Anyone else feel this way?

[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