This is a diary/progress post.
Last year, when it was quite hot, I went for a bike ride along the Wandle. At the end of the day I was moderately tired and aching, but attributed partly to my stupidity in wandering around trying to find Haydons Road station.
The next day we took the train to the South Coast, and cycled from Shoreham to Worthing. Not far, but, in the heat, concentrating on hydration, I ignored food. Very stupid. On the Monday I had a hair appointment, only in Streatham, but because of a fatal car accident (or rather, a driver crashed his car into a bus whilst having a heart attack), the road was shut, and I had to walk. In truth, it's not a long walk, but I was anxious not to be too late - even though the hairdresser knew what had happened and reassured me to get there in my own time.
However, after returning home I was spent. Just needed to lay down. And take the next day off work. And, in total, was signed off for three weeks. This conveniently coincided with the Paralympics, which, just as much as - if not more than - the Olympics should have inspired me to bike riding.
Meanwhile, I had a referral to a fibro clinic at Guy's hospital, which was helpful, and included some advice - and a referral to physiotherapy - for Graded Exercise Therapy. The principle of GET is to build up a level of stamina. It goes well with 'pacing' - knowing what you're physically capable of, and not exceeding that. I suppose I could have gone out cycling in the autumn, but I wanted to get into GET properly. My physio sessions were during the winter. Cold wet windy weather, and snow, are demotivating for bike riding, but so are short days and dark evenings. I joined the gym at work and followed my physio instructions to gradually build up my time on the exercise bike and cross-trainer.
Exercise bikes are a poor substitute for the real thing. It's fundamentally boring being in a gym. We have BBC News Channel, with the sound down and subtitles scrolling. I could plug myself into my mp3 player. But it's boring. It lacks the pleasure of scenery whizzing back. There is no real sensual stimulation - smell, breeze, the bake of the sun. No opportunities for free-wheeling down slopes, and no visual goal to aim for when plodding up 'hills'. The exercise bike is performance, or at least, output driven. Leisure cycling doesn't care how fast you go, let alone how many RPMs and Watts and your heart-rate. Not that heart rate is measured correctly - mine hit 231, albeit after having spotted the Secretary of State (not in the gym). but then, Dr LittleBrother hit 247 on his Garmin.
Also, exercise bikes in low-rent gyms are not designed for women. Or, at least not for women of my height. I have a 'female fit geometry' bike at home - oddly, it's the equivalent of Himself's bike, which doesn't proclaim that it's male fit geometry. Being a woman is seen as bit 'other' 'different' 'odd'. In practice, I have to choose between struggling to reach the handlebars on the upright, or struggling to reach the pedals on the recumbent. The seat on the upright is designed for a male physiology. Women's saddles are very different. Granted, design matters most when you're doing long rides. On the other hand, if a short spin on a fixed bike leads to disproportionate discomfort and pain in the seating area, it's probably not doing much good.
Useful tips in Female Anatomy and Saddle Discomfort
I had my bike serviced before Easter. then the weather wasn't good. and then I got a cold and cough, and, oh, excuses, and anxiety-induced inertia -which probably warrants a blogpost in itself.
I have bought a gorgeous book called Lost Lanes. The photography alone makes it a must for any discerning coffee table. I was leafing through the words one night recently and began to feel very frustrated. I want to be that person who goes on long all day bike rides. Why shouldn't I? Well, in order to ride long miles you should be reasonably fit. So frustrating to be caught between graded exercise/pacing, and a need and desire for stamina and strength. No point in planning 68 miles around the Isle of Wight without practice!
And so, on Tuesday evening, I left work slightly earlier than normal, and spent half an hour pedalling down to Tooting Common and back. A useful mixture of roads with stupid drivers - amazing how two drivers drove straight at me, (both in 4x4s), one out of sheer aggression, and one too stupid to know you're supposed to look to your right before propelling your car out of a side road. Easy riding along the tarmac, freewheel down the resurfaced path next to the Streatham Hill branch railway, and some moderately challenging riding across hardened mud and up a slight incline alongside the mainline railway.
That was the easy bit. The hard bit is always going home. Uphill all the way, and tedious. When I first got the bike, I had to get off and push, so it was a relief not to do so this time. I just felt that I perspired more than I needed to, given the ambient temperature. And, later, my feet were aching too much.
At least I have now identified I have a footwear problem. In warm weather, I have - stupidly, it turns out - been wearing light canvas shoes. I did previously wear trainers, but they packed up, and, frankly, who needs trainers? In sterner weather I wear sturdy shoes. But having done a light spin, and yet suffering sore feet for all the next day, I have realised that I need to buy a pair of shoes, either specifically designed for leisure cycling or similar mid-price non-fashion trainers.
