June 5, 2022
Rest Day
With age comes wisdom or so the saying goes. It's not quite that simple, of course. With age, we gain experience but it's how we use the accumulated knowledge, understanding, experience, common sense and insight to make sound decisions and sensible judgments that counts. I am in my seventh decade now and stumbled across something that seems so rediculously obvious but which I had not considered until now.
We were listening to Robbie McEwen commentating on the Giro D'Italia last week about the riders' maximum heart rate. Once the world's fastest sprinter, he said that the maximim heart rate of a Giro rider will be on average around 190 beats per minute at the start of the Giro and by the end of the Giro that will drop to around 170. He reminded his audience that the heart is a muscle and it gets fatigued just as the leg muscles would.
It was a moment of clarity for me. Thank-you, Robbie. You see, as my athletic body ages, I have come to appreciate that rest is as important as the work itself. David and I both tap into a deep well of energy on a daily basis. It's there when we head out on the bikes each day and it delivers day after day. When our heads hit the pillows at night, sleep comes quickly and it's usually a deep sleep. That makes complete sense. But, what's less apparent is the toll of all that exercise on our bodies. From experience I know about the training effect and that when I take a day of rest, my legs will have more spring and it takes less effort to bound along on the next ride. But how is it that I have been living an athletic life for all these years (and am pretty aware of the ups and downs of my heart rhythm) but never considered that my heart needs rest too? Maybe I can just chalk it up to gaining a bit of wisdom that will help me stay healthy so I can continue exploring the world on two wheels.
All this rambling is to say that today is another rest day, following four physical days in which we covered 302 km and climbed 3300 meters. We hung out in Girona, doing mundane things like laundry and mounting bike racks on the Bike Friday's (David), writing and researching routes (me), strolling, eating and snoozing.
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And lastly, here's a travellers tip for the completely mundane task of laundry. I bring a dry bag and a small bottle of laundry detergent along on each trip. In the morning, throw in the laundry and add water and detergent. Close it up and leave it to soak while you are out exploring. In the evening slosh it around, rinse, wring out and hang to dry.
And with that, I'll call this entry done. Tomorrow we hit the road again.
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From one woman in her seventh decade to another—you’re one of the lucky ones.
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