6th ride

Between picking up Michelle from school today and our Weight watchers meeting this evening, I had time to work in a ride -- for consecutive days of outdoor rides for the first time. WOO HOO! And the 51-degree sunshine felt almost like summer, compared to what we have been through!

I rode one of my old running routes, a 4-mile route that was my most frequently traveled one, that I call the Figure 8, in about 25 minutes. I had planned to ride it twice, but once I got out there, I decided it was better to be conservative. For one thing, I discovered that it is considerably more challenging to negotiate busy intersections safely (of which this route has several, particularly at rush hour) on wheels than on foot. But I prayed hard for wisdom and good judgment, and am happy to report absolutely no incidents today, of even the slightest nature. This raises my biking mileage for the year to just shy of 40 miles, which is still pretty paltry, but steadily growing now.

5th ride

Well -- I am encouraged that, at least, my rides are getting slightly more frequent. Perhaps one of these times I'll even be able to ride on consecutive days!

Today I had wanted to ride in the sunshine after work. But this afternoon I was practically falling asleep, and decided to take advantage of the longer evening daylight that we've gained since the time change to Daylight Savings Time the first weekend of my month, and nap after work instead, riding this evening. So I did that, even though the clouds had moved in, and it was a bit nippy at 42 degrees with a bit of a breeze. But it was nothing unbearable.

I rode a circuit I'm calling the Textile Big Block, a rectangular area averaging a little over 2 miles per side, taking me east on Ellsworth over to State, and then south to Textile, west over to Lohr, and finishing up by coming north on the Lohr-Textile Greenway that follows Lohr, an 8-foot wide paved path for runners and cyclists that I first rode back on January 19. And today's ride was accomplished almost without incident -- but, just as I was congratulating myself on this, I approached Ellsworth, much less than a mile from home, and had to stop for cross traffic. When I tried to step down and support myself, my right knee buckled, and I went down. This caused a motorist to stop and ask me, in alarm, "Are you OK?" I smiled and gave a big thumbs-up. When I was equally positive to her follow-up, "You're sure?", she gave up and moved on, and I proceeded on the last brief stretch of the ride.

Today puts me at just over 35 miles for the year -- a total that would be much higher if I could count the nearly 100 hours I've ridden the elliptical so far since New Year's at LA Fitness. But I'm not concerned, as I know that figure will improve significantly if spring ever arrives in earnest.

4th ride

I've been dismayed to be unable to get outside for a ride since my one on March 9, due to the lingering winter cold (quite unseasonable in these first days of spring). But today, it let up enough for me to give it a try. (It was still brisk, though, at 37 degrees.) Even though I was at LA Fitness this morning before 7:00, waiting for their 7 a.m. Sunday opening so I could do a faithful hour on the elliptical, I felt I could and should get out this afternoon, too. But I cut myself a little slack, and, rather than challenging myself overmuch, I did a first ride of another of my old running routes. This is one I call the Church 10K, because I have measured it out at 10 kilometers (or 6.2 miles, a common distance for running races). It was amazing, though, how much quicker the miles melted away on wheels! My best time running it was 1:00:27, back on November 11, 2008 -- but today, riding it quite easily and comfortably, I did it in just over 40 minutes.

The ride was not totally without incident, but it was nothing major. A couple of miles away from the end, I needed to stop and blow my nose because of the chill, and when I tried to stop and put my foot down on the curb, I lost my balance and toppled over (onto the sidewalk, away from the road). A woman driving by was quite alarmed, parked her car in the left turn lane with her flashers on, and hustled over to me (even though I had first given her a thumbs-up), saying, "Are you sure you're OK? I'm a nurse." I showed her my card, and managed to convey the information that I had just had to stop to blow my nose - at which she chuckled. Nice to have guardian angels watching over me, though.

3rd ride

Both weather and schedule have conspired to keep me from riding for over 3 weeks, but I was able to get out this afternoon. I had hoped to ride a 6.5-mile route I was calling the Avis Big Block, down State St./Rd. to Avis Farms, an industrial park south of the airport to where I've had to drive customers from work several times. I thought I had scouted out a route through it over to Lohr Rd. on the west, which I could follow back home. But I was unable to find the way through, and had to turn around and come back the way I had gone, completing a ride of about 8 miles in 59 minutes. Here is a map of the route I had hoped to ride.

The ride was not without a couple of (minor) incidents, however. I am developing a cold, and the 43-degree temperatures and mild breeze had my nose running freely, so a few minutes into the ride I pulled well off Ellsworth so I could pull out my handkerchief. However, I lost my balance when trying to stop, and tumbled over into the grass. It was nice to know there are helpful people around, though, as a woman stopped, circled back to me, got out and said, "Sir, are you OK? I saw you fall." I gave her a thumbs-up and a smile, though, and was soon off again. Then, down in the industrial park, I heard a faint clatter, felt the side pocket of my pullover, and realized my cell phone had fallen out. ("Why does a man who can't speak carry a cell phone?" you might well ask. A fair question - but it isn't quite the case that I can't speak at all.) So, I turned around, rode back about 50 yards, and found it, grateful for both good hearing and for the fact that on a weekend the area was absolutely deserted.)

After I blogged about my first outdoor ride, on January 19, I never dreamed it would be so long before I could get outside again. But right after that, true wintry weather descended on us, the harshest we've experienced in two years - at some times, I would even describe it as "severe" - and for the last few weeks I've had to resort to fairly regular (averaging about 5 times per week) workout sessions on the elliptical, or recumbent, machine at LA Fitness, where I've been going for an hour at a time (my sanity only preserved by my iPod). Today, however, I allowed our pleasant afternoon to tempt me back outside for a ride after work -- bright sunshine, temperature in the upper thirties, and calm conditions. Michelle was mildly uneasy about me riding on the roads, but decided to "give you over to God." And I think her peace of mind was helped by my wearing my bright yellow winter coat, as it was cool enough that the coat still felt good. She did quip, however, "The cars might be blinded by what they think is a bright flash of sunshine!"

I had initially thought about doing a longer ride than this, but once I got out there I decided to stay conservative as I still adjust to this new way of life, and I rode one of my old running routes, about 7 miles, in 43 minutes. I only ran it once before my injury, on April 16, 2011, in about 1 hour 13 minutes. I call it the Metro Loop, as it passes by one of the businesses where I have to shuttle many vehicles in the course of my employment, Metro Delivery, on Varsity Drive. It felt great to go over this route again and bring back memories of running, which I still miss. I was very pleased, too, that I was able to negotiate the roads OK, and also had no challenges or difficulties at the various intersections I had to cross, including where Ellsworth Rd. crosses State, a busy spot, especially at that time of day (rush hour).

Coming back toward our home, on Ellsworth, I rode on the broad paved path in front of Costco, and this would have been fine, except that it has been so long since I ran there that I forgot a gap of a couple hundred feet where there is no path. There I bogged down in the wet turf, and had to get off and walk it a short distance. But, all in all, I'm very pleased with Ride #2, and am hopeful that #3 is not nearly another month away.

The winter wears on

Since my first ride, on Jan. 19, about which I blogged, I have longed to get back out there and ride again. But our temperatures immediately plunged back to typical wintry levels, so that I was unable to. Then, this week, it has been milder, but because of my work schedule I couldn't ride - and now, with the weekend coming up, the bone-chilling cold has returned! Oh well, I guess I just need to be patient, and trust that when the time is right, I'll be able to get out there again.

First ride

As I've said previously, my good friend Doug Tidd has been trying for years to convert me to bicycling, as he is a very avid cyclist. Now, due to arthritis in my knees and back, I've decided to make the move, which the doctor has approved. So, since Doug last night provided me with a bike (which he had wanted to get to me several weeks ago) -- "It's nothing elegant," he explained, "but at least it's wheels" -- I took advantage of our unseasonably mild weather (46 degrees this afternoon) to get started. (I had bought a helmet last spring, at a time when I was hoping to begin.)

I deliberately chose a route that I figured would be non-challenging for this first outing -- going down the Lohr-Textile Greenway, a paved path 8-10 feet wide that runs along the east side of Lohr Road from Ellsworth down to Textile -- and the route itself was fairly non-challenging, but it was all I wanted for today. I'm sure I'll build up stamina, but this ride, of a mere 5.6 miles in a poky time of 35 minutes, pushed me. The challenges for this novice included (1) finding my equilibrium as I experienced my wobbly arms and legs; (2) learning how the gears worked -- this was important because, even though it's a relatively flat stretch, there are a few mild hills where I needed to shift, and some experimentation taught me how to do that; (3) locating and learning how to use the brakes -- an important bit of the learning curve that I experienced when just starting out, as I crossed Ellsworth and set off on the Greenway, but almost collided with a pole. I did manage to turn and slide by it, though.

So, next time at least I'll have a little bit of experience under my belt. I hope by summer to be doing relatively lengthy rides. I have in mind routes of 15 miles or so which I had wanted to run, but never got to before the arthritis caught me.