Happy Star Wars Day!!!
It was a beautiful day, but... I went to bed late last night and got up late. I didn't feel too energetic, and in fact, I just felt like doing nothing. The day was just slipping away and my wife asked me, "Are you going for a ride?" I responded with, "Ehhhhh..." to which she said, "Go!". So I said, "Okay." I slowly got ready, and almost an hour later, I was ready to go. I was just feeling so BLAAA. But once I got on the road, I was in it. It was pretty windy so certain directions were slow going trying to power through, and others were nice with the wind. This is my first real ride in over a year, so I was a little nervous about how my legs would hold up. They were fine on flat surfaces, but I felt the burn on the mountains. So, for the first part of my ride, I stayed on a relatively flat road. Only gentle rolling hills, that were still tough to climb, but at least they were short lived. I got a little confidence so I decided to ride the route my daughter takes to school. There is a steep 3km hill right in the middle of it. Once I hit that mountain, it was like that mountain that just wouldn't end. I couldn't see the end of it for the longest time. My legs were burning and for some reason, my left hip flexor was feeling a little kinked. I actually wanted to stop and take a selfie with the hill, but I was afraid that if I stopped in the middle, I wouldn't be able to get started again, so I kept on going. I eventually made it. It was so nice to get to the top with a little slope, but then another little climb. I got to my daughters school... which is in a small valley. I knew I had another climb coming just to get out of the valley. Plus, I got stuck behind a school bus. I did all I could not to breathe. But you know what they say, breathe or die, so I had to a little. I flew down that hill and it was so exhilarating. But by this time, it was getting a little late so the temperatures were starting to dip, and the wind had a little chill in it. I turned my sights to home. My house is in the middle of a mountain so I knew I had one last climb left, and although it is a lot shorter than the mountain going to my daughter's school, it was also a lot steeper, but every 30 meters or so was a flat intersection so I could rest a few beats before pushing onward. I usually don't have any problems with that climb, but I am so out of the cycling game, again, I was a bit nervous. Well, to make a long story short, I made it up without stopping, but there was just a little tinge of a cramp coming on but no worries. I did, at the end, take a picture to commemorate my first ride of the season. By the end of my ride, I was feeling so good, and so grateful to my wife for getting me off my butt!
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, no, my bike is not a normal bike. It was what is called a Recumbent bike. I used to ride regular road bikes, then switched to a mountain bike, but after seriously re-injuring my lower back, that slumped over posture was murderous to my back and after every ride, I wasn't able to stand straight for hours. I thought my cycling days were over until my brother introduced me to recumbent bikes. In fact, the bike I'm riding now (pictured) is a gift from my brother. The recumbent is so much easier on my back and I can ride for a lot longer with this bike. Plus, I love the looks I get when I ride around the city.
I was especially happy to get back riding this year because actually, I haven't been able to ride for over two years. I bought a special riding cap that is under my helmet when I went to California back in the Spring of 2014. This is the first time for me to actually use that cap. I worked exactly like I had hoped and planned.
My legs were so tired and so pumped at the same time, I was going to just go soak in the shower, but then I figured, it would be a good time to stretch out, so I went ahead and did my splits training. It felt really good, and I think it is going to reduce my soreness in the days to come. My legs actually felt rejuvenated some after stretching with splits. And the Flow was good.
In the end, I torched a big 1200+kcals. Lovely for my first ride of the year.
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