Riding Outside the Box

After an especially disastrous Friday night, Saturday morning, back-to-back ride a couple of years ago, I concluded that at my age, recovery times didn't permit riding without rest days. Last weekend I was talking to my doctor about my BP meds, and he liked my strategy of max exercise and minimum medication, and thought I might be able to ween myself off my meds if I lose some weight and keep exercising.

I said "I'd ride every day if I could get off these damned pills", because they damage the kidneys over time, but wondered on the drive home if that was an empty boast. I avoid back-to-back days as a rule, so unless something changed, I was lying to myself saying that. I decided it was time to challenge myself, to see if I could manage the fatigue and get it done.

6 of 7 days for 214 miles and 13,000 ft climbing

 The hardest day, by far, was the day I rode my single speed bike for "only" 20 miles. I was tired,  yes, but worse, my quads were so sore and tight I thought for sure they'd lock up on me coming home up a 10%+ grade.

As it turned out, the 52/19  gearing was excellent for spinning and my legs felt better and better as I went along. This recovery ride was a real confidence builder, offering hope that a generous warm-up period, or light day, could heal better than sitting at home.

I'm really excited now, like there's a new frontier out there to be explored, and I can't wait to explore it!

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