Tri-Fecta

Today was my third day in a row out on the bike (after a hiatus of nearly 3 years.) It felt good. Already I can tell my ass is beginning to adapt.

Another very short day. 3.5 miles. But I can feel it. No doubt this is due to my overwhelming lack of physical prowess and the nearly 80 extra pounds I am carrying. My legs actually felt tired when I was done (on the two previous days, the only real pain I was in came from my ass.)


Today was also my first day waking up early. I work from home as a software engineer and can set any hours I want. Usually the hours I set don't start until the day is well into the double digits.

My alarm this morning was set for 6am. I used to wake up at 6am, back when I had a "go somewhere and do work" sort of job instead of the "go nowhere and do work" life I currently lead. I also used to be able to bike 100+ miles. Needless to say waking up at 6am is not an easy adjustment to make.

The odd thing is, I like waking up early, I like seeing the sun rise, I like the morning dew, I like being able to touch my car's steering wheel without an oven mitt. Mornings are charming like that. But the idea of waking up early and the reality of waking up early are two very different things.

But I did it. And I will do it again tomorrow even though tomorrow is an off day for me. No cycling. But I will keep my alarm set anyway.

Breaking In My Ass

I had forgot that the single hardest thing about starting to cycle is breaking in your ass. Yesterday was my first day out on the bike again in about 3 years. Just a short ride. Maybe 2 miles.

Many skills I earned before have atrophied. I am not as stable on the bike as I had been. I am not as comfortable taking corners at speed as I used to be. Starting off at a red light and clipping in while accelerating across a busy intersection is more nerve wracking than it used to be.

I remember having to learn that skill before, actually. It is slightly different from clipping in normally. First of all, when you start off at most intersections they are slightly uphill. Not usually anything steep, or even anything you would notice if you were already moving. But starting off uphill, no matter how much, is harder because you don't get as much momentum from a single crank as you would going downhill or on a flat surface, especially at my current girth to muscle mass ratio. Which means you need to clip in faster.

And clipping in itself is a bit of a trick if you aren't used to it. You have to position the pedal to line up with the clip attached to the bottom of your shoe. And if you don't get it lined up by the time you have to push down, you wind up having to push down with the shoe instead of with the clip on the shoe. And if your shoes have a slick bottom surface like mine do, instead of something with some texture, your shoe will invariable wind up slipping off the pedal instead of actually pushing down on the crank.

My skills have atrophied. It isn't like riding a bike (har, har.) So many things you pick up from endless hours of practice are quickly lost. I was out for less than 15 minutes yesterday, less than 20 minutes today, and already my ass is screaming at me.

I Make Bike Good

I am Patrick. Some years ago I started cycling. Then I stopped. I didn't intend to stop. I really enjoy cycling. I had trained for and finished a century ride with Team in Training and had every intention of making that the first of many.

But then life happened. I was infected with the same inability to maintain consistency with exercise that infects the rest of America. Though I loved cycling: the feeling of it, the way I felt afterward, the wind blowing through my helmet, the reward of cresting a hill and starting down the backside, the pain of Sugarloaf. I loved it all.

I don't know why I stopped. I don't know why people stop in general. I imagine part of the answer is that it was easier to not bike than to bike.

But now I am starting again. I intend to keep going (of course I do -- why else would I start?) My hope is that maintaining this blog will motivate me to continue cycling, if for no other reason than to have something to post.