WEIGHT (AM): 304 lbs
MILES: 5.0
AVG. SPD: 9.5 mph (aprx.)
CALORIES: 1,100 (aprx.)
OVERALL: Good vibe, incremental progress
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NOTE: If you’re new to IBIT and aren’t familiar with Big Lizard, read the backstory here first. It’ll reduce the confusion. Somewhat.
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After two rest days — one planned, the other not — Big Lizard and I return to Miramar’s five-mile loop.
GPS weirdness meant the tripmeter in the Blackberry didn’t start working until we’d completed the ride and I was driving back to the house. No matter. Forgot about pushing for time and used this ride to work on form.
Actually, to re-establish form is more like it.
Good position on the saddle. Good foot position over the pedals. No locked elbows or knees. Nice round pedal stroke with the toes pulling up from the bottom of the arc.
Miramar is the ideal place to work on your pedal stroke. Long, straight, shallow descents into hairpin turns that turn into shallow climbs on the other side.
When you get the pedal stroke right, you surge out of the hairpin. When you don’t, it’s a tiring grind coming out of the turn.
It was a day of noticing little improvements from the last ride. Everything looked, felt a little better. You could tell when I got the pedal stroke right; Big Lizard surged forward as if he’d been kicked in the tail.
Also felt strength starting to come back in my core. Wasn’t leaning as much on my hands today as last week, which instantly makes a difference.
People don’t realize how important your stomach muscles are when you ride. They help hold you upright on the bike, so you can put less weight on your arms and hands. I’m a long way from washboard abs, but again, you could feel the improvement, even if it was small.
In fact, I felt so good that I gave serious thought to putting in a second lap. No point in going crazy, though. Will stick with the 5-mile loops for now and continue to work on form. Rest day Saturday.
Next day, will start two-a-days at Miramar, five miles each. Four days of that equals a 40-mile week. if I can maintain that discipline through June, I’ll soon be ready for some small hills.
I want this to be the year I finally ride all the way up the hill from my house, the big mile-long monster. The day I can conquer that while still sitting and spinning comfortably in the saddle wil be the day I’m ready to start serious training for a century ride.
That would be a truly nice Christmas gift to myself.