Tag Archives: Cycling

Out and about

It was another cracking morning in the North East of Scotland this morning. I marked it with my latest venture out on the bike. It’s the second weekend I’ve been out early, not quite the crack of dawn, but certainly a good start to the day. It’s definitely a routine to get into!

A cracking morning to be out on the bike!

As a result of my recent “Sore Leg” post, I have received some guidance that the reason my legs have been hurting is because the cleats on my shoes were slightly at the wrong angle. Having made some subtle adjustments to my shoes, it felt much more comfortable. Hopefully problem solved… it’s good to share your woes!

This morning’s ride was the longest continuous effort I’ve put in since my Heart Attack. We went at a steady rate and kept going. We covered about 16.5 miles in just over an hour (including spending some time trying to correct a mechanical “knocking” sound that turned out to be the lid of my water bottle rattling against the frame!!). It didn’t feel fast, but it felt quite tough.

The first of many loops around Westhill – slightly more undulating than the Turbo Trainer!

I do have to remind myself that I’m recovering from a Heart Attack, and back this up with frequent checks of the Heart Monitor. I am however also making up for about 20 years of physical neglect, so my of my body is at the limit, not just my heart!

It really is great to be out and about though. It gives me confidence that I’m making good progress. I’m just about to enter my last week of Cardiac Rehabilitation, so it’s a good time to start to (slowly) push the boundaries!

Getting outside

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I finally managed to get outside on the bike on Sunday. I took the Mountain Bike out for a spin on an old railway line in Aberdeen. Nice, safe route without too many (any) hills, that didn’t require any real bike handling skills.

It was another beautiful morning, the final death throes of summer. A great day to get out and get some air into your lungs. Unfortunately it was a bit too nice (or more accurately, I took too long getting ready and was a bit late), as there were lots of people on the railway line. A lovely scenic place to park your car, take a walk, grab an ice-cream or a play on the swings and slides, before heading back. As a result, it was busy.

Hazard… between or around?

I was keen not to end up in a ditch, or to collide with anyone’s favourite child or youngest Chihuahua. I therefore had to stay very alert, particularly given how difficult it is to see whether a dog / child is on a lead from a distance… plenty of scope for unfortunate incidents!

I was not alone. There were plenty of other people on bikes (cyclists, I guess you’d call them) making use of the track, as well as runners, zimmer frame operators, wheelchair passengers, etc. Pretty much any moveable obstruction you can imagine. There was potential for carnage… ironically, every kind of accident other than the proverbial “train crash”.

Who is controlling who? A cyclist’s nightmare!

The casual strollers didn’t seem particularly happy with the cyclists… at least, some of them didn’t seem very happy with me: “Bloody cyclists!”, I could hear them muttering not so quietly as I whizzed past… but I was off! Gone. Somewhere else to be… until I passed them again on my return that is, when we greeted each other with pleasant smiles and a fleeting nod!

What fun!

Someone’s going to get hurt!

The ride itself was fine. I did just under 20km and rode for just over 50 minutes. A casual Sunday morning cycle. I was tempted just to keep going, enjoying the freedom, but I know I need to take it easy. “Don’t do more than you could on your worst day” (Cardiac Rehab Motto). A bit depressing really as I’ve always thought the best days were the most important. Still, I don’t want to set myself back, so moderation rules. Yeah!

A Treacherous Journey

A Lifetime First

Another minor milestone (FD +47)

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I feel like I’m making real progress on the exercise front. Some of it is down to exercising. Some of it is down to understanding the kit and exercising better.

Although I’m still a complete novice, I feel like I’m in a position to provide some advice on cycling (at least cycling in my garage):

Cycling Lesson 1: It hurts less if you have the right kit!

The shorts, gloves and shoes all made a substantial difference to last nights “ride”. Why didn’t I think of it earlier!

Yesterday saw the introduction of another training aid too…

I got a tip from a guy at work to try out a Sufferfest video. Specialising in Cycling Training Videos, they have the motto:

“I will beat my ass today to kick yours tomorrow” (IWBMATTKYT for short)

They have a range of “entertaining” videos targeted at the stationary cyclist market. They create training sessions where you follow / copy / compete with professional cyclists performing in competitions (World Championships, Tour De France, etc., listening to fast music, and following instructions “shouted” out via text on the computer screen.

http://vimeo.com/46131597

It might sound strange, but the videos provide some useful pointers for the novice cyclist and also create a major distraction from the clock. In my limited experience, the biggest challenge with inside cycling is clock watching. Every minute seems to last forever!

For me the intention is clearly not to have a Sufferfest, in fact not to suffer at all! That’s not really what my exercise is about right now. For me I’m treating it more as a Recoverfest (Trade Mark pending!).

Irrespective of what the on-screen cyclist does, or the instructions I’m given, the Heart Monitor is the most critical piece of equipment for me. Keeping below my 118 bpm threshold is essential.

In time, I’m looking forward to testing / pushing the boundaries, but I have to keep reminding myself that I’m still only in week 3 of Cardiac Rehabilitation. Much as it would be nice to kick Bradley Wiggins’ ass in a Time Trial (albeit virtual), my goal has to be to put in the miles, to get myself fit and strong, to lay the foundation for the future.

Anyway, the video worked for me. I would highly recommend checking out The Sufferfest if you’ve not discovered them already.

Breaking news…

All the exercise and hard work has resulted in another minor milestone for me at Cardiac Rehabilitation today…

drum roll…

wait for it…

I was allowed to jog on the treadmill!!!

I’ve got another 5 weeks of Rehab to go. I’m hoping I might be able to fly by the end of it!

Someone’s going to get hurt!

The wrong trousers

Little things to be proud of

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I (not so) casually dropped in to my last post that I had collected a Turbo Trainer (TT) and done my first cycling session. Before I could use it, it had to be assembled. Joy!

At the shop where I collected the TT, I departed to the following words from the helpful assistant: “You’ll probably exhaust yourself just trying to put that together!” (chuckle, chuckle). Great! Marvellous!

I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good with my hands. I don’t get a lot of practice (out of choice). Most manual activities usually involve a disproportionate amount of bad language and sweat that is inconsistent with the physical effort expected.

Within that context, I would say there are two things that I’ve historically been particularly unsuccessful with:

Following instructions
Bikes

So I was clearly set up for success!

Welcome to my world!

As far as instructions are concerned, I’m a bloke. Instructions are there to help you unpick problems, to confirm you’ve made a mistake, to compare your attempt to, or to retrospectively understand the criticality of the red writing on the label marked “IMPORTANT”.

I find bikes fiddly. My main experiences have been with brake adjustments, tweaks to gears and tyres / inner tubes. All of them have been disappointingly unsatisfying and much harder work than they should have been. I’m sure there’s a “knack”, but I don’t have it (in fact I had to check the dictionary to see how it’s spelt!).

Having got the TT home and unpacked it, I did the grown up thing… I sat down and read the instructions! Ten single sentence lines and some incomprehensible diagrams. Still, it appeared that as long as I could accurately measure the wheel of the bike (and didn’t drop / damage the “important bit”), nothing could go wrong.

And so, to the source of my pride… after less than 2 hours, and without having to take the whole thing apart to start again, I managed to build the TT. (To be honest, I did have to measure the wheel multiple times… I knew it was important, but couldn’t get the “fine tuning” to work for quite a while!)

Construction is generally easier if performed under sterile conditions

I know it’s a small thing, sad even, but in my book assembling something without destroying it, even in a small way, should always be a cause for celebration.

Although I may be grimacing and cursing when I’m riding the bike, there will forever be a small smile (on the inside) because I managed to get this far in the first place!

Happy assembling!

Try something new

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Personally, I’m still waiting for the magic!

Apparently “trying something new” is good for you… keeping you young at heart, pushing back the boundaries of boredom, interested and interesting.

I don’t think the “Live a little… have a heart attack!” T-Shirts will fly off the shelves, but there’s certainly been quite a lot new in my life over the past few weeks. You wouldn’t expect to find many of the things I’ve been introduced to on anyone’s “101 things to do before you die” list, but they’ve certainly set things in an unexpected and different direction,

Today was somewhat of an exception as there was an element of planning involved… I collected a Turbo Trainer and introduced a bike into my exercise regime.

The humble beginnings of a beautiful relationship with a bicycle

I continue to exercise regularly. Having returned to work, and working my way back towards full days, I have cut back to one exercise session a day. My staple exercise is still walking, but I’m slowly expanding my repertoire. Cardiac Rehabilitation has introduced me to a range of exercises. As I get stronger, I can (very slowly!) expand my horizons.

The whole exercise thing is strange for me though…

I was fit in my youth. I did a lot of sport. I trained 5 days a week for athletics, travelling miles to train, compete and get fixed (at the physio). I reached quite a high standard. We trained properly. It was fun but serious (to us at least).

Before I left University I got lazy as far as physical exercise was concerned. There’s been the occasional burst of activity since (a tennis season in Bahrain, 5-a-side Football, a Squash ladder), but nothing sustained… few and far between.

Coming back to it now is bizarre. Mentally I’m still where I was when I was a fit 18 year old. Physically I’m a complete mess… weak and unfit… and that was before the Heart Attack!

I’m going to have to very slowly build my fitness back up. Balancing the desire to do more, with the need to look after my heart. One step at a time.

I’m still looking for a long term challenge… cycling is a tempting option: a weekend in the Alps with the boys, part of the peloton for a couple of days.

At the moment however I wouldn’t even be able to make it home if I headed out on a bike (our house is at the top of a hill). So today I started putting in the hours (well half an hour at least). Stationary. In the garage. Plodding (if it’s possible to plod on a bike!)