_Fist Bumping Crazy Man

There’s this one route that I take often. It’s a good route that has both up and down hills and will get me about 9 or 10 miles. It’s also a bike lane road, so, it feels a bit safer to ride on.

As I’ve been riding this route fairly frequently I’ve come to notice a runner that’s out almost every day. He’s a gentleman probably in his 60′s who looks fairly rugged like he could have been a career military man who fought in many battles or something. He runs against traffic, so, you’re always riding towards him, never passing as you go the same direction.

As you get close to ‘military man’ he starts to rev up (and I see him do it with every cyclist or runner that he comes upon). He’s always making some kind of noise, but, it gets louder as he gets close to you. Then, as you pass, he sticks his fist out for a fist bump and yells something loud, but, unrecognizable. With my personal designation as a military man I can’t help but think it’s some war cry or something. Personally, I love his enthusiasm. It’s fun and entertaining to watch. He always gives me a little chuckle.

Well, until today, I’ve never seen anyone actually fist bump back. Everyone, including myself, just leaves him hanging. This morning, though, as I saw him running towards me I decided that I was going to reciprocate the fist bump. So, as he extended his weathered fist towards me I took my hand off the bars and stuck my fist out towards his.

As our fists met I was greeted with an unexpected response. He turned around as I passed and yelled even louder. I mean, really loud! It was like he had found a kindred spirit or something. I turned quickly so that I wouldn’t spoil his victorious moment with my laughter. It was pretty darn hilarious.

Definitely makes for a fun ride in the mornings. I think I’ll be fist bumping a little more often…

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_Cooler Weather…

When I left this morning it was 52 degrees outside. I LOVE THIS WEATHER!

As I got riding, though, I quickly found that riding and standing/walking are totally different. As I walked outside with my bike I was amazed at how great it felt. As I got riding, though, I couldn’t believe how cold it was!

Even after riding for 2 or 3 miles, it still felt cold. It eventually changed and felt pretty good, though, and was one of my favorite rides I’ve had so far. I rode 12.5 miles and felt great getting home. I could’ve easily done a couple more miles.

I’m greatly looking forward to riding more this fall!

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_Personal Bests (so far…)

My past 2 rides have marked personal bests for me… so far. I did a short (4 mile), but, push it ride the other day and averaged 11.5 mi/h. That’s my highest average so far of any ride. Then, today, I did a longer ride (9 miles) and averaged 11 mi/h. So, both of those were personal bests for me so far. My goal is to get to where I’m consistently riding 15 mi/h. I’m wondering about that, though, as, when you look at my speeds it goes way up and then way down because of having to stop and start with traffic. So my average speeds may not be super accurate. I’m thinking I need to get to a park where I can just ride for 60 or 70 minutes and then check my speed and see where I am.

I also realized the other day (on my shorter ride) that I should steer clear of salty foods the night before I ride (especially a harder ride). That absolutely killed my energy and made it a very tough ride. Despite the fact that I had a personal best of 11.5 mi/h it just didn’t feel good. I couldn’t stop sucking down water and I had no real sustainable energy levels. I felt like I was going to collapse when I got home. So, salty is out (at least when I know I’m riding the next morning).

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_A Better Ride

 
I’ve been asking too much of myself. I’ve been pushing myself to hard, and, in the process, my averages are lower.

 
Today I decided just to ride at a leisurely pace and not really push myself, and, guess what happened. I rode further than I have (10.2 miles) and I tied my average speed (10.6 mi/h). I guess there’s a lesson to be learned here.

 
It’s kind of funny. I know this principle, but, I guess sometimes I guess I just have to experience it sometimes to get it through my thick skull.

 
Oh well, great ride this morning. Tomorrow, shorter, faster, push, push , push. We’ll see how I feel after that one.

 
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_An Introduction to Riding in NYC

 
Because it’s supposed to be raining today and we’re supposed to have a hurricane tomorrow, I thought it’d be a good day to write about cycling in New York. And, I know that people that don’t live here might find this interesting…

 
Being new to cycling and (as I’ve said in previous posts) having not ridden in a long time, cycling can be a bit daunting. Especially riding in New York City.

 
Growing up, I used to ride as much as possible. I would come home from school and ride until dark. That was of course in the little town of Niceville and Valparaiso, FL. There were tons of lightly traveled streets and really only one main, busy road running through (and, compared to where we live now, this road hardly seems that busy any more). I’m sure my parents worried, but, they also probably new that the majority of trouble I could get myself into would be self inflicted.

 
Having said that, New York is a whole different beast. Getting up the courage to ride here was one of my biggest initial obstacles. I did lots of research into bike routes and less traveled streets, etc…

 
My initial ride from the bike shop home was the worst. I hadn’t ridden in so long that I was shaky on the bike itself. Add that to my already looming fear of riding in NYC and it was a pretty slow, timid, nerve racking ride home.

 
Since then, I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable, but, if there’s one thing I’ve learned so far riding here, you can’t ever let your guard down.

 
In just the short time I’ve been riding I’ve already had a few close calls. One was definitely me and my learning curve for riding, the others have been motorists just not paying attention.

 
The streets i generally ride on are designated bike lane roads. I found these streets that I use through both the 2011 NYC Bike Map and also through google maps ‘newish’ feature where you can get biking directions. When it comes to these bike lane streets/roads there are several different kinds of bike lanes. There are protected bike lanes where you’re riding next to the curb, but, with cars parked on the other side of you. So, you’ve got a barrier in between you and actual moving vehicle traffic. These are nice, but, you can also get stuck behind slower moving cyclists and people who think that it’s just ok to walk in these areas since there are no cars here (annoying by the way. I’ve also of course never done this myself [note the sarcasm]).

 
Then there are the designated Bicycle lanes. These are my favorites. It’s a designated lane with lines and everything. There’s some security in the thin white line on the road that separates me and traffic. People still drive into it, but, it seems less rare. It’s also easier to pass in these areas as well which is nice.

 
Then, there are the bike routes. These are roads that don’t have designated bike lanes on them, but, have bike emblems on the roads with signs that tell motorists and cyclists that they’re sharing the road. Definitely better than non-bike roads, but, cars still notice that there is no line on the road separating you and them and they do get closer to you as they’re passing.

 
Lastly, there are the roads that have no designation at all. These are my least favorite and I still haven’t mustered up the courage to ride heavily on any of these roads, but, people do it. These are the roads that you definitely feel the cars presence as it comes up on you and passes.

 
Even riding on the designated roads, though, you find quickly that cars ride in the bike lanes, trucks park here to load and unload daily deliveries, people walk right out in front of you and stop in these lanes, and the list goes on and on. Like I said, you’ve always got to be on the offensive when riding.

 
So, there’s my brief (and not so brief) introduction to riding a bike in New York City. I’m also planning at some point to take a riding in NYC class that one of the bike shops does around there. So, I’ll post more then as I learn…

 
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_A Different Approach

I’ve decided to take a different approach today. I’ve been riding to try and build stamina and go longer and longer distances. At least this was my goal as I haven’t really been riding long enough to have any strong cycling philosophies.

 
So, I road shorter but harder today. Rather than riding 8 or 9 miles, I road 4 and pushed it as hard as I could. The route that I chose, lucky enough, is fairly up and down, so, I got good hard uphills and then a little rest on the downhills. I stood to push it up the hills and then kicked it into the lowest gear to propel myself down.

 
Once again, I now feel like I’m going to die, but, also once again, it feels great.

 
Good ride this morning…

 
With that said, I think I’m going to try something out for a while and see how it goes. Starting this next week (since this weekend is going to be a bit dicey with the hurricane and all…) I’m going to try to ride at least 5 days, maybe 6.

 
I’ll do one day distance, one day short, but, pushing it on the short day. I’ll then alternate that. But then, one day during the week, I want to push myself for a longer distance ride. My initial rides have been 8 to 9 miles. So, one day a week I want to shoot for anywhere from 10-15 miles. Maybe ride to and around Flushing Meadows Park, rest for a bit, then ride back. And hopefully, all of these numbers will go up as my body begins to adjust, I gain stamina, and build muscle.

 
I guess we’ll just have to see as I go…

 
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_Finding the Right Activity

I’ve always struggled with exercising. I try and try, but, find myself failing at it every time. I tried a bit in college, but, just couldn’t find the consistency. Then after college got a membership at the Y with a friend. I was pretty faithful, but, found myself losing weight and not building muscle. I watched as my friend was building, building, building, but, after 6 months, I was still on the same weights I was when I began. Not only that, but, with the added work my body wanted more and more food. I couldn’t stop eating. Darn metabolism (ok, not really).

 
After I moved from Tallahassee to Atlanta I tried again to get out there. I tried running but hated it. And I mean hated it. Running is a serious chore for me. Tried the gym thing again, but, just couldn’t get into it. Another fail in the exercise category.

 
After I got married and was approaching 30 I began feeling the need to work out. My metabolism actually began to slow down and for the first time could feel my body not reacting as it used to. Still, though, I just couldn’t find that push that I needed.

 
New York has been great. You naturally get a bit of exercise just through a more active lifestyle. We don’t own a car, we walk everywhere, and, often, you find yourself running up and down subway stairs. I think the walking alone as a daily activity (not working out, just to get places) has been nice. But, I’ve still wanted to find some fitness activity to challenge myself and really get into shape.

 
Enter cycling. I’ve always wanted to get into cycling, but, it always seemed like there were so many obstacles. I never even knew where to start looking or what to buy. A friend was telling me about cycling and was telling me that for a mere $4,000-$5,000 investment you could enter cycling with everything you’d need. Um, yeah, thanks. I may not ever ride.

 
Then, this summer I got blessed. Someone offered to buy me a bike. I guess that’s the push that I needed to start researching into what I needed. I found that, no, you don’t need $4,000-$5,000 to jump in. It’s still a little bit pricey for our current budget, but, nowhere near those numbers. But, then, again, that’s why it was such a blessing!

 
I consulted numerous bike shops, friends who ride, biking articles, reviews, people on the street, etc… and finally settled on the 2012 Specialized Sirrus Sport Int’l.

 


 
I’ve loved it every time I get out there. It’s not a chore, it’s just awesome. I wake up excited about hitting the road. And, when I’m tired and finished, I can’t wait until the next time I get to get out there and ride. I guess it’s just about finding the right activity that get’s you going.

 
So, a big thank you to the person who bought me the bike! It’s become way more than just a gift! It’s become a lifestyle change that I’ve been quite enjoying!!!

_My Inaugural Message at Grace

I preached my first message at Grace this past Sunday. The title was ‘Gospel Building Communities’ and I preached from Ephesians 4:15-16. You can listen here… Gospel Building Communities

_A Discouraging Ride

 
Well, I hit a wall today (and not literally).

 
I headed out this morning thinking I’d do a bit shorter ride this morning, but, push it a little. Try to up my average speed, push it a little harder up the hills, etc… Let’s just say, FAIL!

 
I pushed it hard up the first few hills, had good speed going, was feeling really good. I was feeling so good in fact that I pushed it a little past my turn around point (I was only planning about a 7.2 mile ride this morning and ended up going about 7.85 miles). So, not too much further, but, a little.

 
Again, in my newness to cycling I wasn’t paying attention to the elements. The whole way out, a nice wind was at my back. Which of course means that I’m riding against it the way back. There’s even a pretty nice slow downhill that I just couldn’t seem to get any speed on. Finally, at about mile 6.5 I just had to stop. I sat on a bench, drank some water, and cooled off for a minute or two.

 
It was kind of disappointing. But, I knew this would probably happen at some point. Being that I’m just getting back into this after so long, it was bound to happen. I just didn’t want it to.

 
I pushed it back (as in rode it hard, not actually pushing the bike) the uphill route home, but, am not as encouraged today as I have been. Just gotta get back out there again and get my body back into shape.

 
I guess that’s one way to know that I’ve finally found an exercise activity that I like. Even in my disappointment I can’t wait to get back out there again and give it another shot.

_The First Few Rides

 
I picked up my bike from Bill’s Cyclery in Woodside, NY on Saturday, August 13th. I rode the bike a round about way home for a first ride of about two and a half miles. I thought I was going to die. It was my first ride in at least 15 years. Probably closer to 20. It was kind of humorous. My first block was rather wobbly and the rest of the ride home was very cautious to put it lightly.

 
My next ride was better. I rode about 7.2 miles. Still felt like I was going to die, but, it also felt good. I started to feel more comfortable on the bike and started to understand a bit about riding in NYC.

 
My third ride was an adventure. My longest yet. I rode 8.84 miles and went out to Roosevelt Island. I wasn’t intending to ride out to the island, but, I was feeling good when I got to the bridge, so, I thought, why not (enter foreshadowing music here…)? The island was a beautiful ride. Great views of Queens and Manhattan, but, not the best ride. You share a path with pedestrians and runners and a lot of it’s that brick sidewalk type of path, so, it’s not the smoothest ride ever.

 
The way back was when I realized my mistake. Of course I felt great the when I got there. It was all downhill. Which also means that my way back was all uphill. I made it home, but, haven’t felt that spent in a long time.

 
My fourth ride was back to my original 7.2 mile path, but, I stretched it a bit longer. I rode all the way out 34th Avenue to the Grand Central Pkwy (basically out to where the Mets stadium/US Open Stadium is) for a total of 8.85 miles. .01 miles longer than my Roosevelt Island ride. I was tired when I got home, but, it felt great. This was a balance of up and down the whole way, so, it’s not as bad. Fun all the way around.

 
What I have noticed, though, is the way home. We apparently live at a higher level than most of the areas around us. So, it doesn’t really matter what direction I go, I’m going uphill back to the house. That means I’ve got to push it back up to the house.

 
All in all, I think from here on out for a while I’m going to take my last route to build up my body. It’s a good balance and there’s decent shade the whole way.

 
Final thoughts on my first few rides. I’m loving it. Absolutely loving it. Getting out there and riding is so relaxing (even in the midst of sucking air and feeling like you’re going to die sometimes). It’s such a great stress reliever and start to the day. Looking forward to getting better and better at it!