I started riding bikes as a roadie. And a safe roadie. All of my rides consisted of driving my car up to Flatwoods and doing the seven mile loop. As many times as I could. Which is usually only 2 or maybe 3 because I get bored to death. And I get distracted. And uncomfortable in my seat. So I squirm and sigh and I haven't been having that much fun. That's why I spend so much of my time on my mountain bike.
I've ridden a few times on the actual road, and I've always been scared to death. Is that next car that comes up behind me going to be the one that causes my death? And this was years ago, before the spate of what I'm calling roadkill of cyclists in the Bay Area over the past few months. Nine people on bicycles have died in the past four months. Nine.
But some folks I know from my mountain bike club also do road riding in the hills north of here around San Antonio. I've been pestering them about tagging along, and yesterday was the first time that schedules worked. It was Becky and Sally and me. This was Becky's third time up there and Sally's second. We did spend some time at stop signs looking at maps trying to figure out which way to go but we did find our way back to the cars.
I was worried, worried, worried about keeping up. I can't hang right on someone's back tire in the woods and I can't do it on the road, either. Even if they are parting the wind/air for me. I'd end up back 20 feet or so behind Becky and Sally. I had on a deep red jersey, so I called myself the little red caboose.
I've read some things about driver road rage against cyclists, but we didn't see any of that at all. Most drivers swerved all the way over into the other lane and gave us tons of room. In fact, that earlier fear about imminent death never crossed my mind. Really. Guess I was too preoccupied worrying about keeping up and not wimping out.
We'd not talked about the planned ride beforehand, but when we were unloading our bikes and getting set up, Becky said, "I really want to get in 40 miles today!" I almost choked. But I had sorta invited myself along to this ride, so what could I do? I've done a 50 mile road ride before, on the Withalacoochee Trail, but that's all flat. And we stopped every 10 miles and ate, either our bars or lunch or ice cream. I didn't know if I could make a 40 mile hilly ride. And after climbing Happy Hill and burning my legs and lungs and still not having 10 miles invested yet in the ride, I was kinda getting worried. Would I be able to make the ride or would I be a total nut sack?
I was able to hang with Sally and Becky, but barely. They are both stronger riders than I am. They both have been riding longer than I have as well. I'd drop back and catch up when I could. But then we discovered something funny. On the downhills, all things being equal, I was faster than them. We'd all worked like hell getting up a hill, and I was at the end. We'd crest and go down the other side, gloriously flying down with the sense of power and freedom and a funny thing happened. Going downhill, I was faster than they were. I'm thinking it's because I weigh more than they do and am closer to the ground, but I was just flying downhill. It was wonderful.
In the end, we did a little over 31 miles, not 40. I probably could have made the 40 if I'd had more fuel, but I was really, really glad to stop. I felt amazing and strong. I didn't have one moment of boredom. I was amazed at the hills and the gorgeous scenery. My bike felt good, not uncomfortable at all. And I can't wait to do it again.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
What's been going on
When I started this little blog, I was burning to write. What happened? I'm not sure.
Life, I guess.
I was up in NC for a lot of the summer and could not post anything. I tried to write something on my phone, but either I'm not smart enough or it isn't. (Probably me.)
And I'm new to this blogging thing. I'm not quite sure what to share and what not to share. Obviously, I'm writing about me and my experiences, but sometimes things happen that I really don't want to share with the entire world and I'm not sure how to proceed without oversharing, so instead I write nothing.
Trying to get back into it. Or, I'll post when I can.
Just want to say, though, that I've had two really good rides the past two days.
I got the notice yesterday morning that SWFTMUD (or whatever it's called) will be closing parts of the Wilderness Park Trails for the next month to build fire roads. My park, my park. Parts will be open, but I won't be able to do the entire loop during the week. Really, that shouldn't be a problem. You can take either half of the park (either Flatwoods side or Hole in the Fence side) and with doubling back--doing trails both ways-- get a 20 mile ride in. But I just had to get a full ride in.
Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, I set out to get as much out of the park as I could. I'd ridden the previous day with my friend Bev. She's a roadie, and we've had a few off road rides. It's been a while since she's been in the woods, and she found the roots as intimidating as I did when I first started. She was exclaiming over the same roots/parts of the trail that used to give me fits. It was funny to hear her go "Oh, my!" to the same sections that used to stop me or fell me. It was slow going, but I used to be that slow, too. I'm delighted to show her the trails. But I was ready for more of a challenge the next day.
On Tuesday, with Bev, I'd taken her on the double track by the trail called Panther while I took Panther. I fell, hard, on Panther when I first started and have been a wimp (nut sack) about it ever since. I've been working on conquering it for the past year or so. I got it from North to South a while ago, but have not been able to navigate one portion the other way. It's a sketchy left turn, through tight trees over big roots. There's a couple ways to do it and I usually end up unclipping and walking over it. I did that Tuesday.
But Wednesday I'd had enough. I made myself do it. And damn if I didn't.
On Tuesday, I kept looking for the hard part that felled me, hurt me. I went over it without a problem. It was no longer a problem.
On Wednesday, I kept looking for it too, and again, it was no problem. Yay! I've made progress.
I was with Bev on Tuesday, but Wednesday it was just me and my headphones. I tried to make sure it's not too loud, so I can hear what's around me. I love the sound of the woods, but I love riding with my tunes more.
Over on the Morris Bridge/HITF side, I made myself do Indian. Another of the trails labled 'Very Difficult Trail' which isn't actually very difficult but parts of it are, so (IMHO) the label is deserved. I've made it both ways, successfully, but it's been awhile because it's been closed due to it being wet. But last time I tried it, there were a lot of sandy parts which made it not so much fun. There's a stair climb toward the start that I had to put a foot down for last time. Yesterday I nailed it. I made it through the whole trail. The progress I'm making is so slow. I'm so careful 'cause I don't want to hurt myself, but if I can say it, I'm proud of my progress.
Today, me and Nancy met at Boyette. Didn't have a perfect day. Had to walk over some stupid palmettos in the middle of the trail (which I should be able to go over but when I see them my brain sends an immediate signal to my index fingers to jump on the brakes) and I fell one time 'cause I'd slowed too much in one of the stupid tight turns they have in the Quadrants and ran into another big palmetto root without enough speed and had to clip out and walk a few times on Golfcart and realized that I'm not actually riding some of the trails but coasting because I'm so tight and tense and nervous because they're so narrow and had to walk some more through Wood Trails because even though it's labeled easy that have stupid big palmettos in the middle of the trails but all in all I had a great ride. And that's all that matters.
Spent great girlfriend time, the importance of which cannot be overstated. Got 18 miles in of riding more challenging than I'm used to. So another great day on the bike.
It's a great time of year to ride in Florida. I'm making myself take the day off, but am planning a hilly road ride for tomorrow. Woo hoo.
Life, I guess.
I was up in NC for a lot of the summer and could not post anything. I tried to write something on my phone, but either I'm not smart enough or it isn't. (Probably me.)
And I'm new to this blogging thing. I'm not quite sure what to share and what not to share. Obviously, I'm writing about me and my experiences, but sometimes things happen that I really don't want to share with the entire world and I'm not sure how to proceed without oversharing, so instead I write nothing.
Trying to get back into it. Or, I'll post when I can.
Just want to say, though, that I've had two really good rides the past two days.
I got the notice yesterday morning that SWFTMUD (or whatever it's called) will be closing parts of the Wilderness Park Trails for the next month to build fire roads. My park, my park. Parts will be open, but I won't be able to do the entire loop during the week. Really, that shouldn't be a problem. You can take either half of the park (either Flatwoods side or Hole in the Fence side) and with doubling back--doing trails both ways-- get a 20 mile ride in. But I just had to get a full ride in.
Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, I set out to get as much out of the park as I could. I'd ridden the previous day with my friend Bev. She's a roadie, and we've had a few off road rides. It's been a while since she's been in the woods, and she found the roots as intimidating as I did when I first started. She was exclaiming over the same roots/parts of the trail that used to give me fits. It was funny to hear her go "Oh, my!" to the same sections that used to stop me or fell me. It was slow going, but I used to be that slow, too. I'm delighted to show her the trails. But I was ready for more of a challenge the next day.
On Tuesday, with Bev, I'd taken her on the double track by the trail called Panther while I took Panther. I fell, hard, on Panther when I first started and have been a wimp (nut sack) about it ever since. I've been working on conquering it for the past year or so. I got it from North to South a while ago, but have not been able to navigate one portion the other way. It's a sketchy left turn, through tight trees over big roots. There's a couple ways to do it and I usually end up unclipping and walking over it. I did that Tuesday.
But Wednesday I'd had enough. I made myself do it. And damn if I didn't.
On Tuesday, I kept looking for the hard part that felled me, hurt me. I went over it without a problem. It was no longer a problem.
On Wednesday, I kept looking for it too, and again, it was no problem. Yay! I've made progress.
I was with Bev on Tuesday, but Wednesday it was just me and my headphones. I tried to make sure it's not too loud, so I can hear what's around me. I love the sound of the woods, but I love riding with my tunes more.
Over on the Morris Bridge/HITF side, I made myself do Indian. Another of the trails labled 'Very Difficult Trail' which isn't actually very difficult but parts of it are, so (IMHO) the label is deserved. I've made it both ways, successfully, but it's been awhile because it's been closed due to it being wet. But last time I tried it, there were a lot of sandy parts which made it not so much fun. There's a stair climb toward the start that I had to put a foot down for last time. Yesterday I nailed it. I made it through the whole trail. The progress I'm making is so slow. I'm so careful 'cause I don't want to hurt myself, but if I can say it, I'm proud of my progress.
Today, me and Nancy met at Boyette. Didn't have a perfect day. Had to walk over some stupid palmettos in the middle of the trail (which I should be able to go over but when I see them my brain sends an immediate signal to my index fingers to jump on the brakes) and I fell one time 'cause I'd slowed too much in one of the stupid tight turns they have in the Quadrants and ran into another big palmetto root without enough speed and had to clip out and walk a few times on Golfcart and realized that I'm not actually riding some of the trails but coasting because I'm so tight and tense and nervous because they're so narrow and had to walk some more through Wood Trails because even though it's labeled easy that have stupid big palmettos in the middle of the trails but all in all I had a great ride. And that's all that matters.
Spent great girlfriend time, the importance of which cannot be overstated. Got 18 miles in of riding more challenging than I'm used to. So another great day on the bike.
It's a great time of year to ride in Florida. I'm making myself take the day off, but am planning a hilly road ride for tomorrow. Woo hoo.
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