by Kcurly on May 19, 2010
I am seriously thinking of getting some of these:
Running with regular glasses is just annoying. That’s why contacts are usually my savior for all activities. However, especially in the spring, my eyes are easily irritated by contacts. I also just feel more comfortable in glasses in general.
When cycling, I have to wear sunglasses anyway to avoid the bugs and other junk trying to get into my eyes. The wind also will dry my contacts out…plus, let’s just face it: they make you look cool.
The worst bike ride ever was the time when I forgot my contacts and tried to wear my regular glasses under my sunglasses. Can you say disaster?
Since I’m scared to death undecided about getting Lasik surgery, I need another solution. So I’m on the search for some prescription sunglasses. I saw a big display at my optometrist’s office for sports glasses and would like the following features:
- Lenses that adjust to the amount of sunlight present
- Lightweight
- Cool looking
- Won’t break the bank
- No movement without being too tight
If anyone has experience with these types of lenses, please give me some input!
by Kcurly on April 24, 2010
I know I promised this ages ago, but here are the pictures from when I did my first bike ride (off the trainer) for the spring. Oh my gosh, it was a beautiful day!
I am privileged to live nearby a wonderful bike trail that takes me near some pretty water and through some neighborhoods. On the other end of the trail, it goes through wooded area, but I’ve never been there…maybe one day. The temperature was perfect, maybe 75 degrees, sunshine everywhere…I was feeling great!
Anyway, I ended up doing 15 miles that day. The good thing about having ridden my bike on the trainer was that I didn’t have to get readjusted to the seat. I didn’t even get sore. The bumps can sometimes be a surprise to my, er, sensitive areas, but overall…no pain!
There were tons of people out, even a whole family with a toddler riding his trike (so cute!) I just love to see families out together riding and doing something healthy! I can’t wait for the day when my son gets a little older and we can go riding together.
At the end of my ride, I met two ladies who were cooling down from their own ride. They were a mother and daughter who were doing crosstraining for Marathon Makeover . Both mom and the kid, who was maybe 15, were overweight so I was very proud of them for getting out there…because it is harder for overweight folks.
Anyway, they were kind enough to take this picture of me after we chatted for a bit. I wish them all the luck in the world.
To the challenge members: Since I got so many late entries, the start day will have to be Monday April 26th so I can add in everyone. I’m excited, we’ve got some great ladies on the roster!
by Kcurly on March 15, 2010
A road bike
Before training for a triathlon, my experiences with bicycles included a red tricycle and a bike with a pink banana seat, streamers on the handle bars, and basket with flowers on it.
Needless to say, when I picked up my new road bike from the bike shop, I was a little overwhelmed. I’d borrowed my husband’s SUV to transport it since I didn’t have a bike rack at the time. I rolled the bike out to the vehicle only discover that there was no kick stand.
How in the world was I supposed to open the back hatch door? So, being the genius that I am, decided to open the hatch with one hand and hold the bike with the other, with me sandwiched in between. (Laying it on the ground never occured to me) Of course, as the door opened I landed on top of the bike as we both toppled over.
This was how I received my first bike injury, a scant five minutes after paying for it: A lovely gash on my right leg. (You can laugh, it’s ok!)
I figured this would be the worst of things… until I tried to ride the bike.
Oh wait, first I should mention that it stayed out in the garage for few days with me eyeing it warily. It just looked intimidating. It was shiny, sleek and new, and the tires were incredibly skinny. I finally hopped on it one day to do a test drive down the street. I discovered a few things:
- When people use the phrase “it’s just like riding a bike” to describe an instance where you remember how to do something that you haven’t done in awhile, it’s actually a good comparison. I was able to balance well, even though it’d been years since I’d been on a real bike.
- The seat hurt! You can read more about that here.
- That sucker went fast! Somewhere a long the way to adulthood, I apparently became a big wuss because going down hill nearly had me wetting my pants.
- The handlebars felt a lot lower than my last bike and the stationary bikes I’d ridden. It almost felt as if I were perched atop the bike precariously.
- I had no idea how to switch gears…really, none at all!
- I was scared to brake. I’d heard stories about people accidentally using only the front brake and going end over front on their bikes. I knew if that happened, it would be the end of my biking career.
- Being next to traffic made me nervous. Even now, I like to ride on bike trails instead of in the street.
Yes, I had indeed learned that road bikes,or racing bikes, are quite different. From wikipedia:
The drop handlebars are positioned lower than the saddle in order to put the rider in a more aerodynamic posture. The front and back wheels are close together so the bicycle has quick handling. The derailleur gear ratios are closely-spaced so that the rider can pedal at his or her optimum cadence. Other racing bicycles, especially those used in time trialling prioritize aerodynamics over comfort.
So speed over comfort is the point.
I still have problems with the speed part, but everything else has fallen into place for me. Probably the hardest thing was learning to switch gears. That first time my chain actually jumped off the track. Occasionally I get confused and I will still hear the “clink,clink,clink” of my bike’s protests.
I guess I’m writing this post because all winter I’ve been riding my bike on my trainer, nice and safe inside my house. It’s time to get back out on the trails again. But that wuss in me is still a little jittery about it.
Riding with other people was also a bit nerve wracking for me. Once I got over the thought of other folks crashing into me or vice versa, I could actually enjoy the company. Now, during my triathlon, I readily admit to cringing as the faster people went zooming past me on their fancy-1000s-of-dollars-souped-up-bikes. I hope this is something that I can become more comfortable with over time.
For the other newbies out there afraid of bike riding, here’s my advice: Just keep riding. It gets better and actually (dare I say it?) fun.
But wear your helmet!
by Kcurly on February 15, 2010
I don’t have much of a behind. I’m working on it with squats and lunges, but it fails to be the behind of my dreams.
In spite of not having much junk in the trunk, the tiny biking seats that are on most road bikes still gave me (and my behind) much grief. The first time I sat on my new bike, in addition to being very afraid of falling, I also felt like my behind was being offended.
My personal self torture tool. Do you think they make it uncomfortable so that you'll pedal faster just to get the ride over with?
The gym’s stationary bikes had me fooled. Those seats are wide and nicely cushioned. My bike’s seat seemed like a joke. How in the world was all of Kcurly supposed to be perched atop this tiny spot for an hour or more?
But I carried on. My good friend who is my triathlon partner in crime gave me an extra gel seat that she had. I also purchased some padded biking shorts. I discarded my underwear, as biking shorts are meant to be worn without.
Padding sometimes found in the seat of biking shorts
These changes helped, but riding for an hour and a half was still killing my poor booty and other special places. After a 20 mile ride, I was walking bow legged for the rest of the day.
I finally got fed up and took my bike in to my local bike shop, determined to get a comfy seat. The man removed my gel seat and took a look at the seat.
“That”, he said “is a good seat.”
Obviously he was insane, I thought and started glancing around the store for someone with some sense.
“You need to get rid of this” he said, holding up the gel seat. “The best thing you can do is to put in more hours on the bike and toughen up that area”
He also took me over to a display that held this:
and gave me a few samples.
Chamois butter is pretty much a lubricant, you can read more about it here. My friend, who seemed as skeptical as I was about discarding my seat cover, suggested I just ignore him.
I did think about it. I mean, I’d been with my butt for 28 years, surely I knew what was better for it than some dude at the bike shop. What made him the butt expert?
I settled on trying his suggestion for a week…and you know what? It worked. I applied a generous amount of the chamois butter to all of the,um, affected areas. I then put on my biking shorts, no undies, and got on my little pointy seat. Even after the first time doing this, I noticed a difference.
I still had to shift positions every now and then, but there was something about that gel seat cover that just gave me odd pressure points. I still feel a bit sore after a long ride, but it’s not nearly as bad.
Now, I’m not saying everyone should just throw out their gel seats. My friend still uses hers with no problem. However, she is much smaller than me, so I don’t know if that makes a difference.
I’m also going to start looking into a woman’s saddle. The Serfas brand (pictured below) is supposed to be good. However, saddles are supposed to be very personal choices, so it may not work for me. Right now, I’m not putting anymore money into it.
