Ride, Sally, Ride!

Fenders will be added before the trip

 
Meet Sally! My amazing blue Surly Long Haul Trucker, with my comfy Brooks seat, and very pretty bike wraps! Now if you asked me what any of that meant, I would have to say...I have no clue. For all purposes that I need to know at this point - I own a nice road bike with a fancy seat that after I ride a ton of miles will form to me. One of my favorite parts about Sally is that she has a harlequin handlebar wrap! (I do have a previous post about these wraps) The materials needed are two different colors of cloth tape and PATIENCE!

Last weekend I got to ride Sally with her all loaded of camping gear and biking equipment! Even though our 40 mile bike ride to a campground turned into a 17 mile Monon ride to camp in a backyard, it was still amazing! Amazing weather and great friends! The idea of this bike trip was to practice riding with all of the extra weight and to determine if anything was forgotten when we camped. I do need an eating utensil, but that's a story for another post.

Yesterday I was able to enjoy a 25 mile bike ride with the company of only my headphones! I have not ridden by myself, and I think that this bike trip was very successful in building my confidence while riding. My suggestion to others is to mix up your biking path and who joins you on your rides. I am used to riding with the same 3 people and I have learned to become comfortable riding in the same spot throughout the entire trip. Also, I notice that I can ride very close to some one if they are on my right side, but put the bicyclist on my left side and I need a ten foot pole between us to feel comfortable. Mixing up your rides will allow you to be safe and confident while riding in all different situations.

Saturday bike trip using RunKeeper to keep track of my ride

The trip starts in 7 days and yesterday is the farthest I have ridden during my "training" for the trip. I will have to inform you all if this was a bad idea or if the human body can naturally adjust to 80 mile trip days. I have been training with out the extra comfort of biking shorts. Hopefully this will allow me to ride longer during the trip. The good part of my "training" is that I have utilized the bike yoga positions I shared in a previous post. About every 5 miles I used the riding yoga positions to stretch my legs and prevent sciatic nerve pain from occurring. Personally, I feel that it has allowed me ride longer with out needing to get off of the bike. To record my bike trips and see if I have made any personal improvements, I have been using the app RunKeeper. It can be used for any exercise (walking, running, biking, etc.) and it records the number of miles, provides a map, time, calories, and breaks down the speed for each mile completed. During your ride you pause the time, which is why I will be using this app during my ride on the Natchez Trace.

Enjoy the weather while it last and remember to get on your bike and feel the wind in your face! (Remember to wear sunscreen (which I failed at yesterday) in order to prevent sunburns and cancer!)