Two Wheel Blogs

Oh the pain. The suffering. And it's not even noon yet. Nor have I even gotten on my bike yet. I think we got about a foot of snow in the last 24 hours. I just spent a good part of the morning shoveling it off the drive and walkways. How many TSS points per hour can I claim for snow shoveling?

There's no question this one's going down in my training log as a core strength workout. G-wiz rode white. I shoveled white.

That's the title of this article at Men's Health magazine. There's lots of stuff to consider in this. The main thing is that aerobic exercise may not be the health promoter that it has been thought to be in the recent past.

I realized this day that I had somehow fallen out of my regular practice of lifting weights at least once a week. How soon we forget.

I won't soon forget the pain that comes from having a weak core. Strength session today. TSS-wise, I think it'll come in at about 500. Yes, I'll be sore for a few days. A little muscle soreness, I'll take it over that other thing.

Remember that one? Todd Rundgren? Good stuff. I've been thinking about that word a lot lately. I've been trying to come up with just the right word to describe the sound my rear hub made recently.

I was bombing down a short and very steep pitch, one that you can only pedal so long on because even in your top gear you spin out in about 4 seconds. As soon as I stopped pedaling I heard this awful screaming sound coming from somewhere under me. By the way the upper section of chain was hanging I knew it had to be something in the rear hub. The noise it made sent a chill right through me.

At first I was just startled. A split second later I got a flash of what might happen if the hub locked up on me at 40+mph. The chill turned to outright fright.

Has anyone seen my fitness? I used to have plenty of it but it seems to have all disappeared here lately.

That's seriously not the case - at least I hope it isn't. I think I'm in one of those troughs we all go through from time to time. You know the ones. The pain and suffering, the shortness of breath, the burning legs... These things shouldn't happen on a Level 2 ride. Level 4? Fuggedaboudit. That's what I have going for me lately. Kind of makes you want to be me, doesn't it?

Seems like only last weekend we were setting records for high temperatures in October. This morning the weather man says we're about 20° below average for this time of year. In bike training speak, that's like taking a month off and then kick-starting training with 2x20 intervals.

I guess I'd better order me up some more arm warmers. Maybe some knee warmers too.

Only a short ride yesterday. I got a late start due to this little construction project - a roof addition this week on the old abode - which has been leading to extra-long days at the office. Plus I realized I hadn't done any strength work this week. It was time to make everything nice and sore again. So by the time I got on my bike the light was already getting dim.