Biking errands

• 0 • Bike

I had a busy morning between 9 and 12: two school drop offs, making soup and homemade bread, last minute birthday errands for Will’s birthday tomorrow, and off to get blue curacao for our “red, white and blue” drinks theme for tonight’s debate watching. (Obviously.)

I managed to get it done AND fit in a bike ride because I rode my bike to pick up the blue curacao.

It felt a little weird to ride my bike to a store, put a bottle of liquor in my backpack, and bike home… but in a good “I’m outdoors and not stuck in traffic” kind of way.

In the past few weeks, I’ve also ridden my bike to the library and the farmer’s market.

I like using Google Maps to find good ways to bike somewhere, which is usually a different route than I would take driving.  (I’m willing to add mileage to avoid busy roads.)

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I’m still terrified of busy intersections and will sometimes get off my bike and walk it across a crosswalk rather than merge into traffic and take a left turn.

But it’s fun.

WAY more fun than being in the car.

 

 

 

 

I think I bought the wrong bike

• 0 • Bike, Triathlon

It kind of kills me to write this, because I bought a really nice bike. 

Ultegra gears. FSA compact crank.

Carbon frame.

Cervelo P2, classic triathlon bike, black and red. It’s sleek, smooth and fast.

…and it’s designed to be ridden in aero position.

If you’re not into road biking, aero position means you’re leaning forward on your elbows, forearms horizontal, hands on the middle bars. it’s a crouched position, and it’s extremely forward heavy, meaning the steering becomes hypersensitive because your weight shifts towards the front of the bike. Fantastic for aerodynamics. Considered too unstable for cycling in groups; not allowed for cycling races – designed for triathlon races where single file riding is mandatory.

Amazing bike.

Fast bike.

Terrifying bike.

Buying it, I assumed that I could ride it in regular upright position (see the horn handle-bars also?) and grow into the aero position. But the shifters are only on the aero bars, and the brakes are only on the horn bars. So I can either reach the brakes, or the gears…. and because I’m not comfortable with my ability to control the bike in aero position, it means I’m riding with my hands near the brakes.

So every time I want to shift the bike, I have to pick my hand up off the handle bar, move it over, shift, and move it back. Going uphill in traffic, that’s not my favorite thing to do.

So sometimes (ok, often) I will just let my cadence drop and struggle through the thigh burn rather than move my hand over and shift because I’m worried I might lose control of the bike in traffic.

This means I’m riding really inefficiently, because I’m shifting probably a third as often as I would if my hands were next to the gears.

The other problem I have is that I had the bike fitted for me to ride in aero position, haven’t gotten comfortable there, and so am riding upright and getting a ton of neck pain because it’s not how the bike was fitted or designed to be ridden full time.

SO.

I am looking into buying a road bike. I’m not quite ready to sell my Cervelo P2, because I bought it used and got an AMAZING deal considering the components and frame quality; it’s unlikely I’d find a deal like this again, and it’s fitted perfectly. It might be worth hanging onto it and seeing if I stick with triathlons and work into aero; it won’t depreciate that much more in value if I hang onto it for a bit, but replacement cost could be really high.

I did learn some things from the Cervelo, though.

I love having SPD-SL pedals instead of SPD, I clip in and out so much faster and with less frustration. That was a big deal between borrowing my friend’s bike and buying mine.

If I can add shifting comfortably and reducing my neck pain to clipping in and out comfortably, it’s going to open up a whole new world of biking for me.

Currently my longest bike ride is about 21 miles… and I had to end because my neck hurt, not my legs. I am excited to see what a road bike could do for my neck; it’d be really nice to stop because of my legs instead.

I’ve got my eye on a road bike on Craigslist that I’m going to see Saturday (wish me luck!) and it’s another pretty amazing ride. Fingers crossed it works out… if it’s awesome I’ll consider taking it out a few times and then using it for Tri for a Cure!

We shall see…

Bike Lessons From My First Triathlon

• 1 • Bike, Triathlon

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The nice thing about being last out of the water in a small triathlon is that the bike course was pretty uncrowded. There was no one behind me until some of the Olympic distance triathletes (who started their race earlier) started doing their second loop.

I may have been 143 out of 143 exiting the water, but by the time I finished the bike I was 106/143. I’m not sure that’s a testament to how good I am on the bike so much as how bad I am at the swim 🙂

It felt good to make up some time on the bike. I was racing myself, not the people I passed, but when you’re out on the course and you’re so far behind people that you can’t see any other race participants, it’s not as much fun. I liked getting past some people on the bike and feeling like I was part of the race again. It also made me feel like I wasn’t as far out of my league as I felt exiting the water.

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I was really nervous about the biking portion, because I was so afraid that it would be a packed course and I would get in the way of other participants, or not feel comfortable passing if I needed to.

Luckily, it was a nice small race and getting out of the water last meant I had plenty of room on the initial part of the bike course. I passed over 20 people, but I felt like it was pretty easy to check over my shoulder before pulling left, call out “on your left!” and then pull ahead and tuck back to the right.

Some things I learned:

Gears: It makes a huge difference if you can get comfortable switching gears and figuring out where you should be. Going into the race, I was pretty good at putting it into an easier gear for hills, but not as good at switching into a more difficult gear going downhill or when it’s flat. There were some STEEP hills on this course. I hit over 30 miles an hour going down one of the hills. If you’re not in the hardest gear at that point, if you turn your pedals they are so loose that you feel completely out of control. You can also feel like you’re cranking the pedals and not getting anywhere on a flat stretch if you’re not in a low enough gear, which is frustrating.

Learning your gears and experimenting with your gears isn’t just about going faster it’s about feeling more in control. I remember thinking it wasn’t a huge deal if I didn’t figure gears out right away because I wasn’t going for speed my first time around, but being in the right gear has a huge impact on your experience while you’re biking.

Water bottle: I used a metal water bottle, and it was hard to get water out because you can’t squeeze it. Fine on my training rides when I can take my time, not as good during a race. Find a water bottle that’s easy to get in and out of your holder, has good water flow, and practice with it.

Corners: Practice taking turns and corners and stopping at the bottom of hills etc. I tend to ride long, straight stretches and stop rather than taking a sharp corner… which is great because I’ve never wiped out on my bike, but not great because you can’t unexpectedly stop or slow down way too much on a race course with people behind you. You’ve got to have experience taking corners and braking down hills etc. I play it a little too safe when I ride my bike training, which isn’t ideal come race day.

Passing: Not as hard (at least on this relatively uncrowded course) as I thought. Check over shoulder, pull left, call out to the person you’re passing, check shoulder to make sure they’re far enough behind you (3 bike lengths), tuck back to the right. There were places with enough traffic so it wasn’t safe to pass, and I did get caught for a few minutes going slower than I would have… but that’s part of the race. That’s why you try to swim straight and get out of the water sooner 😉

My funniest moment: 

I was flying down a hill, trying to be mindful of how amazing the moment was. That I’d just swum my first open water course, that I was on the bike and feeling good, that I’d just passed over 10 people and was not going to be last to finish, that it was a beautiful day and I was coasting down a gorgeous Maine road….

I felt pretty fantastic.

Well there was no one in sight so I started yelling “WHEEEE!!! I’M A TRIATHLETE!!! I’M KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!” …and then a woman doing her second loop of the Olympic distance whizzed by me doing probably 35 miles an hour. Awesome.

My second funniest moment:

I went the wrong way around a corner on the bike course and the police had to flag me back while traffic waited and send me the right way. Yet another reason I was very relieved to pass some people and be closer to the pack so I could follow people!

My third funniest moment:

There was a corner after a moderate hill and I thought I was taking it slow and wide enough but ended up going a LITTLE wider than I thought and almost hit two police officers who were both texting on their phones. I was like “uh oh, uh oh” going into the turn past the flagger, who then screamed “WOOHOO!!! You made it!” after I managed not to mow them down.

Next up… the run. That’s a post for another day 🙂

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Successful CycleBar Fundraising Ride for Tri For a Cure!

• 0 • Bike, Triathlon

Yesterday was an amazing day; I hosted a fundraising ride through the CycleGiving program at my local spin studio, CycleBar in Wellesley. We raised over $400 for the Maine Cancer Foundation, and I got to take an awesome spin class in a room filled with people I know and love.

Afterwards we had beer, veggie sushi, blueberries and cupcakes.

It was amazing, and it got me one workout closer to Tri For a Cure. I got to train with 20 of my friends yesterday, many of whom had never done a spin class but were willing to try it for a good cause and, well, because they’re that amazing a friend to me. I’ll remember this during my first triathlon.

It’s pretty emotional to look around a room and see that many people come together on a Saturday afternoon to workout and fund cancer research. I wasn’t sure I could find 20 people free on a random Saturday who would be willing to come (you have to promote your own event) but I’m part of an incredible community! People found time, brought friends, and made it the best class I’ve ever taken.

A lot of awesome people were in that room. There was a Martha Beck certified life coach and yoga instructor, an associate dean at a prestigious college, several attorneys, a blogger and wellness coach. In attendance were SIX former Co-Presidents of the Wellesley Mothers Forum, a former VP, and a whole lot of other WMF volunteers. There were half marathoners, marathoners, former triathletes, an aspiring triathlete (that was me) and our class was led by Jake Maulin, a triathlete, ultramarathoner and golf enthusiast who turned his passion for helping others into a business and does a lot of community and volunteer work.

It makes sense, right? Who else would come out and do something like this? It was a self-selected group of positive, energetic people who believe in giving back. If you have a cycling studio near you that supports charity rides, I highly recommend it for your next fundraiser. Not only will you raise money for your cause, you’ll get the experience of being with the type of people who show up.

It was amazing to train with this group, raise money to fight cancer, and celebrate together afterwards.

It’s a memory I will carry with me.

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You can donate to my fundraising page benefiting the Maine Cancer Foundation here.

Mother’s Day swim, bike and run!

• 5 • Bike, Swim, Triathlon

I had a perfect Mother’s Day. It was so perfect that at the end of the day I actually started crying when I was thanking Greg at dinner.

I remember my first Mother’s Day waking up exhausted to a hungry baby at 5 a.m. and then being over-scheduled and traveling… it wasn’t the perfectly indulgent day I’d dreamed my first Mother’s Day would be.

Yesterday was.

I slept in, Greg and the boys made gingerbread waffles which we had with coffee.

It started raining, squashing our plans to play outside as a family and making me afraid an afternoon bike ride I had planned with my neighbor would get cancelled.

SWIM

So Greg and I went to the pool together so I could get some type of workout in even if biking didn’t happen. We dropped the kids off in the play space, and shared a lane! It was his first time seeing me do a full length of crawl stroke.

I loved watching him swim a few lengths now that I can appreciate how good his form is.

And it was REALLY fun when we had a head on collision a few laps into our swim. I mean it, it was actually hilarious. Both of us were being a little more casual with the lane divide since we knew the person we were swimming with, and I was backstroking (which I never do when I lane share because I can’t see where I am well enough to feel comfortable I won’t hit someone) when BAM, suddenly my head was underwater with an elbow on top of it. We disentangled, we were both fine, and I learned to keep a much better eye on the buoys next to me.

I loved running into him because I collided, and survived. Now I’ll carry that memory with me on race day to ease the tension when I’m suddenly in the ocean surrounded by other swimmers.

After swimming we had a great lunch, and then the day cleared up and I was able to go for my bike ride with my neighbor!

BIKE

An experienced cyclist, she offered to go for a ride with me since I’m new to outdoor cycling and was really nervous about riding my new bike for the first time on the busy roads down here. She took me out, showed me some scenic, quieter roads, scouted ahead before turns and called back when I should prepare to unclip, pointed out obstacles in the road, checked behind us for traffic, and made it easy for me to focus just on pedaling and gear shifting and getting comfortable on the bike.

With her to navigate and call out traffic, I was able to relax and enjoy the entire ride. We went slow (which is great because I was in the wrong gear most of the time) and I never fell over – came home from a 17 mile ride without a scratch! Such a gift.  I can’t begin to describe how it feels to coast down a long hill past budding trees and green grass on a sunny afternoon in May.

I got home from the ride, and realized that because I swam in the morning and biked in the afternoon, if I just ran 3 miles I would have completed my race distance for the triathlon in July. Sure, it was backstroke at the pool and there were hours in between the swim and bike… but wouldn’t it be neat to see if my muscles could manage it all in one day, and to see what my run would feel like after my legs had done all that kicking and biking?

RUN

I only had to mention the idea to Greg and he was instantly throwing on his running stuff and putting the kids in the jogging stroller. “I’ll run next to you! Let’s do it!”

I never would have gone without him, I had spent too much time away from the family already. But he made it something we could do together, and he pushed the kids next to me for a scenic 3 miles through nearby neighborhoods and past the local pond.

And I did it. Without stopping. 3 miles at the end of a 17 mile bike ride on a day that started out with a 40 minute swim.

Whatever happens on race day, I’ll carry these memories with me. Lane sharing with Greg in the pool. Eunice calling back over her shoulder to tell me I was doing great and there was a right turn ahead. The boys laughing underneath their blanket on the stroller ride by the pond, water glistening in the late afternoon sun.

I started the day with tentative plans for a bike ride, and ended up completing my race distance over the course of the day with no pressure… just a spontaneous sense of adventure.

It was fun.