« The Madone is Dead, but I am not! | Main | Rain, Rain Go Away! »
April 20, 2007
Back on the bike again!
So last Sunday I headed out for my first long bike ride (40 minutes) since my accident. I took out The Chairman (my cyclo-cross ride)for the occasion. I hit the roads vs. the trails to test my nerves and faired quite well. I was definitely nervous around the intersections, but felt stable.
My fitness has pretty much disappeared, but the ride was fun none the less. My legs did not feel too bad, but my aerobic capacity was shit! I could feel the effects of the accident still in my ankles, left knee, and lower back. During the ride, the ankles felt stiff and if there was too much movement of my foot during the pedal stroke, I could feel a bit of pain. The left knee, as I put some pressure on it would ache, like a minor bruise. Finally, the back was simply stiff and did not have a lot of strength.
On Tuesday, I headed down to the Opus Crits to volunteer and hopefully do a bit of riding. Unfortunately I flatted and did not have a repair kit with me, so I was stuck just volunteering. I corner-marshalled for the Cat 5 and Cat 4 races. I got see Neil take second in his first Crit ever! That was cool, especially since he did not have any teammates to support him.
Wednesday I headed out with Gear West on their usual Wed. evening rides. For the first 1/2 I took it pretty easy, and then the 2nd 1/2 I pushed myself. I definitely felt the lack of aerobic fitness, but since I was riding The Chairman, I was mainly spinning, so I did not feel to much soreness in my leg muscles. About 4 miles from the end I flatted again! I was quiet pissed off about the flat, but was relieved in that I was getting tired pushing the pace that I was. I had a new pump (since my old one was destroyed in the accident) and proceeded to rip off the valve on the new tube. So, I borrowed a tube from Kris. The problem was that the tube was a 700x23 and I needed a 700x35. I was able to put in enough air to get me home, but just barely.
Today I went out and bought new tires (kevlar lined) to hopefully prevent future flats!
Posted by kermisch at April 20, 2007 2:28 PM