My Most Recent Ride 2013 (Part VI in a series)

Another loaded 12 miles. I would get more use out of a trailer scale than an odometer.

 

Yes! Out the door Loke and I went today! Jens was home so he could come rescue us if Loke needed to stop after half a mile or something.

Mostly sunny, 34 F with no wind.

Loke has been a huge PITA all morning. Harassing Jens while he's trying to work via phone conferences, bugging me. My knees are too shot to walk him any more. Since Jens wasn't going to have time to walk Loke until later, he asked me to at least try taking him for a rolling walk.

The furball went completely insane when I began pulling on the wool and lycra, charged around the apartment like his tail was on fire. No limping at all.

Within the first 50 yards, Loke limped quite a bit, even on 3 legs briefly. That almost turned me around, but I decided to at least go around the block so he could answer nature's call. Within the next 100 yards, I convinced him not to pull so much and the limping eased. I decided to go a little further.

His stride smoothed out most when he hit about a 7.5 mph clip on a paved surface free of any ice or gravel. He still had a slight hitch to his step, but no more than that. Nor did it get worse as we went on.

3 miles and he walked into the apartment with no sign of a limp at all. So, even if he did have that slight catch in his 'traveling' stride, the outing clearly did no damage. It rather confirms that his foot is as structurally sound as it's going to be with 3 toes.

As for me, the little ride barely made my knees ache and I'm thrilled. This likely means I can start doing Loke's 'walkies' with the trike and maybe start healing instead of continuing to turn into a living wreck.

It felt so GOOD to get out again!

Oh! This outing also allowed me to finally use the foot warmers! I LOVE them! Combined with the shoe covers to keep the tops and sides of the foot warm, I had absolutely no problems and never needed to go higher than the first setting!

Terii

 

And out again! 4.39 miles in 27 F temps with mostly sunny skies.

Loke did fine, but I did notice that his stride is shorter than it was pre-toe problems. Before, even when just trotting along, Loke would stretch those legs to the longest reach possible. Now, it's like he just holds back a bit though I wouldn't call it 'mincing'.

As for me, I can tell I've lost some conditioning and having only 3 gears doesn't help much. I'm either pedaling like a mad woman with too little resistance or taking the risk of trying to mash the pedals. At least I don't have to worry about my derailleur! I was bumping, skidding and jarring my way over rippled, rutted ice without batting a lash! I did keep an eye out for the big slabs of ice broken off puddles that jutted out at high angles though. 1 inch thick plate of ice frozen back solid into the puddle it broke from would not be good.

I'm so glad to be getting back out even if for short little jaunts until I'm more certain of Loke. Oh! This ride also broke last years Jan/Feb/March total by about 2 miles.

Terii

 

22 grinding miles. My trailer hit a snowbank and spilled the load.

 

FINALLY got out to ride. No rain. Not brutally cold (for Tennessee that is.) Only went 16.7 miles. Way behind everyone else on Bike Journal. Someone needs to be at the end of the pack. Looks like it is me right now.

But BEAUTIFUL day today. Cool. No breeze. Lots of joggers. Only two bicyclist. One way too fast for me. One way too slow for me. I just cruised and tried to prevent leg cramping.

Hopefully will be able to ride tomorrow too!

 

Fingers crossed you get out again, Jon! Does this mean you're behind even me since I came to a screeching halt all through Feb? I'd have thought everyone would have skunked me by now.

That said, I did get out for a ride today. 24.2 F out, mostly sunny with moderate winds. I only managed 3.55 miles though. Loke seemed sluggish and limped a little more though the real culprit for the short ride was my left knee. No clue why, but it felt like someone was twisting a screwdriver around under my knee cap. That started before I'd even gone a mile, but with Jens in southern Sweden, I had to get Loke out for a respectable distance so spun on. Didn't help my gears were frozen a bit too high

Had a chat with an older man who likes dogs and just loves the fact that I exercise Loke with the trike. We've talked before and he tells me every time how good it is that I treat Loke like a husky and not a lap dog.

Loke almost lost a patch of fur on his haunches as we passed a pair of golden retrievers. The owners had stepped off the path and held the dogs short. When we went by, the male lunged, pulling the woman over so he got just enough slack that his jaws snapped just a finger width short of Loke's butt. That got him moving for a few yards.

Still in spite of the knee and all, it was better than walking. My feet were snug and comfy with the warmers in the shoes and the covers to keep out the wind. I'm glad I figured out that the batteries stay in place just fine if I plug everything in, turn the warmers on and slide them up my calf under the tights. Other wise, I'd not be able to use the shoe covers and that would be unpleasant with heat below and freezing wind cutting through my shoes...

Terii

 

Sorry it's still so cold there. Spring has arrived here in GA.
Good ride yesterday, had a pack of 20+ wild pigs on the side of the road.
I yelled at them and they took off.

http://app.strava.com/activities/44192626

 

At least we've had SUN! A wonderful change after 8 months with even partly sunny days being so rare.

 

Back on my biking hiatus. Too much work, too cold of weather.

But tomorrow.... I have 1/2 day off and the weather is supposed to be nice. Going to try my Coulter Bridge to Tremont and back ride. I will have to do it slow since I haven't been riding much lately.

Wish me LUCK!!!

 

Luck wished!

Terii

 

Having got off to a relatively good start to the year, I was plagued with a bad knee for much of Feb and early March. That kept my riding down to short rides. Went off for a mini break with the in laws, hoping that on my return I'd be good to go. Sadly I made the mistake of going cross country skiing, falling over and damaging the joint between my collar bone and rib cage . So no cycling for at least another 9-10 days. I'm hoping though if I'm feeling less sore I might manage to get back a week on Sunday - hopefully the knee will be OK by then and hopefully it might have warmed up a bit !

 

So sorry!!!

 

Sun has been shining and the temp. Has been 50+ but the wind has been blowing hard and constantly.

 

Nice this evening 57 degrees to start sunny and a bit windy. Nice easy start with a few friends that don't have the miles under their legs to go too fast. They stayed with us for about mikes before turning back. We picked it up a bit but were keeping it mostly easy, saving the legs for the weekend.

On the way back in a 6 man paceline over took us hehe and it was game on.
I eased up behind them, the Venom poised to jump. They hit a small climb jumping out of the saddles and I kicked it. I was past four of them before they knew what hit them. They other two were riding abreast so I didn't have room to pass. They eased off on the downside and I kidded them about slowing me down. They were pretty surprised to see me and I got the usual question, "where is the motor".

We rode with them for a mile or so at anout 18mph. We then picked it up and dropped them carrying 20-22. A good example of why it's good sometimes to take it easy going out...so you have plenty in the tank if and when you need it.

 

Ouch! Heal up and feel better soon! Seems Feb was a cursed month for more than just me!

Terii