2009 Ride

Well, the ride is this weekend for 2009. I've been terribly lax in both training and promotion. Too many things have interfered this year, and that is not good. Especially considering conditions should be near perfect for my temperment. I don't think I'll do more than 20, though. And all the support will come from me. I've not sent the first letter requesting support or prayer this year. I've told the Emmaus folks to expect to use me as a volunteer for the remainder of the day after I do my first 20 miles. I'm good with that. I've also decided that 2010 is MY year to shine. I'm going to have a marketing plan and everything. Look out!

I'm Nervous.....

....but greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. God can turn water into wine, so making me feel like I'm biking in 60 degree weather when it's really 84 with 71% humidity should be easy, right?

I just checked the detailed weather forcast for Plano, IL for the ride tomorrow and it's is worst case scenario as far as I'm concerned. The good news is that the majority of the day is mostly cloudy, turning to partly cloudy!

PLEASE pray for me. It will be God getting me through this weekend. And the song that has been on my heart ever since I woke up this morning is "Every blessing you pour out, I'll turn back to praise".

Blessed be the name of the Lord, indeed!!

I do this voluntarily???

I must be crazy. Then again, we already knew that, didn't we? Yeup, that's what I thought. Ok, well to prove that fact once again, I let Lynn talk me into joining her for my first ever spinning class last Friday morning. Yes, morning. I met her at 9:00 am. Well, ok...I was supposed to meet her at 9. I finally got there more like 9:10, but only because there was no sign out in front of the rec center and I kept driving past it while trying to find it. Anyway, 9:00 isn't that remarkably early until you realize that this was my day off. I could have slept in, but instead I chose torture. Spinning class wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but man oh man the saddle of the bike sure was. My muscles got a good workout, but they weren't what was screaming at me for the next day or two.

I'm not really sure how someone who has as much padding as I do can have such a problem with sitting on a hard seat. I was only on this for an hour and I was hurting so bad by the end that I was ready to quit even if the class wasn't over. Luckily for me it was, but I did most of my stretching off the bike while everyone else was still on.

This tells me that I really need to get out there and test the new saddle that I put on the bike I'm going to use for the ER. It's not a new to me saddle, but off of a bike that I haven't ridden in 3 years. I used it for one season, but had so many problems controlling the bike that I had too many other things to worry about and don't really remember how comfy (or uncomfy) the seat was on my tush.

If I get out there and ride for a couple of hours with it and am still having problems I don't know what to do. Maybe I should consult a chiropractor to see if my pelvic bones are out of alignment and hitting the sitting surface wrong. I guess that could be a possibility, right? The only other option I can think of at the moment is to pay for a professional bike fitting to make sure that all of the other elements are as optimal as they can be. If it is still painful after that, maybe conditioning along with grinning and bearing it are my only choices.

A quick check of the weekend weather shows that it is to be sunny on Saturday and only a 40% chance of rain on Sunday. It will still be chilly, only getting into the very low 40s for highs, but I think if the bike paths are clear of snow I'll have to get out there for an hour or two at least one of the days. I have to start sometime and there are only 10 weeks to go until the ER.

Getting a Jump on 2008

I know I never posted after the event last year, but I did 80 miles!!

And now I am gearing up for Endurance Ride 2008. I have had the saddle switched for one that should be more comfortable. I have ordered a heart rate monitor that should be here any day now. The next major thing to do is install the odometer and decide if I am going to have the bike tuned up. On the one hand I probably should, but the voice of reason says that I really didn't ride it that much last year after the ER, so it should still be good, right?? yeah, yeah, I know, I know.

I also want to look into finding out about basic things like changing a tube and patching a tire. I've never even seen those things done before and should probably learn.

I have a 3 day weekend this weekend, but they are calling for cold and snow again. I may decide to go crazy and take the bike out even so. Especially if Lynn doesn't talk me into joining her for spin class on Friday morning. If I give in to that, the legs might not be ready for any more biking this weekend!!

Stay tuned, I will try to update better this year.

Moving along

Well, the endurance ride is less than two weeks away. I haven't been able to train as much or the way that I wanted to, but I can see God's hand in what has and hasn't happened, so I have to trust Him that I will be able to finish the 11 hours. I was able to go out for a longer ride on Sunday, doing right around 3 hours. I have no idea how far I went, because I still haven't gotten the odometer hooked up, but at least I know my butt will easily endure 3 straight hours on the bike. That's almost 1/3 of the ride time, so I think I'm good on that score. Oh, I know I'll still be sore at the end of the day on June 9th, but at least I won't be going into it a total rookie.

A huge praise - I finally got the handle bars adjusted, so my back feels great, even three hours into a ride. And the numbness in my hands is greatly diminished due to the new position. Took nearly an hour and three trips into Menard's, but it is finally done!!

I reserved my spot at LaSalle manor with Emmaus today, so it is beginning to feel real.

Thanks to everyone who has already agreed to sponsor me. There is room for plenty more :)

As we get closer, please continue to pray for those of us training, those that are working the administrative details, and the men we are reaching through Emmaus Ministries. Again, the link is www.streets.org for more information.

Finally, one last prayer request - WEATHER! God's will be done, but I would find it much more enjoyable to ride in 65-75 degree weather with low humidity and low winds. We had that this past weekend, but today shot up to 87. Those of you who know me well will laugh when I say I will gladly endure 90-100 degree heat for the rest of the summer if it will just stay under 80-85 on Saturday June 9th!!!!

God Bless you all,

Kelly

A disappointment

Well, next to the T-ball debacle, that was the next most humiliating experience of my life. Not only was I the only rider there not in those special shoes that clip onto the bike pedals, not in official riding gear and with a bike with a side basket and kickstand, I was the slowest rider there and ended up with my own personal escort.

I could have endured all of that if I had actually learned something. Turns out riding in a pack is mostly common sense. They didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from running information in the Army or couldn't have figured out myself just from observation. And cornering? Something that comes with practice.

So, even though I've paid my money I don't think I'll go back for the next two weeks to endure more humiliation. Fortunately the Emmaus ride is about endurance, not speed!

A great day!

Well, I did my first long ride of the season today. After getting the bike out of winter storage on Monday, I rode for 30 minutes on Tuesday and 40 minutes on Wednesday.

Today, I loaded it up and rode on the Forest Preserve paths after church. Did a total of 16 miles in about 2 hours with a couple of breaks. A huge thanks to the two girls selling water at the Corner of Glenview and Harms Roads. Good luck in buying the wheelchairs for disabled athletes and I hope you can talk tomorrow!

Nearly 5 hours later and the only ill effects seem to be my butt. I am definitely saddle sore. I wonder if it will go away with more riding. I remember now that that was one of the problems with the long Saturday rides last year, I never wanted to ride on Sunday because of a sore rear end.

I didn't even bother taking the bike off the car because I have my first riding lesson tomorow night. I've never heard of these before, but I found out that there is a class on riding in a pack, and they will go over basics like cornering, drinking on the bike, etc. All things that I think will serve me well in my upcoming adventure.