See, I do listen
Last week I got some good advice from readers of LowCadence.com and some friends on Facebook. What was that advice? “Chill, man.”
One reader and rider who has been at this thing for a long time gave the command, “REST!!!” It is something I find hard to do. However, I decided to take them up on it.
I’ve talked about this before, but it is a recurring issue for me. The fact is, I feel that I don’t get much time to ride. The result of that feeling is that I go pretty hard most every time I do ride. My thought process is, “I don’t need a period of rest on the bike because I get the rest on the many off days that I get.”
There comes a time when you need to ease it up for days in succession. A week of taking it easy allows for more recovery when the days are strung together. My normal approach might make me feel a little better in the short term, but over time I’m going to wear down.
So, this week I’ve decided to take it easy. Unlike last week where I was forced off the bike due to sickness, this week I’ll stay on the bike but not ride hard. We’ll see how that plays out.
Last night I took a very easy spin in the rain. Part of me didn’t want to do it, but the good news is that most of me did. So, I threw on my rain jacket and headed out.
It was invigorating! The rain wasn’t unpleasant at all. The temperature was perfect for riding in the rain. It wasn’t so cool that I got chilled, but it wasn’t so warm that I started sweating too much in my gear. Of course, my Specialized SL rain jacket is awesome!
Traffic was extremely thin as I neared downtown Greenville. However, to avoid any traffic that was around, I headed off onto the paths in Cleveland Park and followed it along the Reedy River until I reached the end of the downtown portion of the Swamp Rabbit trail. I was 30 minutes into the ride at that point and turned around to head home.
After stopping for a moment to admire the Reedy River falls from the Liberty Bridge, I followed some paths that would lead me up to Main Street. The downtown area was quiet. That’s a rainy, Monday night for you. However, it did allow me to leisurely roll down the street taking a closer look at the many businesses along the way.
Then it was off to Chick Springs Road as I continued to avoid the major streets. Once I got there I discovered that the road was closed and I had to take a detour. This gave me a chance to head into some neighborhoods I don’t believe I have ever been in.
Certainly, I was riding on streets I had never been on. It is a large neighborhood area between Chick Springs and Rutherford Road. It was one of those instances where I was lost, but I knew where I was – at least generally speaking. I just kept meandering through the residential streets in the general direction of home.
After an hour and fifteen minutes of easy spinning I arrived back home. Mentally, it was exactly what I needed. Physically, I felt pretty good. The only negative was that my bike was an absolute mess! Riding through those residential streets and ally ways put me through much more road debris and dirt.
Still, no complaints from me! Thanks all you who gave me the advice to slow down. I’ll do my best to keep it up this week. My guess is by the end of it, I’ll be raring to get the speed up.
10 days left to help me raise $5000.
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