Audrey's Blog

Bumped, Bruised, and a Little Bloody

Chris and I ventured out to Rowlett  Creek Preserve for a ride.  Rowlett is typically a long distance ride (6+ miles) with a myriad of obstacles - mostly roots, logs, a few dips (at least on the loops we usually do).   Unfortunately, the first major obstacle I came to proved to be a bit much for me.  It was a medium sized log on Loop 3.  I got my front tire over it, but the back tire was a different story all together.  At that point, I went forward and slightly to the left (which is *not* a good thing when your bike has more or less come to stop).  The result - a new scrap on my left knee, 2 new bruises on my left thigh, and a solid bump on the head (thank goodness for helmets!).  <groan>  Worse yet, it totally rattled my confidence (as if I had any after the ride at Arbor Hills on Sunday).  I balked at most of the rest of the logs ... until the back side of Loop 1 (no, you don't necessarily ride the loops in numerical order).  I finally remembered that momentum was the key along with executing one of Chris' favorite phrases - "pedal like you stole it".  Well, it worked!  I made it over the last 2 major logs we encountered as well as some other tricky rooty dips.  Yea! 

In the end, it ended up being about a 35 minute ride totaling about 4 1/2 miles.  The bummer is that I pretty much only broke a sweat because it was slightly warm.  I probably didn't get very far into Zone 2 as far as a cardio work out goes.  But, at least I can feel a little superior to anyone who spent their evening vegetating in front of the TV, right?

We don't have any trail rides scheduled again until next week which is probably a good thing.  I think I need a little recovery time.  We're slated for spin class Saturday morning and Sunday morning (Cycle 90!), and I'm really looking forward to the work out. 

"1st" Ride of the Season ...

And, boy was it a doozie!  But, first a little back story -

The "1st" ride of the season in July???  Late July at that?  Believe it or not, yes.  We actually did get one ride in back sometime in March or April out at Rowlett Creek.  It was a leisurely ride and a nice way to get back on the bike for the year.  But, then the rain set in, and we were resigned that spin class was going to be our "ride" for a while.  Unfortunately, not only did the rain set in, but so did the renewed issues with my thumb/wrist.  Back in April, I finally went back to my orthopedic.  Not only had the pain started again, it was worse than ever.  Pretty quickly, it became apparent that even spin class was too much strain, and I was relegated to step aerobics (which ain't a pretty site, I promise) or the elliptical trainer (which is fine, but not nearly the work out of spin class).  Anyway ... In May, I finally made the decision to go forward with surgery.  I had surgery on July 1st, and 4 weeks later my doc cleared me to go back to spin class.  And back I went!!!  The first week, I went Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning (Cycle 90!).  Needless to say,I was a little sore but gloriously so!  Since then, I've made it to class 2-3 times a week, and today made me grateful that I had.

(For most posts talking about Mistress Monica's spin classes, check out http://audreyreed.typepad.com/audreyreed/for_my_health/index.html). 

That brings us to today and the "1st" ride of the season.  We decided to hit Arbor Hills, and the trail was in great shape considering the months of rain we've had.  There were a few muddy spots that were pretty easy to circumvent.  Overall, I had a good ride.  I had always called Arbor a great cardio burn.  Last season, I could barely make it through 1 lap without feeling like I was going to toss my cookies at the end.  Well, not today!  (Thank you, Monica!)  Spin class has gotten me into better shape in the last 3 weeks than a whole season of trail riding last year.  Yea!

The only catch is that spin class doesn't exactly help me practice the fundamental elements of trail riding.  Oh, you know ... technical things like navigating treacherous obstacles, dangerous downhills, and root ridden uphill climbs all while thinking about shifting gears and keeping my balance so as to stay upright on the bike.  Not to mention those times when all of those skills fail me and no matter what I do to prevent it, my downfall becomes painfully inevitable.  Then the challenge is trying to separate myself from my bike (unclipping and "ejecting") so as to minimize the damage that's sure to be done.  Unfortunately, I had one of those disastrous moments about 1/2 way through the trail.  I hit a root without enough momentum to carry me over it.  The bike stopped, and, instead of getting unclipped quickly enough to put a foot down, I panicked a little, lost my balance, got stuck in my clips, and simply fell to the left - my lower left shin firmly landing on the offending root ... hard.  9 hours later, the resulting bruise is just now developing into its full glory. 

I have to admit that fall shook my confidence a little, and there were some subsequent obstacles that I chose to walk, but, at the end of the trail, I breezed through the switchbacks (which used to kick my a**) and finished in right around 18 minutes.  Not a great time, but considering it was my "1st" ride of the season, I'll take it! 

We were at the trail with 3 of our ride buddies - Scott Gruber and James & Tanya Davis.  After the first lap, we decided to go see what condition one of the "bandit" trails was in - specifically, the hill trail that Tanya used to train for Angel Fire.  It was in surprisingly good shape as well.  So, we all did a couple of ups/downs of that hill. (I never quite made it all the way up the hill, but almost!  It shouldn't take much more training and it'll be pretty easy.)  Then we wrapped up the ride with a fast concrete lap. 

All in all, it was tremendously successful day. I got back on my bike, kicked some cardio butt, and didn't really hurt myself too badly.  I'm totally looking forward to our next ride!  And, one last thank you to Monica!  ;-)