Big things happened over the weekend and they began Friday with Alaska Paul coming to town and a 1-hour ride on the trainer.
I’ve been visiting bike stores and speaking ad nauseum to bike pundits about what my next purchase should be. I want something that will ride well on the roads, where I will do the bulk of my training and still want to be able to have a modicum of speed, and that will perform on rail trails and other hard packed surfaces while carrying panniers and gear for camping and long distance travel. No one has more practical information and experience in the latter kind of riding than Alaska Paul. I picked him up Saturday morning from his folks’ house, which he is trying to sell. He looked sore and tired.
“Where did you sleep last night?” I asked.
He indicated a spot on the floor over some thread-bare carpet where his coat lay. “Right here.”
I had brought over a sleeping bag, bed roll and pillow so that he’d have something better for the remainder of the week.
“Don’t really need the bed roll (air mattress),” he said.
He could sleep on a pile of rocks, but why bother when you don’t have to? I made him keep the bed roll.
We had breakfast at Kleifelds in Willoughby and they drove to Performance Bike in Mayfield. I had tried to get a bike from a local dealer in Akron, but after three visits and interest in buying two bikes, he had not gotten back to me about having them in for a try. I gave up.
Over the next two hours, we quizzed, explained and listened to what the salesman and repairman had to say about what I needed. In the end, we all agreed my needs could be met by modifying a Jari bike with new handlebars and mechanical disc brakes to replace the existing hydraulics. Hydraulics may be slightly superior in performance, but if they fail on a two-week bike trip, four hundred miles from the nearest bike store, I’d be carrying it back. Not a good option. It would have cost around $2,000 for a customized bike, but we managed to put together my adaptation for less than $1,300. I will have to bring my Look pedals and profile bars for installation, but should have it up and running in less than two weeks!
I was still feeling the ride from yesterday when I returned home and suited up for a 3-mile run. It had warmed to the point that I was wearing t-shirt and shorts and running over the hard pack of snow that still remained on the trails. At about 20 minutes into the run, I felt a familiar, albeit unwelcome, twinge in my right, upper hamstring/buttocks muscles. I ran another 10 minutes with the pain and then hopped on the bike for a 40-minute ride before collapsing in a blissful exercise fatigue.
I used Sunday for healing though I did manage a 3-mile hike on some icy trails at Horseshoe Pond. Running will go on hold for several days and I’ll need to hold myself to 15 minutes when I start up again. At least I finally feel that I’m making progress.
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