Sometimes it feels good to go out and do battle with the
elements on the bike. Heat, wind, rain, cold. Bring it on!
But if you’re not ready with enough gas in the tank to begin
with, beware, baby. You’re gonna suffer! And not in a “that was a great
workout,” kind of suffering. More of a “that was brutal, I should never have
gone out on the bike today,” kind of suffering.
I’ve been doing a lot of work that involves constantly
walking around in a big box store, and I’ve learned one thing. It tires out my
legs, big time. And on rides not long
after working, they’re weak when I get on the bike. I always thought the
walking muscles and the riding leg muscles weren’t the same ones. And that a
lot of walking would, if anything, strengthen my leg muscles. But it sure
doesn’t feel that way. It feels just the opposite.
So this has lead to some really slow slogs in the heat and
wind on recent rides, and it all got me to thinking: There’s a big difference
between being tired and satisfied after a tough ride, and just being physically
beaten after a tough ride and wondering, “why did I do that?!!”
That difference is how rested or not the body is at the
beginning of a ride, and especially the legs. When you’re well rested with
enough sleep, there’s a great chance that even if the ride is very demanding,
you’ll finish feeling grounded and satisfied, glad you did the ride.
But if the body is worn down from lack of sleep and the legs
muscles are fatigued from doing things like a lot of walking, crouching and
stooping, it’s not exactly in position to spring back once you’re on the bike.
(Note: Some riders claim this isn’t the case with a hangover. They say a good
ride is actually a hangover cure. Now, this may be the case for some young
riders, but I think that recuperative power for hangovers gets thrown out the
window around the age of 30! After that, good luck!)
Sleep is huge here. I went on a recent ride after working
late the night before, which involved constantly walking and moving around, and
I got up early to ride the next morning to beat the big heat promised by the
afternoon.
I thought, hell, once I’m on the bike in the early morning
fresh air, I’ll snap to, and get into a rhythm. Well, that didn’t happen! I got
out on the bike trail and realized pretty quickly, that I hadn’t gotten enough
sleep. I pedaled along and could feel myself starting to nod off!
Now that’s not a good feeling, knowing that you can nod off
while on the bike, only to jerk awake too late to keep from crashing. So I
drank some more water and kept on, as the heat coming off the trail pavement
climbed upward. On a hot day, the air temp can be 80-90 degrees or so, which
isn’t bad if you’re riding at a good clip. But the temp glowering off the black
asphalt trail at that point is quite a bit hotter, adding a tidy little high
90s or even triple digit heat waves to the mix.
As I rode, I stopped being sleepy to the point of nodding
off. But even though I woke up a bit, I also discovered something else: My legs
felt like lead, with no energy for keeping any kind of strong cadence.
So there I was, pedaling along on dead legs into the
increasingly hot air, which was blowing hard as a side wind, further impeding
my progress. I was pretty much running on empty with no gas stations in sight.
I didn’t try to push through my tiredness by speeding up my
tempo, mainly because I just didn’t have the energy. So I just pedaled on and
didn’t think about it, let my mind blank out. I rested and ate some snacks at
the halfway, 25-mile turnaround point, then headed back.
I felt a bit stronger on the way back, probably because
there are some downhill stretches. But once the down hills were over, I had 16
or so miles of flat riding ahead. It was a lot hotter than when I started, and
I faced a 15-20 mph headwind most of the way.
When I got home, and got off the bike, I didn’t collapse and
assume the fetal position, completely done, thumb in mouth, blubbering. No, I
was OK, in fact I felt pretty good. But I felt good mainly because the three
hours or so in very harsh conditions in the saddle, was over.
I had another similar ride a week later, one I shoehorned in
between my work schedule. I could have ridden the next day after that last
ride, but decided not to. My body felt tired, and after the two previous rides,
I figured I’d just be beating myself up before going back to work. And what’s
the use in doing that?
So now I figure the best way to enjoy a long ride is to
start out with enough sleep, rested legs, and early enough to beat any
afternoon riding conditions of heat and wind. Because there’s no breaking
through the tiredness, pushing into an energized pace when there’s very little
gas in the tank. You just run out of gas! And there’s no satisfied feeling even
after you make it through a ride like that.
Til next time, remember to pull on a helmet every time you
get on the bike. Then be sure to keep the rubber side down, ride safely, and
then, have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson
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