Anyone else feel this way?

[latelatebloomer]

" Too busy having fun and living! "

Personally, I think that's the sexiest look of all.

[Denise223]

Hi Ladies!

WHAT A FUN, FUN RIDE WE HAD TODAY & YESTERDAY !!

Yesterday was 15 miles & this afternoon was 20 miles . And, we have both been doing so much better with hills, shifting, etc.... Ben is a LOT better on hills than I am, but that's okay. Without question, I am getting stronger.

I feel TOTALLY much different when riding NOW, than I felt when I first started out 2 months ago. Things just seem to be "clicking".....almost feels as if I've been doing this for years.
Ben is having an awesome time, too, with everything !

We are enjoying our time out on our bikes TOGETHER, sooooo much!! Really, it is so enjoyable!!

We enjoy riding out on beautiful country roads !! I cannot express in words what it's like..... Such peace

We love being able to go "at our pace"..... stop & look at things we find beautiful, that we wouldn't ordinarily see if we were in our car. Riding past farms with cows, sheep, llamas, horses.......listening to the sounds of nature.

Incredibly blissful !

Originally posted by Cassandra_Cain: I'll skip the long rant, but simply put, we don't have buy into this media and societal crap about having to look like air-brushed models! We are real people, real women, and our bodies should be a source of pride. After all, at least we are out there, working and using our bodies for healthy and fun pursuits like riding

Well put, and I'm in total agreement !!

Cassandra.....the blue sky in the photo WAS beautiful, wasn't it???
Out here in MA, we've had so much icky weather of late, that it really was a treat to be riding around on such a pretty day. Has the sun where you live come out of hiding yet?? (fingers crossed ).

Originally posted by wanttoride: Denise, I want to say you've been quite the inspiration to me. I seem to run into your threads which motivates me to get on my bike.

Hi there ! I'm really touched to hear you say that. Believe me, when I bought my bike (4 summers ago), I was scared to death more than anything to ride it, never mind riding "on the open road"!
My husband bought a bike so I thought it would be good to get one too; it would be something we could do together.......

So, as my earlier posts say, I only rode around in empty parking lots for 3 summers!
I have no idea why it took me 3 summers to find a bikeway close to home, but.....that's where Ben and I took our first "real ride" together on June 5th, 2006.

You're right -- the women here on this board are fantastic!! Everyone is SOOOOOO SUPPORTIVE !

Feel free to post as often as you'd like to -- and, if you want to PM me, please do that as well.

Bikingmomof3 & Lisa S.H. Thanks about the photo. I'm not real photogenic, so I was pretty happy with it too. And, that area is really pretty .

It's amazing, if you go West out of Boston for 10 miles, you are then transported into towns that are just like those that you'd find in Vermont & New Hampshire. Very, very picturesque!

Lisa S.H. I personally don't care for makeup, myself. I haven't worn it in years. I hate taking it off. Perhaps some mascara would "bring out" my eyes -- maybe on a special occasion.

I definitely will put on sunblock -- No way I'll forget that !

beebs Thanks for the info on the DVD's. One thing IS for sure -- you'll lost that 20 pounds with cycling.
I'm still huffing & puffing while going up hills, BUT.....it really has gotten SO MUCH EASIER, with time!

When we were at around mile 15 today, a car on my left was slowing down, and I could "feel eyes" watching me. The woman in the passenger seat said, "what kind of bike is that? That's the exact bike that I want -- I really, really want one with a straight bar."
I told her what kind I had and that I recently saw my exact bike at a shop, and gave her the name of the shop.
She happened to be very overweight, too. I came to a stop so that we could converse for a bit.

She was very excited about it all, and her husband seemed very happy as well.

Who knows?? Maybe there will be another biker on the road soon .

Have a peaceful evening everyone!!

Denise

[beebs]

Yesterday I went for my first proper ride in ages ,sporting my black lycras and a proper cycling top I took to the road ..... and yes there was some huffing and puffing and the only white bit left on my face was the massive grin as I sped at my modest top speed down a hill and past a farm. The smell of cow poo hung in the air as passers by looked on in bemusement at the crazy loon chuckling to herself on her bike!!! Yes, that loon was me and I don't care because I am hooked, I am going to take my bike everywhere now ,when I would have used the car to quickly nip out I will use my bike! Isn't riding great!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

YAY! YAY to all of us!!!!

[Denise223]

Hi Everyone!

Beebs: It sounds like you had a great time last Sunday . Have you been out since then?

Ben and I enjoyed a 20 mile ride yesterday afternoon..... But, the first 5 miles were the toughest for me - my legs hurt/they felt very weak, my breathing was a bit of a problem (but, SOOOOOO much better than before, definitely!).

Ben asked if I wanted to turn around, but, I really didn't want to do that. The first few miles have always been the most difficult for me.

The road we started on was a bit hilly -- I stopped about 8 times in 45 minutes, whether it was to catch my breath, have a drink, blow my nose. They were "necessary stops" too -- I didn't feel as if I could've pushed myself.

After 5 miles, I felt perfectly fine and was really enjoying myself and, at the end of 20, felt I could go another 7 - 10 miles.

So, perhaps this has to do with "not warming up"??

If my problem is what this sounds like, what exercises do you suggest for a good warm up?

Thanks for your help!

Have a great day.

Denise

[kelownagirl]

For me, I warm up by riding a few mph slower than my avg for about 20-30 minutes and avoid hills during that time. It usually means we ride on the flats for about a 1/2 hour and I gradually build up speed till I feel good enough to cruise and climb.

[Kano]

What Kelownagirl says -- my first few miles are usually the hardest too, legs protest, nose says "I donwannabreathe today" and my brain says "I'm not so sure this was such a good idea," and so I have learned to use those as my "warm up" time -- I don't worry about speed, try to avoid hills, just pedal and breathe until my body "opens up" as it were. You probably know the feeling! Once I get there, it's suddenly all good, I can push myself a bit, tackle those hills that I refuse to hate climbing (chanting: "I do NOT hate hills" the whole way!) and ride on for however long.

My new "endurance trick" is trail mix. A bite or two of nuts/dried fruit at stops keeps me going happily much longer than no bites!

Karen in Boise

[Dogmama]

My experience has been that as you get more miles under your belt, your warm ups will be less arduous. I don't know if they become easier or if we just become accustomed to the protests of our legs

[Denise223]

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE


Yesterday afternoon I went on my very first "solo ride". I'm really quite proud of myself . I put the bike rack on the car, put the bike on that & drove about 5 miles west, out of the city.

I enjoyed about 10 miles of pretty country road & I felt pretty good about it . At least NOW, I know that riding alone is something that I am capable of.
I would've liked to have gone on longer, but I made the decision to "go alone" a bit late, so 10 miles is all I could do.

I will admit, I did feel a bit uncomfortable a couple of time being by myself, but nothing major.....but, I am very happy that I did it!

Ever since my husband and I started riding this year together (June, 2005), I would only ride if we drove OUT of our city to get to a more "bicycle friendly" town.

After spending 3 summers of just riding around in parking lots, (I'd have to say total mileage (in 3 summers) was approximately 25 miles ), because of my fear of riding on streets & having to deal with cars and trucks, this year I've made some progress.
We'd gone on a 7 mile ride in 2004 (I think), and I remember being totally paralyzed with fear.....

I NEVER WANTED TO RIDE AGAIN! I could not imagine that cycling could ever, ever be fun!! I honestly hated it!

On my "solo ride", I wore a backpack to hold extra bottles of fluids, (I am always thirsty), & all the other important stuff that one carries.
I am one million percent CERTAIN that wearing a backpack is definitely not for me!!
Very uncomfortable, cumbersome -- I just don't like it.
I was going to purchase a camelbak because I am drinking all of the time, but I really don't think that that is going to work either.

So.........I will really have to look into purchasing perhaps an Arkel Tail Rider, or something like that, for over my back tire-(A rack trunk bag). I'll have to ask my lbs what they might suggest, and take a look at the threads here & see what options are out there.

I tried a handlebar bag, but the brake wires are there (straight bar), and there really is no room at all. It wasn't big enough to hold any extra water and/or gatorade, either. (not to mention, it made a very annoying sound.... like when corduroy rubs together........drove me a bit nuts )


Today, I conquered another fear !!

Ben and I wanted to enjoy a ride today, but time was a bit limited. He worked today until 2pm & was going to see the Patriots tonight, so he'd have to leave here at 5:30pm, the latest. (I love football, BUT...in this heat with all that gear on??)

We were going to "do the usual", (rack on the car, put bikes on & head out to the "country"......), BUT.........Ben asked if I wouldn't mind trying to leave from home.... . There was no pressure at all, he was just wondering....

I thought to myself, 'yeah, we could definitely save time & we'd be able to spend more time together & enjoy a nice ride'. I KNEW that if this didn't feel comfortable to me AT ALL, that we could just go back & "do the usual"...

But, I decided to give it a try, and......guess what???? IT WAS GREAT !! Imagine that??? It was OK!! I really, really had a wicked awesome time!

We were able to enjoy a fantastic 20 mile ride that Ben rode a couple of weeks ago. It was sooooooooooooo enjoyable!!
When we rode past the place where we usually park our car, it was very strange not seeing it there.

It was nice knowing that we had "extra time" to ride. Ben was very proud of me . I AM PROUD OF MYSELF!! !

I'll be 46 years young in November, and I know that the above "feats" don't sound like much.....but, my fears were VERY REAL.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE RIDING SOOOOOOOOOO VERY MUCH !! It makes me feel great. The "huffing and puffing" is getting A LOT BETTER!
I still stop & take a break when I'm breathing extremely hard (open mouth breathing). I'll stop & drink how ever much I want, maybe have a bite of a bar -- just get my breathing under control.

There's absolutely no sense for me to continue riding when I can't catch my breath. After "my break", I can continue on feeling so much better.

We had quite a few hills today, and I was in much more control of my breathing. I noticed that during the more difficult parts, I was not breathing through my mouth like I used to. Must be progress...

And, I really do feel a lot stronger. I feel a lot better about myself. We're having so much fun !

Peace & Love,

Denise

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

FABULOUS!!!!!! I can really FEEL your joy and pride in a job WELL DONE!!!
I am so very happy for you.
Facing fearful things sometimes reveals that the threat is not quite as big as it seemed to us in the dark. Congratulations, fellow adventurer.

from a fellow huffer and puffer....

[Crankin]

Good job, Denise. A few words about your warm up. For some people, their body just needs a longer time to warm up. Also, i have read you should increase your warm up time as you get older, a little bit more for each year (there was an exact number of minutes I read, but I forget). I have been riding for almost 6 years and no matter what, i always feel horrible for the first 20-30 minutes, or 10-12 miles. So this means on my after work loop rides, I feel like crap for about half of the ride!! On my longer rides, I take the time to go very slowly for awhile. It helps your muscles and you might be surprised to see that it also helps your breathing get regulated. After about an hour and a half, i often feel like I could go forever. I'm a little older than you, and I have found that it's becoming even more important as each year goes by. On Friday I go to a club ride that just goes out fast as h---. I am always swearing to myself and wanting to quit for the first few miles. Most of the riders are older than me, I don't know how they can do this. But after the first part, I usually end up with the front group. Everyone is different, but it works for me. This is even more important if you are going to be riding as the weather gets cooler.
It would be cool to me you someday. I suspect you have been riding near where I live. Keep up the good work!

Robyn

[mimitabby]

I live on a hill (part of town called beacon hill) and every ride we ever went on
for years, i got cramps in my legs for the first few miles!!
But then it just as mysteriously went away as i got into better shape.

I used to carefully do all those stretches, but now i don't until we are on a big ride and i do them at breaks, not at the beginning.

Denise, i am really pleased to see how well youare doing! I almost didn't see your ride report because you didn't put it in the ride report place.

Every single accomplishment is an important one. Us fraidy cats, we have additional battles aside from the typical i feel too lazy. so when we do stuff, it's doubly impressive!
Keep it up, i am happy to see your progress!

[Bad JuJu]

Wow, Denise, you are hooked now, aren't you? Brava to you for facing your fears and learning what you can do!

I wanted to say that in your search for a bag, you might check out the Arkel bag that looks like a small rear pannier but morphs into a backpack when you take it off the rack. It's handy if you think you're going to be getting off the bike and want to carry your stuff with you, for example, into a restaurant. This bag used to be called the Ladybug, but I think they've given it a less gender-specific name now.

Anyway, just an idea. Have fun!

[emily_in_nc]

Congratulations, Denise! A job well done on both rides - the 10 mile solo and the 20 mile from your house. I know firsthand how hard it can be to conquer your cycling fears (see my post in the "First Road Ride in 10 months" thread), so I truly admire what you have done.

Fantastic job!

Emily

[DeniseGoldberg]

Congrats Denise - you've come such a long way, and you definitely should be proud of yourself.

On the not liking the backpack front - don't rule out a Camelbak because you didn't like riding with a day pack. I won't ride with a day pack - I find them extremely uncomfortable - but my Camelbak doesn't bother me at all. Of course my camelbak is a Rogue, which is one of the models that doesn't have room to carry a lot of stuff. There is the bladder for water, and a couple of small zip spaces that I use for energy bars, ID, and my keys. You might still need a pack for a rear rack. If you do decide to go that way, the Arkel TailRider is an awesome bag.

--- Denise