Join Ride with GPS and discover even more new routes and riding buddies. Print turn-by-turn cue sheets so you know where you are heading. And then, log your rides and watch your progress.
Todays ride was not supposed to happen. According to the weather report there was supposed to be rain today, specifically in the afternoon. One look at the sky confirmed that there was a good chance that the rain was coming and that if I were to go outside in it, I would be caught in it. As it were I tired to reason that this meant I would not be able to ride my bike outside today, case closed. I was tired, my muscles were sore, I was not feeling the energy that I needed to get on the bike and fate would have it, the bedroom was a warm cozy space of both comfort and bliss. I didn’t need to get out of bed. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I need have to get out of bed, there no reason to get up and on the bike.
The more I tried to rationalize not getting on the bike the less those rationalizations made sense. I didn’t have to ride the same route that I had, I could always ride another route. I didn’t need to be uncomfortable, I had purchased enough gear and tools to keep my warm and pedaling. I didn’t need to, but I had done it so many times in the past, that not doing so made me feel like I was letting myself down. Earlier this month I wanted to aim for a solid week of cycling. Be that riding in the weather or on the trainer, I was going to get my miles in during this winter and I was going to make sure that I had no less than twenty miles logged. On the first Saturday of that week, I didn’t get on the bike having ridden Monday through Friday. When I tried to ride the bike again that Sunday, my body felt so tight a full of aches and pains that I believed this was the first time I had ridding the bike ever. It was all present, the fear, the pain, the aches, the soreness, everything that I could think of that made it clear that it would be more comfortable for me to stay off the bike an relax in bed. Nothing was more painful or humiliating than having to ride all week only to miss one day and feel like you haven’t done anything.
That being a fact, I grabbed my gear, loaded up my bike and headed out. By the time I was on the road, the sun had fully illuminated the clear blue sky with fluffy clouds under a heavenly glow. The air was a bit cool but nothing close to the cold that I had come to expect from this time of year. When I reached the top of my block I had not decided which of the routes I would take. I didn’t want to strain myself, but at the same time I didn’t want to cheat my own health. The issue with the human body is that no matter what you are doing your body will adjust to it. That includes what you don’t do. You may sharpen the blade, but if you don’t sharpen it before you use it, then it will not be sharp enough. Such is the case with the body. You can lift and flex, sprint and jump all you want, but if you did that and proceeded to do nothing then your next performance will be less or nothing.
At the first climb, I took my time, keeping the gearing nice and even allowing me to ride and conserve my energy for the more serious climbs. One thing that I know is that if something hurts, I will try to avoid it. This ride could not hurt. I could allow it to strain but not to hurt. I pushed the bike up an over the top of the hill, around the residential areas before, slipping my way up to the front of the Middle School. This road was someone flat with a minor descent. IF you didn’t look at it on the map you would be convinced that this was an accent both ways. Slipping through the wind, keeping my shoulders relaxed and my feet flat on the pedals, I searched for a rhythm that would allow me to keep a steady cadence. The road rose and fell causing my cadence to break repeatedly. I wanted to keep it smoothing, however just as the cadence began to feel like it was becoming comfortable. This would cause me to shift, slow down and start over again. Down and around the park back toward the Highschool, and up toward the middle school. I pedaled the bike, around the middle school before hitting the traffic circle for the second time and heading toward the library. After the descent this area was completely flat. According to the maps you could place a basketball on the ground and marvel at the stillness. This made riding a bike on this road that much more rewarding. Since there is no grade to the road, every pedal stroke is solely dedicated to pushing the bike forward as opposed to pushing the bike and fighting gravity. I took this opportunity to try a new pedal technique. Instead of only using my thighs and glutes to push the bike, I tried to use my calves as well. I would imagine my legs running under water, forcing me to push forward on the pedals, as well as to lift on the backstroke. This method sped the bike up to twenty plus miles per hour. I was moving so fast that I could only hear the wind blaring in my ears. Even with my eye protection, I could feel the tears desperately creeping from my cheeks. By the end of the block my GPS computer was blinking wildly. I had achieved a Person Best on a Strava Segment.
I rounded the corner of the block and pointed the bike back up to the main road. This would one of the last climbs I would have to do before the ride was over. This was why I wanted to avoid this ride. Nothing hurts as much as climbing when you had low energy. On my Bel Air Ride, I only have to ride about half of the ride as the second half is a long descent. On this ride, I would need to fight my way to four steep hills before I could head back home.
The first of the four was tackled in the lowest gear the bike had to offer. The gradient went from zero percent to a steep four to five percent in less time than it takes to blink an eye. In the low gear the pedals spun quickly but the back wheel didn’t. The spin was geared to maybe one and a half per one a full pedal rotation. The effort wasn’t fast but more importantly it didn’t hurt. There was no burning sensation, there was no strain on my legs, there was nothing there that would really give me a reason to stop. That is until the traffic starting passing me on the left hand side. I took the gear and shifted to something a little hard. This gave me the speed I needed to get out of the saddle and finish the climb. By the time the effort leveled off I tired to engage my calves and thighs again. Doing this was like engaging the thrusters on a science fiction star ship. The bike jumped forward, not as fast as the passing traffic but also no where near as slow as I had been up to this point. On the last climb of the day, I felt the gas, leaving my legs. I had pushed more than a mile with my legs fully engaged and now I needed to rest.
Like the days that had come before, I could think of more reason then I could count as to why I didn’t need to get on the bike. I could always find a reason to skip out on the ride and just sit in the house and eat what ever snacks that I could find. But it only takes one reason to get on the bike. One reason to get out side, it only takes one reason to slip my feet in to those toe clips and straps and fight those hills. That reason being the feeling I get when I look back on what I did and relish in the fact that I did it. That is my why.
By: | Na Derro Cartwright |
Started in: | Harford County, MD, US |
Distance: | 21,7 mi |
Selected: | 21,7 mi |
Elevation: | + 968 / - 982 pi |
Moving Time: | 01:36:51 |
Gear: | Scott Speedster Gravel |
Page Views: | 43 |
Departed: | 29 déc. 2021 à 13h27 |
Starts in: | Harford County, MD, US |
Distance: | 21,7 mi |
Selected distance: | 21,7 mi |
Elevation: | + 968 / - 982 pi |
Max Grade: | |
Avg Grade | |
Cat | |
FIETS | |
VAM | |
Ascent time | |
Descent time | |
Total Duration: | 01:42:02 |
Selection Duration: | 6122 |
Moving Time: | 01:36:51 |
Selection Moving Time: | 01:36:51 |
Stopped Time: | 00:05:11 |
Max Speed: | 29,2 mph |
Avg Speed: | 13,4 mph |
Pace: | 00:04:42 |
Moving Pace: | 00:04:28 |
Max Cadence: | 123 rpm |
Min Cadence: | 10 rpm |
Avg Cadence: | 73 rpm |
Max HR: | 180 bpm |
Min HR: | 105 bpm |
Avg HR: | 150 bpm |
Best format for turn-by-turn directions on modern Garmin Edge Devices
Best format for turn by turn directions on Edge 500, 510. Will provide true turn by turn navigation on Edge 800, 810, 1000, Touring including custom cue entries. Great for training when we release those features. Not currently optimal for Virtual Partner.
Useful for uploading your activity to another service, keeping records on your own computer etc.
Useful for any GPS unit. Contains no cuesheet entries, only track information (breadcrumb trail). Will provide turn by turn directions (true navigation) on the Edge 705/800/810/1000/Touring, but will not have any custom cues. Works great for Mio Cyclo. Find GPS specific help in our help system.
Ride this route frequently? Select the ride (or a section of it) in the elevation profile and create a segment to compare your ride performance against yourself (and others).
Estimated Time shows a prediction of how long it would take you to ride a given route. This number is based on your recent riding history, and represents an estimate of moving time. Each time you upload a new ride, your Estimated Time profile will adjust to reflect your most recent riding. Only rides exceeding 10 miles (16 km) will affect these estimates.
Go BasicOur Basic members have unrestricted access to everything we offer in our mobile apps. Learn more by visiting our Compare Plans page.
Parlez-nous un peu de vous
Rock solid GPS logging, helpful navigation, live logging and more are all available when you install our app.