Training, and Our Bikes
Russian Warship Go F...
Harvey the Wonder Bike. Harvey (he's a bicycle "RV" you see) is a highly customized Surly Long Haul Disc Trucker. In fact, the only thing about Harvey that's a Surly is the frame and fork; everything else is 100% custom build per my specs. I have discussed the details in earlier journals, and I'll refer you to them should you care about such; the original build specs can be found here --> All the Specs and some updates I made can be found here --> Updates (the specs on Doc's bike can also be found at the "Updates" link). Being a Galaxy-class touring bike, Harvey keeps abreast of world affairs and insisted that I add this bumper sticker to his rear fender;
In a world where semi-trucks seem like warships compared to a bicycle, the bumper sticker seemed appropriate.
Training. A short tour like this one wouldn't normally require much training; assuming you ride regularly, you should be good to go. But I earlier whined about the herniated disc I developed last fall that is putting pressure on a nerve and preventing me from having full power in my right leg. I have been able to ride regularly this calendar year so far, but my usual ride is only about 15 miles and it's pretty flat. I haven't been brave enough to attempt the steep hills that I usually ride, because my right leg just doesn't have full power. But now that I am committed to this tour, I have to force myself to ride further and add some hills to my routine. So this will be a real-time more-or-less weekly update on my progress. I'm training on an unloaded bike. During the week I will ride the flat 15-mile route at least 3 days, and on Saturdays I will try to ride a progressively longer distance. My rides consist of loops from my home - the wind is predominantly from the SW here, so I ride south and west first and then return north and east to complete the loop.
Sat Apr 16 - I rode 35 miles, mostly flat but with 1 short steep hill. This was difficult for me, and I stopped at about 22 miles for an off-bike snack break. I finished the ride at an overall 10.6mph pace, which is much slower than I would have ridden prior to the back issue. I'm riding an unloaded bike at about the speed I would normally ride a fully-loaded bike. Oops - this tour may be much more difficult for me than it should be - I guess we'll see.
Fri Apr 22 - I managed to slog through 40 miles. My training routes are all loops from my home, so if there's any wind I will experience it for part of the ride. Today there was a strong south wind, which I prefer - I ride south and west first, then return north and east, so I had a tailwind on the return. This route included 1 very steep but short hill, and I managed to complete it at an 11.2mph average which felt fast to me. I think the overcast skies helped the riding conditions.
Fri Apr 29 - I rode 45 miles today, and it was a tough ride for me. The wind was strong from the south, gusting to 30+ mph. It was nice once I reached the halfway mark at Kellyville and was able to commence heading back north, but I was pretty spent at that point. Today's ride included a couple of steep hills (the locally well-known Kiefer hill being one of them), so I think I am getting the proper training for this tour. I lucked out with overcast skies again, so at least I didn't have to suffer the sun.
Fri May 6 - I rode 50 miles today. Roads were flooded from last night's rain, and twice I rode through 6" deep water. The wind was out of the north, a remnant from the storms, but not too bad. Once again I got lucky with overcast skies. The distance was tough for me - even at a slow pace of 11.4 mph I felt pretty beat up afterwards.
Sat May 14 - I managed 55 miles today. It was tough, because this was the first day I had to deal with the heat and humidity that is typical in Oklahoma this time of year. The last few weeks I had gotten lucky on my weekly long ride and had been under overcast skies - but not so today! I got a bit woozy and stopped and bought a 2-quart jug of cold sweet tea in Kellyville - the cold liquid plus the sugar did the trick and got me home.
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I have managed to increase my training enough that I should be good to go for this short tour. Today's ride convinced me that the big task will be dealing with the triple-H challenge consisting of Heat, Hills, and Humidity. I've gotten lazy in retirement and don't wake up as early as I should - the heat today reminded me of the advantage of an early start.
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