Back in the saddle again

I went for my first ride in almost two weeks today following my small op of a few weeks ago.

The ride was just a short five miler, pretty flat, just to ease back into it. I felt no ill effects at all which was pleasing. Legs felt a little weaker but I guess that is to be expected after a couple of weeks off.

Shouldn't be long and I will be back to where I was a month ago. Still thinking about a mountain bike race in Rotorua in April. It's about six weeks ago so I had better make a decision soon.

I just have to decide whether I can justify the cost of taking the family away for a weekend just so I can have a go at some mountain bike race. It would be nice to get away however as this would be a last chance to go away as a family prior to the arrival of our new addition to the family due in June.

We found out a few weeks ago that we will be having a baby girl, which everyone is very excited about. Both Jack and Sam and mum are particularly happy to be getting a baby sister and a long awaited daughter.

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Cycling update, and getting some rest

Last weekend I mentioned how I had finally, after much frustration, figured out the correct way to put cleats onto my new cycling shoes and then clip into my pedals. It wasn't so hard once I had the cleat up the right way, but as simple as it sounds now it took all of two or three days to figure out. Anyway, I'm pleased to report that I did get out on the road in the end to test out the new shoes and the clip-in pedal system for the first time.

I started out intending on taking it easy around a 1-2 mile loop in a pretty quiet area free of much traffic, just so I could get the hang of being clipped in with out having to worry about negotiating busy intersections or traffic and stressing about whether I would be able to un-clip myself if I needed to. I also wasn't too sure how the legs would hold up being 'stuck' in one position and whether they would fatigue sooner than normal from doing extra work.

Before long however that old competitive urge took over and I scraped that plan. That competitive streak in me just said 'stuff taking it easy, lets just go hard and see what happens'. I ended up going for my longest ride, a slightly longer than 15 mile loop around the North Shore including some of the cities busiest intersections. If you're interested in a map click the Training Log link at the top of this page and go to last Sunday's ride.

Pleased to say that other than the legs feeling slightly tired for the rest of the day and into Monday, there was none of the serious muscle soreness that I was half expecting.

As you might have seen from my Training Log , I was able to fit in a short ride on Monday, but since then there's been no entries in the log this week. This was partly due to work pressures, I just wasn't able to get away on Wednesday. The other reason for no more rides this week is that last night I had a small operation, which will probably keep me off the bike for a week. I'm supposed to pretty much relax for the next few days however my the end of next week I should be alright to resume my training. I've had a good six weeks or so of training now so a weeks rest won't do me any harm to re charge.

Have a good weekend.

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I'm such a novice!

Last week I went out a bought some cycling shoes. I'm really getting into my cycling now, going for four rides a week, and also eyeing up a couple of mountain bike races in March and April. I figured I need to get serious and get some shoes and clip in pedals.

After looking around on Trademe for shoes and pedals I started to get an idea of what I needed. In the end I decided I would be better off visiting my local bike shop for some expert advice, and to try on some shoes. I purchased a pair of Diadora mountain bike shoes. They were the cheapest the store had, but they were comfortable so I was happy with the purchase. I also wasn't wanting to spend a lot of money as after all this cycling gig is only supposed to be temporary until I start running again right! And anyway aren't we all supposed to have stopped spending?

I managed to score an old (well not that old but I can see they are well used) set of pedals and cleats through a work colleague, whose husband is a mad keen cyclist. Once home I was eager to fix the pedals to my bike, the cleats to my shoes and to get started with some serious cycling.

Pedals on bike, no problem. Cleats on shoes, no problem. Shoes on pedals, we have a problem!

No matter what I did I couldn't get the stupid shoe on to the pedal. Tried frontwards, backwards. Did I have the pedals on the wrong side? Tried loosening the clips, nothing worked.

I asked my friend at work the next day who checked with her husband and apparently it should just clip in easy as. I have another try that night but still no luck. I'm going to have to take the bike into the shop to get it checked out I decide.

I took the bike into the shop today. I end up having the shop assistant and another shopper all over the bike trying to get the shoes clipped in. Still no luck. Maybe this pedal is not designed for a beginner we all wondered. If a bike shop cant fix this what am I to do I thought? I'll have to buy new pedals I think to myself and quickly find a pair on Trademe when I get home going for around $50. I'll keep an eye on those.

I decide I'll have a final go at getting these shoes on. This time I'll try putting the other shoe on as up to now I been trying with just the right shoe. I take a look at the other cleat as I'm about to screw it into the left shoe. Huh I think, looking at the cleat closely, I wonder what happens if I turn it over this way? I put the cleat up to the pedal and it logically appears to fit the clip. How stupid could I have been? I screwed the cleat on to my shoe, put the shoe on my foot and literally clipped my shoe straight into the pedal. I could not believe how easy it was and how much time and effort I had wasted all due to me having the cleat upside down.

With a quick change over of the other cleat I was ready to start learning this clip in system. I picked it up relatively quickly just riding around my driveway and street. Of course the first time I tried stopping I fell off onto the grass even though I had told myself to flick out my heel rather than lifting my foot. Somehow it just didn't work that first time. Ten or fifteen minutes of practice though and I was getting more comfortable with the whole idea.

Tomorrow is the first proper ride, so I think I'll pick a quiet section of road with few intersections and I'll see how we go. Wish me luck.

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