lunchtime or right after work. I have been in the habit of taking Mondays off but I didn't run much last week and don't really feel like I need a day off, and the weather is awesome. So I will run! How exciting, I love the first nice days of spring when everyone wants to be outside all the time.
Posted by barb at April 10, 2006 08:47 AM
Comments
Sounds like you are having great fun! I started biking to get rid of chondramalacia 20 years ago and still bike whenever i can. Re. gears, in a nutshell: it is all an issue of cadence, or RPMs. You are more efficient and nice to your joints if you pedal at high cadences (between 70-90) with low gears. As you get better you should always try to keep a high cadence but you'll be able to cover more ground (hence go faster) by being able to hack a higher gear at that cadence. Seems complicated but it is actually very straight forward. In fact, it is such a cool principle that you can even apply to running: small gear, small step (average distance from foot to foot). To go faster, keep the same step size and try to increase the numer of steps you take per minute (cadence). This is gears, applied to running. You really get a sense for it, if you experiment it up hills (just like in biking...but i amsure it would work for swimming finagling with arm extension/revolution ratio) Anyway have fun, cross training is great! Last, try to change gears smoothly by anticipating terrain. Meaning don't wait to be halfway up (or down) a hill to change gear. I am sure all this info is net friendly and readily available. Have fun, Corrado
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at April 10, 2006 12:01 PM
Do you have a cyclometer? If not, you should really get one. Then you can obsessively log your biking mileage! And you can watch your cadence without actually counting your pedal strokes. I agree with everything Corrado said. When I ride, I only pay attention to cadence (not speed) and try to keep it above 90 on the flats. And spinning up hills is much easier on your knees (and quads) than grinding away at the gears.
Posted by: Betsy at April 10, 2006 01:30 PM
As a novice biker myself, I'm learning the gears as well. I agree that anticipating terrain is key - especially when your gears and your brakes aren't in the same place (ie: triathlon bikes with aerobars). Anyway, have fun with the biking! It's very fun and so much different than running. Which triathlons are you planning on this summer?
Posted by: Beth at April 10, 2006 06:17 PM
It should definitely be easier (on your knees) if you are using gearing advantageously to achieve an ideal cadence and do not have the seat positioned too low.
Posted by: 給飛行 at April 11, 2006 09:25 PM
Make sure you are seated at the correct height and horizontal distance from the handle bars...the wrong position can result in knee issues. Welcome to cycling!
PS - finished the IM in 14:07!
Posted by: Rob at April 14, 2006 11:17 AM