First Ever Metric Century Coming Up May 5, 2008

The husband and I have been trying to figure out what rides to do this year.  We’re both fitter than we were this time last year.  Among some of the rides we found was the Knotts Island Century thrown by the Tidewater Bicycle Association.  We are opting for the metric century which is the furthest we’ve ever ridden complete with a ferry ride in the middle.  The area is pretty flat and just minutes from my parents’ home.  I figured it would be a nice way to kill several birds with one stone: first organized ride of the year, first metric century (flat), excuse to see my family especially my niece and my dog (who is on “vacation” with my parents), and spend Mother’s Day with my mom.  I’m also bringing down some stuff that I want to give away to my sister and my friend so they will stop taking up room in my home.  I figure it’s fairly win-win as long as we complete the ride strong.

I am a bit apprehensive because we’ve never done this ride nor this distance before.  We did a 32-mile ride on Saturday to help us get some miles in mostly along the Arlington loop (which was quite crowded) with some adjustments of our own.  By the time we got to DC we were feeling good at about the 20-mile mark.  From there we went to Georgetown and popped out in Rosslyn and proceeded up Wilson Blvd in all its hilly glory.  Not only was it uphill but it was hot, baking from the pavement hot, and there was no shade.  I quickly got crabby and prayed for any wind at all to help relieve me.  From Arlington on, I was uncomfortable.  I didn’t wear gloves because I couldn’t find the weightlifting gloves I had been using last year and did I mention I was hot?  I felt like my skin was baking and thankfully I had put sunscreen on.  There was this miserable whine coming from the front wheel that didn’t let up until I started going about 9 miles an hour.  Then my left knee started bothering me.  That hot hill up Wilson was what did me in.  I’m hoping for more comfortable weather this Saturday for the century.  Generally, I felt good after the ride.  My shoulders and neck were kinda sore but that didn’t linger into the next day and I’m amazed at how my body doesn’t seem to feel anything painful the next morning after longer (to me) rides.

My knees still hate me but I’m hoping they will forgive me once I get my Speedplay Frog pedals in that I ordered yesterday.  I have heard they are great for people with knee issues like me who are knock-kneed so I figured that I’d use my $100 award from work and go ahead and buy the suckers.  Among my other recent bike-related purchases were some yellow and black gloves to match my bike to be worn on the ride this weekend, Spinervals Sweating Buckets 2.0 Fitness Series for when it’s pouring outside, and a new pair of shorts that I got in a size Medium instead of a size Large (w00t!).  I also bought my husband his first pair of shorts with padding and he said they were very comfy.  I guess the secret to him is just to buy it and let him try them.

I also signed us up for Bike New York’s Long Island Harbor Ride in June.  We have yet to sign up for the Harlem Valley Rail Ride that we did last year and are tossing around the idea of doing the American Lung Association of America in Massachusetts Autumn Escape Bike Trek instead of the 8 Lighthouse Ride we did in Portland, ME.  I am really excited about the Bike Trek which is a 3-day tour basically of the cape.  I think it’ll be a nice intro into bike-touring with a support system.  So that’s what we have on the plate so far.  I’ll keep you posted.

Spreading the Love of Bike

When the biking bug bit me I was quickly able to share the love with my two best friends (aside from my husband, of course) who I grew up riding bikes with when we were in middle school. They ride with us the most and Joel, in particular, shares our love of road riding and my sense of bike lust. Kelvin, is more of an off-roader but recently tore his Achilles heel and as such is out of commission for quite a while. He did our late-season ride with us, all 48 miles of it, on his incredibly heavy, dual-suspension mountain bike. So shortly after I fell in love with cycling they each bought their two new bikes: Joel, his Giant hybrid and Kelvin, his dualy MTB. Then I got my husband to buy one too and he bought a Fuji hybrid. (Even on my road bike he pretty much is always ahead of me.)

Our other friend, Hannah, told me earlier in the week that she was interested in perhaps getting a new bike. She is my height and she told me that what her budget was and I told her what she would be up against with such a limited budget and I told her that she and I should keep an eye on Craigslist. We passed a few e-mails back and forth over the week and last night I saw something that would be perfect for her: a 20″ Giant hybrid in her price range.  She went to go see it and ride it and is now the proud owner.  She reported to me that her first ride was 2 miles and that she learned she needed to switch gears on hills.  When Hannah told me and our friend, Deb, that she now had a bike to ride, Debbie responded that maybe she would hang on to her hybrid rather than selling it as it has been forsaken in a storage unit somewhere.  My other friend, Lindsay, whose coworkers have gotten into riding also has a forlorn bike somewhere waiting to be ridden.  So I am determined to get these girls out riding with me one day. I am setting the weekend 2 weeks from this past one and Hannah says she’s all for it.  Lindsay is booked till mid-June and no word from Debbie yet.  But Hannah has a bike and is out riding it and that’s progress.  I’ll keep you posted.