Cycle Training and other tidbits

August 31st 2009

WOW it's been a while since I wrote about my training bad journal keeper i guess. I have been on the bike pretty steady for the lat month and all seems to be ok though i did take 4 days off the bike, had access to a vehicle to do some shopping an general things i was not able to do on the bike. It was good up until i got back on the bike and rode the next day my knee was so stiff and achy i was in real discomfort like i haven't been since i first injured it over 2 years ago, i am not sure whats going on, the PT says it's an overuse injury to the patella tendon, but i feel the pain under my knee in the joint so i don't really know what to do. An MRI would tell the tale but it cost thousands to get and i don't have that kind of insurance nor money, if it doesn't get better as i start to add weight to the bike i may have to spend the money and see whats happening.

July 29th 2009

      Well I am back on the bike after my bought of sickness, and I feel pretty good. I have backed down on the miles a bit, doing only the 11mi round trip to the shop with the Yamato and taking the Rhygin to to town I feel it is the best way to go for now, I have added the panniers to the Yamato and will start riding them empty for the next few months , then add the weight as planned. I also dropped 7.14 pounds off the bike as well, I did a fair bit of nip and tuck on the Yamato to get it on the diet and down in weight, the bike is still over built and super ready for around the world will also be loosing a few pounds in weight when Jodi and I split some of the gear later this year. I know my 80lb of gear will go down to about 68-72lb so that will be good. Also Bilenky is making Jodi a bike as well, but nothing like mine should weigh about 32lb when it is a complete bike.

July 13th 2009

    So after my big fully loaded trip last week I got so sick, I have not done many miles this week nor last, I am better now and feel like I can get back to riding everyday. Next week I will add the empty bags to the bike and start training with the extra weight, for about the next 4 months then I'll add a little weight at a time.



July 1st 2009

   I went for a 20+mi fully loaded ride today. The bike handles great and feels good at speed, I'll have to get used to the slow steering though. I am sure I will have to drop some weight off my gear, it is not that I have too much I went through and got rid of a lot of stuff already, maybe I'll take some weight off the bike. The rear rack can be cut short there is a portion that really does nothing except look good, I'll get rid of the suspension Seatpost and go to a direct drive that should shave at least 3lb off, a good start. I will also go through the gear again and make sure i actually need all the pieces.
   I will have to admit I did get a ride up country from Paia were I rode today, it was too hot and I was not sure if I was ready for a 10mile slow climb back to the house , with a head wind, full moon, stuck brake and it was 2000 degrees out as well, ok all but the wind and the heat is a lie , ok so it wasn’t 2000 degrees but it sure felt hot, maybe like 90 or so in the sun and 89 in the shade, oh and did i mention the 120% humidity with no rain , some kind of Maui phenomenon... below is a ride profile just to Paia and a pic after I was dropped off up country heading home, I did have 7mi and 4 steep hills to get back to my house so I wasn't a complete woos.

June 13, 2009

I have now ridden the Yamato 400k at first it was a heavy bike I was lugging around, now it feels like any other bike just a bit heavier. In the last few weeks as I have upped the weight by ridding the Yamato I was suspecting that my knee would give me problems but that has not been the case, in fact my knee has been feeling great I did 2 long rides 30 and 40 miles 10 of the 40 was with all my gear, 80+lb HEAVY!!  I expected my knee to be painful the next day, nope felt good a little bit of achiness but no real pain. A friend who is a PT came by the shop and looked at my knee, she said I have a hint of patellar tendentious and a little IT band thing going on , but it is not what I thought it was Chrondomalacia and I am so glad , so what this means is with proper riding technique and stretching  I will be good as new by the time I leave.

        My long time girlfriend and I have broken up. It is sad to say goodbye to someone I love very much, but I know that I can’t go on this 4 year journey wanting to be with her, it limits your capacity to live the moment, be in the now and really get into your trip. So you might ask “why not have her come out for sections” well it still means that you are attached to an absent person and the desire to be with that person will weigh on your mind for sure, plus as a bicycle traveler one of the hardest things and loneliest times is when you meet a similar bicycle traveler going your direction and you become a bit attached to the company not so much the person and when they eventually go a different route it is sad, sharing the moments of life with someone is a totally different experience than seeing and feeling it solo, so imagine having to say goodbye to the one you love over and over again, it would be too much. We are all different and so this may seem weird to some and a cop out to others, well frankly if you don’t agree I really don’t care it is what I need to do for my Mental health, I have been there before and won’t do it again, she deserves to be happy and waiting around for 4 years for me is not fair, to either one of us.

 

May 18, 2009

It has been a while since I wrote about my training, well here it is.

I got the Yamato back from Bilenky and have been traveling to work on it, the bike is a monster 54 pounds without equipment so my legs are a bit tired, at first I thought I was getting sick I would get home from work and have no energy then I realized as the days wore on that my legs were tired and I was not getting sick just been pedaling around a heavy bike, I have probably put on about 60 mile on the bike in 2 weeks , I better do better than that if I want to pedal this thing 40+ mile a DAY !! the bike is a joy to ride and very stable at speed as well as having a really low gear for climbing, the weight is a bit of a shocker though. Knee feels good no real pains to mention just a dull ache once in a while.

04-22-09

I have been riding the bike now for 1 month and can report that my knee feels great, I occasionally get a twinge of pain but nothing while riding and no sharp pains anymore, I will continue to “stick to the plan” so far I have put on 400 miles in the first month, now if I can only do this every 8-10 days when I am riding I will be ready to rock and roll , or is that ride and rock or rock the ride…who knows I am just so happy that I can ride at this moment without pain. The true test of course comes as I add weight and distance, I am not carrying any weight except my fat #$%.  My bike comes back from Bilenky this week I am told, so I can get it built and ready to ride.

              I am so looking forward to school letting out I want to focus so much on getting my maps up and looking at routes, planning and scheming my way around the globe. I also have been in correspondence with a very nice lady who might want to go with me on a section, you should check out her site at http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=217247, this girl is hardcore she hiked across the US east to west in order to spread awareness about  Neurofibromatosis. It is an amazing journey; her journal is so worth reading. I hope she might join me on a section seems like she might be a good balance to the group of 1. I’ll keep ya posted.

April 15^th 2009

            The last 2 weeks I have been doing the usual mileage about 340k, just back and forth to work and to school. My knee has been feeling really good no major complaints; I will still take it slow I am not going to hurt myself at this stage.

           I will be getting the help of a friend, a physical therapist; so I can do as much as possible to get the knee in good enough shape, I can then switch bikes and do longer trips on the bike I am going to use for the trip, I have learned a great deal of patience over the last 3 years and it is paying off now, especially since I have to take it slow with the knee.

         I have been doing a great deal of Quad stretching, I feel it is really helping to keep my Patella in trac.

       All good from my point of view oh and I turned 36 yesterday, my Gf said I am big Monkey , I feel more like Old Monkey, I definitely feel the aches a lot more now that I am 36 :)