We’ve all had mushy feeling,
tired legs while on a ride. The feeling that if you call on your legs to
accelerate, they won’t respond, they’ll have nothing in them to sustain harder
pedaling.
But one of the nicest feelings as
a rider to me is when I can “feel the steel” in my legs as I pedal harder. It’s
the great feeling we get as the legs respond with power when suddenly called
upon to kick it up a notch. They feel solid, strong, full of energy.
Whenever the legs feel that strong,
I can point to a few ingredients: Overall fitness, good nutrition and good
hydration. With all that working, the legs respond with plenty of energy and
firepower on the pedals.
But even when those conditions
align, the weather on a ride can be the wild card that helps or hinders the
ability to stay strong on a ride.
There’s wind. There’s heat. And
then there’s heat and humidity combined with no wind.
Over three rides this past week,
my legs felt strongest on the second ride, when the weather was the best, the
air was cool and dry, and there wasn’t much wind to deal with.
On the third ride, my legs felt
good, but there was a difference. That time the air was unusually humid, and started
cooking in the heat of the day as the ride went on. And, there was no wind,
which kind of made for a hothouse effect. I didn’t notice the heat until sweat
started trickling down my face during the first 25 miles. That rarely happens
on this ride, since the wind is usually enough to evaporate any forehead sweat
before it gets to the drip stage.
But the muggy conditions made me
sweat a lot more than normal. I took that as a sign to drink plenty of water as
I rode.
At the rest point on the 25-mile return,
I ate snacks, filled my water bottle, had more water with a couple of electrolyte
gel caps, and wiped the dried sweat streaks off my sunglasses. The muggy
conditions had continued to amp up as the day warmed toward the 90s.
As I rode back, my legs felt good
initially, but after about 10 miles of higher heat and sweating, I could tell, my
energy felt like it was draining out along with my sweat. I kept drinking
water, but the humidity seem to leak any extra firepower out of my legs. I rode
at a strong cadence, but didn’t have the gas in the tank to maintain an upper
end speed of 18 plus mph.
Without the muggy conditions, I
think I would have had the surplus energy to ride faster. Thinking back, I’ve
never been able to feel strong when working out in heat and humidity for some
reason. I used to run long distance regularly in dry air. On a visit to Hawaii,
I went out for a run, and didn’t last long. It seemed like every pore was
pumping out sweat, and I don’t know if it was the distraction of the sweating,
or that my energy was draining along with the sweat, but I didn’t do much of a
run before I stopped and walked the rest of the way.
I feel lucky to live in a dry air
climate. To you cyclists who can ride strong in the heat and humidity, a tip of
the helmet to you. I don’t know how you do it!
Fellowship of cyclists
Whenever I’m at a rest break on a ride, having
some snacks, I sometimes encounter other riders, and sometimes not. But I’ve
found it rewarding to say hello to other cyclists and offer up a friendly
comment or two about the conditions, or whatever. Even when I really don’t feel
like chatting, and another cyclist is also quiet, I’ll offer up some sort of
communication. And almost every time, I’m glad I did. Shared experiences among
cyclists are a great thing. It’s a fellowship. Cyclists talking cycling, the
thing we all love to do.
Thankful for riding time
Getting out on the bike is
something all of us cyclists treasure. But work schedules and other commitments
often get in the way. Still if you really want to ride, it’s a matter of making
the time any way possible. When we know we’ll have a few hours free, it can be
a mental boost to work a ride in. Even if we can’t ride as long as we’d like,
at least we got on the bike and made the most of the time.
A good friend of mine loves to
ride, but his work schedule takes him on the road for most of the year, he has
dad duties when home, and he’s battled knee and shoulder injuries. He just
texted me that he just went on his first ride of the year on August 15, and was
ecstatic once he was back in the saddle. Made me realize how lucky I am to get
the regular rides in that I do. Circumstances can and do take rides away. Hopefully
there aren’t too many obstacles keeping us off the bike for long periods of
time. But if there are, keep in mind how fun it is to ride, and don’t stop
trying to get out on the bike anyway. Keep riding, Kev.
Thanks to you
This is the 100th
posting of this blog, which I started three years ago, and it’s been a great
combination of the two things I enjoy most: cycling and writing. So if you’ve
been a reader, thanks a million for tuning in. I hope you keep reading, and
that I can keep posting blogs that make for a worthwhile read for you.
Til next time, remember to strap
on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then, keep the rubber side down,
ride safely, and have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson
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