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ride report: slow riding is still riding
I have had the most agonizingly lingering cough, for nearly three weeks. Some of it is leftovers from the series of colds that began in late February. The rest of it is my annual allergy onslaught, that time in late April/early May when I get short of breath and have to pull off the road every five or six blocks and wheeze until I catch my breath. For the last several years I had found some relief in an inhaler from my doctor, which gives me the ability to catch my breath faster and keep it a little longer. The allergy acclimation period usually lasts two to four weeks, after which I can put the inhaler away for the year and get on with my spring and summer.
This year, the agony began early and seems longer because my colds have combined with my allergies to create what will likely be an 8-week stretch of hell.
As you can imagine, this has somewhat curtailed my bicycle riding.
On the best days, I ride all the way to work and hop MAX to shorten my ride home. On the worst days I've used transit much more than my bike. I've had a couple of really nice longer rides on the weekends, primarily on days when it got temporarily warmer. Then the cold snap would return and I'd ride to work in very cold, wet weather. My mileage has been low and my ability to build endurance has been almost nil. It was this long stretch of health and weather challenges that helped clarify my decision to abandon the pursuit of the 200k this year.
Yesterday, even though it was cold and cloudy, I managed to avoid the rain and hail and I was able to simply enjoy the rhythm of my legs pumping up and down, moving the bike forward and watching birds and squirrels dart across the road and over my head. Breathing in was mostly okay. I only needed my inhaler once on the way to work. I arrived at the shop feeling pretty good, happy I'd ridden and not stressed at all about my low mileage. I am not at all on track at this point to meet my stated mileage goal for the year (2,850 miles). If I continue to ride as I have been I will break 2,000 miles again but not by terribly much. That seems okay.
I am happy about the 100k rides I did last year, and I look forward to doing at least two this year (Livestrong and the Verboort Populaire). Will I pursue a longer distance next year? I don't know, and this spring I have decided that I don't care either. I am happy just to ride. But the truth is that I'm looking forward to a time when the strange run of back-and-forth weather will finally end and it will really be spring for awhile.
*********
In Other News: one of my bestest, bestest friends in the whole wide world's fair has just announced that he is returning to Oregon after several years away. He will be here in June. I have to find a bike frame to build up for him. It needs to be relatively cheap, because money is tight for me just now; and ought to be a step-through (womens') hybrid or atb frame to accommodate his shorter inseam (He's 5' 9" with about a 29" inseam). I have all the parts I need, I just need a frame. If you can help, lemme know.
This year, the agony began early and seems longer because my colds have combined with my allergies to create what will likely be an 8-week stretch of hell.
As you can imagine, this has somewhat curtailed my bicycle riding.
On the best days, I ride all the way to work and hop MAX to shorten my ride home. On the worst days I've used transit much more than my bike. I've had a couple of really nice longer rides on the weekends, primarily on days when it got temporarily warmer. Then the cold snap would return and I'd ride to work in very cold, wet weather. My mileage has been low and my ability to build endurance has been almost nil. It was this long stretch of health and weather challenges that helped clarify my decision to abandon the pursuit of the 200k this year.
Yesterday, even though it was cold and cloudy, I managed to avoid the rain and hail and I was able to simply enjoy the rhythm of my legs pumping up and down, moving the bike forward and watching birds and squirrels dart across the road and over my head. Breathing in was mostly okay. I only needed my inhaler once on the way to work. I arrived at the shop feeling pretty good, happy I'd ridden and not stressed at all about my low mileage. I am not at all on track at this point to meet my stated mileage goal for the year (2,850 miles). If I continue to ride as I have been I will break 2,000 miles again but not by terribly much. That seems okay.
I am happy about the 100k rides I did last year, and I look forward to doing at least two this year (Livestrong and the Verboort Populaire). Will I pursue a longer distance next year? I don't know, and this spring I have decided that I don't care either. I am happy just to ride. But the truth is that I'm looking forward to a time when the strange run of back-and-forth weather will finally end and it will really be spring for awhile.
*********
In Other News: one of my bestest, bestest friends in the whole wide world's fair has just announced that he is returning to Oregon after several years away. He will be here in June. I have to find a bike frame to build up for him. It needs to be relatively cheap, because money is tight for me just now; and ought to be a step-through (womens') hybrid or atb frame to accommodate his shorter inseam (He's 5' 9" with about a 29" inseam). I have all the parts I need, I just need a frame. If you can help, lemme know.
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