“Biker man burning out his legs out here alone. And I think it’s going to be a long long ride!” (Apologies Elton!)
Well week one is in the books. Truthfully, the start is much harder than I thought. 450+ miles week one. Hell there were times I did that in a month. I’m in virtual Mesa tonight taking a well deserved rest. Actually, today’s 72 miles wasn’t too awful. Had a tailwind for part of the day at least and legs felt good. Drank a lot of OJ and did Raisin Bran for breakfast. Maybe that’s a key. I’ll let you know after tomorrow’s 70+miles. It’s supposed to be colder so conditions may be good for a long ride😎
So what are my first week observations? Well there are pros and cons when it comes to the pseudo ride. I’ll start with the con’s
1. Solo riding can suck. No drafting and no companionship. Lots of lonely hours.
2. You are not required to get up early each day to start (if not forced to ride with a group it’s easy to hit the snooze or sleep in)
3. With Bob, Bobby, Robert, Rob, Crick, and Dentz in my head, I out number Cybil by a long shot and each voice wants his turn. 7 hrs a day alone on a bike gives you a lot of time in your head. I can’t seem to outride the voices (yet).
3. The solo ride has no support vehicle or supplies so in this instance I’m self supported.
4. No matter which route I take, I will always have a headwind at some point as my rides are out and back or a loop
5. No day long tailwinds or descents.
6. Many routes are repeated or have similar legs. It becomes kind of a ground hog’s day. Ride repeat, ride repeat. At least I don’t have that damn Sonny and Cher song in my head
7. I do have a damn ear worm. Phil Collins Su-Sussudio. (Pseudio). Damn Pseudo Ride.
8. The lowest altitude I will be riding at is 3300 feet and the thin air, sun and Az heat will bake you and dehydrate you if you are not careful
9. You miss out on seeing a large swath of the country and it’s regional flavor. This is a big disappointment for sure.
But there are advantages. The pros are:
1 you sleep in your own bed every night
2. You don’t have to carry lots of extra gear
3. You know the routes and can pick and choose based on the weather conditions and knowing the routes makes them seem a bit shorter.
3 AZ will likely have little rain, or at worst sporadic.
4. It’s easier to break up the day rides because you can return home for a mid day break and can ride later in the day/evening
5. You can mix the miles up and not be stuck to the rigid schedule of the actual ride since it’s not a hotel to hotel ride. As long as the weekly total is achieved I feel I have met expectations.
6. You can plan your own meals around your personal likes and needs (though you cook them your self).
7. All your bike tools are here and help is just a call to the wife away.
8. You can choose your starting time as long as you put in the miles.
9. You have access to a washing machine and all your riding kit.
10. And last but not least. This is a great way to practice social distancing!
So all in all I think the pluses and minuses balance out to a certain degree. The pseudo ride certainly falls way short on the experience scale, but given no other option, it’s a worthy substitute.
And what have I learned?
As I thought, this is really going to test me and my will power . It would be pretty damn easy to say “oh I did 60 miles today, I’ll make up the other 10-15 later”. Once you get behind I’m afraid catching up will be discouraging and difficult so I need to stay on pace.
I need way more Chamois Butt’r than what I have. After 7 days of 5-7 hours in the saddle my a$$ is sore and I don’t see it getting better. I have found neosporin applied each evening helps. I need to stay on schedule the best I can.
This damn blog is driving me to keep grinding away and doing the miles. I hate to have say I’m a quitter. Making this public provides the leverage I need to keep going.
I was way to optimistic on my speed. I expected to ride at about 15mph on average. It’s actually coming in more like 13 mph. Riding 30 to 50 miles every other day and you can burn it. Riding 65-90mile EVERY day takes it toll on your legs.
I also have learned that bee swarms don’t yield to bikers. jack rabbits had a bad week, and I am seeing the occasional road kill rattle snake.
Finally, I know once you get past a certain point you will stay committed. Many years ago I vowed to exercise at least 40 min a day. I made it 370 days before illness broke my string. This meant running on 4 continents, some days rising at 5 am to run or going for a run in Tokyo at 11pm after arriving from the states. Once past a certain point you will do what is needed to keep the streak alive.
I did have an interesting encounter. On one ride I came upon a group that was on a tour of Southern Az. I chatted with the coordinator a bit about my TransAmerica ride. Later one of his group riders and I caught up and chatted. He asked if I knew who I was talking to. I said no and he said it was Lon Halderman. He is the first man to ride across America in 10 days. Lon is in the ultra cycling Hall of Fame. Wide World is Sports did a week long segment on him. Below is a link to his bio. If you want to learn about a true cycling legend and his accomplishments it’s a good read. To put this in perspective. Lon averaged over 240 miles a day on his TransAmerica ride. I hope to average about 1/4 of that.
It’s interesting who you can meet on the road
Ultracycling Hall of Fame – Lon Haldeman
So with week 1 in the books I’m beginning to plan week 2. I’ll be taking it one day at a time. Wish me luck.
Til next time. Smooth roads and the wind at your back. Stay safe and healthy. Biking is a great way to social distance😉
The Necessity of a Place- 30 years at the Water’s Edge 