I'm not so sure about all this biking anymore. I started off wanting to ride a bike to get in better shape and maybe extend my life by a couple of more minutes but I think the bike might kill me before I get in shape.
Let's roll back to this last Sunday when the weather finally cooperated and the temperature got up to a balmy 50 degrees. We still had plenty of snow blocking the bike paths so I decided to go for a spin on some side streets between Sheboygan Falls and Kohler. It all started off nice and pleasant, I was hitting cruising speeds of 14-15 MPH on nice flat streets. I rolled through an industrial complex peppered with small business (the most noteworthy one was Jiffy, the makers of ice augers for ice fishing) and then I rolled through some residential neighborhoods. It is hard to tell when you actually enter into the village of Kohler because where Falls stops Kohler starts.
Both are nice little towns and both appear to be great places to raise a family. A lot of the houses I cruised by were brick built from 1600 to 2000 square feet in size and well kept. It was hard to tell if the lawns and landscaping are neatly taken care of because snow still covered most of the yards.
I wasn't sure how far I was going to ride on Sunday but I had a goal of 10 miles. One mile rolled by quickly and I was feeling pretty good. After the second mile I was starting to think "Okay this isn't to bad today maybe I will shoot for 15 to 20 miles." The third mile went by and by the fourth mile I found myself parked out in front of the Kohler plant. If you are not familiar with Kohler they make toilets, sinks, generators and small engines. I was still feeling pretty good so I thought I would take a ride down a dead end road that eventually leads to one of the Kohler family's golf courses, they have several and not all in this country. It was a nice ride down a hill and alongside the golf course until you end up at a gate and driveway leading back to a private club. The problem with nice rides down a hill is eventually you have to come back up a hill. This wasn't a real bad hill as hills go but none the less it made me work. Once back on top of the hill I was a little more tired but still ready to ride my 15 miles or so.
At this time I was 6 miles into my ride and like I said still feeling pretty good. I decided to make a left turn and roll on past the Kohler's homes and horse stables. This was my first tactical mistake. I knew from driving in a car there was a hill on this road but in a car it never seemed that big. I took off down the road and once again started down a long hill where I never had to peddle and I could hit speeds up to 24 MPH. I did use my brakes because if I didn't I'm not sure how fast I would have gone. But like I mentioned before if you go down a hill somewhere you got to go back up.
As I was approaching the hill I was thinking this can't be to bad I got 27 gears to choose from and one of them should get me up this hill. I hit the hill doing about 15 MPH as the hill gently starts its assent up. After I get about a 1/4 of the way up I was down to 9 MPH and several gears, my legs are starting to ache, and my lungs were gasping for air, oh the hill is getting steeper too. Up the hill I continue down to 6 MPH and a few more gears. I'm not sure how many more gears I can go down but I hope there are a few left. The burn, the burn in the legs, I can't believe they call this exercise and it is suppose to be good for you. I'm 3/4 of the way up and suddenly the hill turns straight up (at least it seemed like it) I'm huffing and puffing, the legs feel like they fell off 50 yards back but I'm not quitting now, dammit I am going to make it without stopping. Those last 50 yards of that hill were torturous, 4 MPH, down to my lowest gear for hill climbing, legs gone, shot, turned to jello, I'm not sure there is enough oxygen in the world to fill my lungs but I am almost there and I won't quit. Finally I clear the mountain summit, paramedics to the left of me just waiting for me to fall over. But not today boys I came, I saw and I conquered, go find someone else and save their life today.
I can't tell you the relief I felt as I cleared the top of the hill and started coasting towards Sheboygan Falls downtown area picking up speed the entire distance. Picking up speed? But I'm not even peddling, that means......I must be going down another hill! Sh!t. At least it is a long gently hill and I can coast for about 1/2 mile or so. Once I reach the bottom there is a park off to the right where I can stop and catch a breather or two and let my legs catch up to me.
I wondered over to the falls area of the river and watched hundreds or thousands of gallons water go over the falls. Water falls always amaze me, the sound, the sight of rainbows, and the power they generate. I don't know what it is about water falls but I can watch water flow over them for hours.
By this time I am about 10 miles into my ride, tired and ready to go home, the hell with 15-20 miles. I knew I had one more hill to conquer and it is a long hill but I knew it wouldn't be near as steep as the last one I just went up. None the less I wasn't looking forward to it but what choice did I have?
It wasn't long and I started up the hill. I took my time not because I wanted too but because the hill made me. My legs were still aching from the last hill climb but once again I was not stopping until I was in front of my garage or I fell off my bike. I finally made it over the top of that hill, barely moving, but still it qualifies because I never stopped. From here it is about a one mile ride to home so I took my time for the rest of the ride.
Once I arrived back at home I put the bike in the garage and started the long, long walk to my apartment. My legs were tired and I wasn't sure I would make it. Once inside I poured myself a cold glass of water and immediately got on Craigslist and put my bike up for sale. Just kidding.
Well there you have it my first time out on my new bike, 11.8 miles, 9.8 MPH average, 2 long hills with one being very steep, and two very tired legs. From what I understand biking 4 miles is equivalent to running 1 mile so that means I ran the equivalent of 3 miles, not to bad for an old man.
Monday I rode another 6 miles and my legs still were pretty tired so I skipped Tuesday night. I rode last night just over 11 miles with a couple of hills thrown in there and my legs felt a lot better, I think I might be making progress.
That's how I'm rolling this spring and I will be sure to keep everybody up to date as the year goes on.
10 comments:
I don't think the point of healthy exercising is to kill yourself from the beginning.
Believe me I didn't go looking for hills to climb they just showed up. I don't think 11 miles is killing myself either since little sis did 50 last summer.
Kill yourself on that bike, I'm killing myself trying to run. Every time I go out I asky myself "why?". More importantly, why did you wait until you were 50 to try to run (insert bike here for you)? All I can say is, I better be adding years to my life!
you should have seen dave the first time he rode. he was dying and this was in flat monroe. you will be surprised at how fast you will get in shape. try the same route in a month and see if i'm not right.
i have a new respect for hills after moving here. from the vantage point of a car they don't look that bad but the perspective changes when you are pedaling up it. try those hills on my bike which has 18 gears.
oh, and little sis did 50 miles on flat ground and when i did my fifty it was a rail trail, also relatively flat.
last weekend we road at the state park. did the first half on the bike path and took the road back to the car for something different. it is two miles shorter than the bike path and is a killer. i hit 29 mph going down one of the hills without peddling. the bike path is relatively flat compared to the road. when we did the path the next day we rode it both ways. couldn't take the road two days in a row.
Most bike paths, not all, are built over old railroad beds so they are pretty flat with gentle assents and descents sot the trains can climb them. The bike path by the apartment isn't an old railroad bed and rolls with hills from beginning to end. I have been able to ride it for a few miles but the snow hasn't melted from it in some areas. I am hoping it will this weekend so I can ride a little further.
I rode just over 11 miles in Wednesday night and I felt pretty good, I know I can ride 20 miles I just need the bike path cleared.
I'm not a fan of running it is just to hard on the knees. I like biking better because you can get somewhere and see more scenery. The big advantage to running is you can do it just about all year around where biking you need snowless roads or paths.
Never said I was a fan of running, but I am out to prove to myself that I can. There's a post coming on why I would torture myself so. Because, I too, prefer my bike. But it must be done to end this infatuation I've had with running.
Some people love to run and I never understood it. I got all the running I ever needed when I ran cross country my senior year of high school. I will say though, I was in the best shape of my life at that time.
I did some reading about walking vs. running vs. biking too. Walking can be beneficial if done at the right speeds. From what I understand running will burn the calories the fastest, than biking, and walking last, kind of makes sense.
sounds like my mom trying to climb a hill on a bike
Ohhh... I don't exercise but it was funny reading how painful yours was.
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