Blog : I hate to complain but....

Blogs > RoadNeverTaken > Just saying....

119 posts
11/14/2010 1:07 pm

I hate to complain but....

This will be a very short blog. I just want to complain and I can’t resist an audience ready to listen.

I have cycled the 35-mile route of El Tour de Tucson for the past three years. This year I had a plan. I bought a road bike (rather than a hybrid) which is much lighter and I intended to break the 3-hour mark.

My new bike is a pearly white pretty bike. The first time I picked it up to toss it in the back of my Tacoma I nearly broke the back window because it was so much lighter than my heavier hybrid. I’ve been training. I’ve also lost an amazing amount of weight in two months so I’m thinking this is a good exercise for me.

I was in ‘everything is going really great mode’. Until this morning. The 35-mile is now a 40-mile so I drove up to the start to ride the five new miles which were added to the beginning of the route.

The adjective that comes to mind to describe the first two miles is slog. Or is that a noun? Regardless, I spent nearly the entire time the first four miles in the lowest gear of my new bike praying I wouldn’t run out of steam before the road leveled out. I still want to break my average speed but I know that first four miles or so will be at the absolutely lowest average speed I can muster.

So I’m complaining. Because if I didn’t complain, when I meet this challenge I won’t feel quite as good about it. So thank you for listening because it is really no fun to complain to the thin air.

Skipper_too 68G

11/14/2010 3:52 pm

Good luck to you in the race. Betty and I have recently taken up cycling as well. We are much earlier in the process than you are and I can relate to the slog of the beginning of the course of your race.

RoadNeverTaken replies on 11/14/2010 5:24 pm:
Skipper, you and Betty will have a really good time with this because you can be as serious or as casual as you want and still have a good time. I ride about 30 miles a week, about 10 miles on pretty flat trail and another 20 on the roads (we have really good bike lanes here). The roads near my house are a lot of up and down because I live in some foothills. It's taken about 6 months for me to get in the condition I'm in so just take your time, find the bike paths in your community and ride to Starbucks (or whatever place you like to eat or have coffee) and make that your turn-around place. You'll be surprised how quickly you pick it up! if you even have questions, don't be afraid to ask. It's probably happened to me and if it hasn't it probably will so we can find out together!

Simpleladyb2 74F

14822 posts
11/14/2010 6:05 pm

I am glad to hear your motivations, this is my first time to ride in a bicycle and still have fears on the road nevertheles we went with Don almost 15 miles today.

Nice post.

Betty

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."

RoadNeverTaken replies on 11/15/2010 6:52 am:
Hooray! I was pretty scared about riding on roads, too. I started in my own neighborhood and then worked my way up to riding to the nearest Starbucks. I'm still very watchful on the roads but I'm not frightened anymore.

Robyn5 83F

11/15/2010 9:03 am

I think you are marvellous to undertake it at all. I used to do a lot of cycling before I got married, now I just walk.