I'm "quaking in my cycle shoes"!!!

[Clare]

So I know I don't post here often enough, well hardly ever, but this site is my favorite one to come to. Its great to have such a great group of gals to 'listen' to, and I've learned a ton! Anyways I will really try not to be such a lurker anymore...

Last May I signed up to do the Big Sur Ride. Its a 170 mile ride done in two days(September 23-24). It goes from Carmel (California) down Highway 1 and then over the mountains to King City and back to Carmel. Well, I'm quaking in my shoes because today my husband and I took a motorcycle ride over that mountain and OMG! it went on and on and on, up, up, up for 7.5 miles!!! Now I am a slow rider, my best average pace being 13 mph, and I am even slower going up hill! I just hope I can do it! ...maybe if I can start earlier than the start time. In fact this ride has 11,100 ft of climbing! Also my lower back has been killing me lately on longer rides. I've started an ab workout routine because I've heard that lower back pain can be also attributed to weak abs. I don't think its my bike (Specialize Ruby) because I was fitted to her when I bought her over eight months ago, and the lower back pain is a recent thing.

I know though that if I do it, it'll be such an achievement and what a good feeling that will be. Thanks for letting me vent here. I'll just keep up my training and see how I feel. I have until September 1st and up to then I can get most of my entry fee back.

Is anybody else doing this ride? The web site is www.bigsurride.com.

Clare
aka Silverbullet

(on bikejournal, I am Silverbullet)

[tygab]

Wow, that sounds like an awesome ride!

I would be careful with the back thing. Backs are very tricky and they can take a long time to heal right. But assuming you keep training with no significant discomfort, the mileage and challenge will be amazing. I don't live in CA but I've been fortunate to drive around Carmel and Big Sur a couple of times and that is some amazing terrain and vistas. You do not have to ride fast to enjoy the scenery, right?

Good luck and always put your health first - if your back or something else is causing you worries there is always another ride some other time. But if you feel healthy and ready for it, you probably are so enjoy!

[salsabike]

Can you go and ride parts of it for training? That might help de-scare you a little.

[Clare]

Tygab, thank you, you're absolutely right and a really good reminder that back issues are not something to take lightly. Even though it'll be such a huge dissapointment, I won't ride it if my back continues to hurt like it did on my last ride.

Highway 1 has some awesome vistas and thankfully I'll be going slow enough to take them all in!!!

I am thinking about calling up a friend and seeing if she'd like to join me in doing that climb this Saturday. I think she is going to do this ride too, but she's been having computer problems and doesn't know if she is actually signed up for it!

Clare

[Kano]

Clare -- I sure empathize with your trepidation when it comes to the big hills! But, the back thing, maybe I'm too new to know for sure -- you mentioned that you were fitted when you got the bike eight months ago. What I'm wondering, is that in my experience, I've had to have some things changed off and on as I "grow" as a biker. Maybe you need to have the bike guys look at your fit again -- something may have settled, or shifted, either on the bike or on you!

I agree though -- your back is more important in the long term than this ride!

Karen in Boise

[SnappyPix]

Clare,

As part of your ab workout, make sure you target the transversus abdominus muscle - it's a postural abdominal muscle and can't be exercised by simply doing sit-ups and crunches. It's THE most important ab muscle and is the one muscle you should strengthen if you have any kind of back problem.

It can take several weeks to condition the muscle though, so you have to persevere.

Here are a few sites that might help (including exercises to strengthen):

http://www.spine-health.com/topics/c...xercise02.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ms-fit5.htm

The second link is from a bodybuilding site, but gives a good example of how to exercise the muscle.

And don't let the course profile faze you - you never know what you're capable of until you try.

[Bad JuJu]

I'm no expert on bike fit, but like Kano, I think the initial fitting is just a starting point. After that, you have to tweak as you go, figuring out what's best for your body and your riding style. For example, you might want to try raising your stem a tad.

I'm in my 50s now, and no matter how hard I work on core and flexibility issues, I'm afraid my back is never going to be what it was in my 20s, so I've found that keeping my stem a bit higher than my saddle keeps my back happy and keeps me cycling. Just a thought.

[Clare]

I went for ride yesterday up highway one…my goal was 80 miles…however, I was in so much pain….the worse pain I have ever felt riding that I ended up doing only 54! Every part on my body hurt! I attribute this miserable ride to the new X2 speedplay pedals and shimano shoes I bought the day before. At this point, I can only hope that it was a really dumb move…to ride that far using a new pedal system. I hope that it is only a question of slowly breaking them in because I spent a lot of money on the pedals and shoes and the bike shop won’t take them back. Also my seat hurt, my but hurt like never before…. Do you need to be refitted on the bike when you get a new pedal system?

I will most likely cancel my Big Sur ride… after yesterday…there could be no way I could ever ride that distance. I really appreciate the tips I got…I started doing those ab exercises which are great! And I took my bike in (before pedals) and we changed the seat a little. I did about 33 miles after that and had no pain….so maybe I just have to resolve myself to the fact that I can do just shorter distances.

Thanks again for all the help and tips.

[Artisan]

I'm far from any expert but I know when I got new pedals and shoes I had to make some adjustments. My knee alignment was different to the axel of the pedal. I had to adjust the cleats on the shoes to move me back a bit.