Ride Update
Great ride yesterday. Karen and I decided to stick with the local Trek ride out of Peachtree City rather than go down to “The Tour de Polk” and ride their century ride. For one, the Trek ride is free.. and it started at 10 a.m. so the temperature was about 15 degrees warmer than a 8 am start. It felt really good to be back on a bike, seeing the terrain and feeling the muscles strain while pulling the bike through winding hills. A little wind but not too bad. We decided to stick with the “beginner” group as the “advanced” group was planning on putting the hammer down. They typically average 20 mph; while I felt that I could keep up with the pack I didn’t want to get lost or seperated from Karen.
Our group averaged around 15 mph, but thats with frequent stops to recoil the long train of riders so we stick together. The new pedals are just as good as the old, a little more effort to release from the pedal but otherwise they worked as pedals should. My only complaint would be that the pedal does not spin as easy when released causing the pedal to be slightly out of position for easy clip in when you need to get going. Not really a serious issue, just something that needs to be planned for. I did learn something new however, something that has caused me to change my “stop” strategy. Usually, when I stop at a light or intersection I only unclip one foot. Well, as I stood there waiting for the group to catch up during our ride, my bike decided to move position (i wansn’t paying attention) and bang, over I went right in front of everyone. Pretty painfull actually since my left food was still locked into the pedal which held my leg in place, causing a good amount of pain. I could not get unclipped (damn new pedals) and the result was me laying on the ground looking like a contortionist (sp?) until I was able to overcome the pain and twist out of the pedal. A little embarassed and sore, but OK for the most part. It was a little conforting when later another rider fell over while stopped at a stop sign… misery loves company.
I’m going to take today off and pick up with a run/swim tomorrow. I need to start pushing the swim in terms of distance. I feel that my run, bike and cardio is in line but that the swim needs the most help right now. More P90x is in my future as well, I need more core workouts and also need to start trimming off some weight. All this will be a little easier if I get rid of ten pounds.
