8.11 Back In The Saddle Again

Submitted by Joe Strummer on Thu, 08/12/2010 - 7:27am
Joe Strummer's picture

I picked up my bike on my way home from work. It needed a new rear tire and tube, a new rear brake cable, and a tune-up. I also got a new helmet. Before I left, I took a few minutes to drool over some of the bikes for sale at The Cyclery. In addition to the Giant and Trek lines, they have a nice selection on Gary Fishers and Pinarellos. The Giant Defy, the updated version of the OCR1 I ride now, caught my eye. But I was there to pick up my bike, not by a new one.

Wednesday night. I should have been over in Chesterfield. I should have been doing the valley ride. I should have been climbing the wicked hills. I should have been trying desperately to hold onto the rear of the pace line. I should have been riding hard. But that was before I wiped out on Saturday.

So this Wednesday night, I figured "If you can't ride hard, at least you can ride long." So I set out to do the Marine loop. It's a 33-miler, and I figured I could knock it out in a little under two hours. I didn't count on two things:

  • the heat
  • my sore ribs

The heat. Okay, I knew it would be hot. I knew the temperature was at or near 100. I could feel it. But still, I figured I'd be able to maintain a reasonable pace. Not a hard pace, but a reasonable one.

My ribs. When I fell on Sunday afternoon while riding the SIUE trails, I figured I'd bruised the muscles around my ribs, but I had no idea how long the soreness would linger or how debilitating it would be. The soreness is aggravated by deep breathing. This is not conducive to riding hard. Also, it also hurts when I stand in the pedals to pump hard. This too does not lend itself to riding hard.

So, between the heat and my sore rib muscles, I was reduced to limping along at the best pace I could manage. As it turns out, that was about 16 mph. Normally, I can knock out the Marine Loop in less than two hours, the low 1:50s if the wind is favorable. Today, it took me 2:02 to get back home.

I'll ride some this weekend to see how my ribs feel. If they're better by Sunday, then I may do the Mueller Road ride. If not, then I won't. I need to be 100% to do that ride.