Easter

A morning spent watching the kids revel in Easter greatness, it seemed a good afternoon to head out on a newer route I've been trying out lately. 

I pretty much ride alone so there is little frame of reference to how much climbing other cyclists do. But I feel like I do an inordinate amount of it. 

Maybe all cyclists feel that way. Partly because of time constraints, and partly because of a sort of ethos I seem to be ahdering to that says it's a bit silly to drive your bike somewhere so you can ride it (I think I'll realize this is ridiculous sometime soon), hills are just plain unavoidable in my little neck of the woods. 

Today took me out to Auburn for a nice 11-mile run around some water, because in Auburn it seems like there's a lake around every corner. I suppose that explains the hills, too, to a certain extent.

 

These are quiet little roads on any day, but it was nice to have such little traffic on the holiday ride. It's funny the things you notice on a bike. For instance, on a bike there's much more time to realize who is having an Easter gathering--cars packing up a driveway and spilling onto the street. There were a lot of people just sitting outside in their front yards today, which was nice to see. I didn't see another cyclist. I am sort of curious what the big bike thoroughfares around here are, because the typical cyclist I encounter is some guy going the wrong way on the sidewalk or pretty clearly getting to work the only way he can since his DUI. 

Maybe that will be my hill solution. Go where the spandex-clad cyclists are. Because for all the talk about challenging themselves with climbs, my guess is they know the long, flat routes that fill up their mileage logs. 

I am acutely affected by that sort of obsessive self-convicing behavior where I decide something is the way it is, and I put the blinders on. One thing I've convinced myself of is that I need cycling shorts, and I think history will judge that this is not one of those times I just talked myself into something. 

My mileage hasn't gotten extremely longer, despite my willingness to put more distance on my plate. Still, butt soreness is about the only complaint I can come up with, regardless of distance. I don't really get a sore back; my hands get a bit sore, but that's because I have unpadded, shellacked cotton handlebar tape and I don't wear padded gloves, so I know I'm sort of asking for it in that respect. My knees get a bit sore, but finely tuning my gear selection helps alleviate that. 

I really enjoy a nice hard saddle, and I think it's much better ot have a harder saddle than a soft squishy one. That's probably why I don't have a lot of back problems, even in light of my bike being a drop-bar converted 80s French mountain bike with slightly smaller geometry than I probably need. 

But I feel that just a little bit more padding would do wonders for my comfort on the bike. A cushier seat I think would be too much. Plus it seems cheaper to try a set of padded shorts before going for a nicer and/or cushier saddle. d

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