Adjustments... adjustments

Well I have been putting in the miles on my bike, but at a cost. I am riding a Motiv hard tail, Ground Pounder MTB. I firsts used locking pedal and walkable bike shoes, but after the first ride the inner right knee was aching and it took few days of I.C.E. to get it better. So I switched those with Look pedals and shoes. The ability to rotate the foot helped a great deal. There was a bit too much movement; I kept hitting heed of the right foot on the chain stay. Also the sun would heat up the water in my drinking tube of Camelbak. I found some neoprene and made insulated sleeved for the tube with micro zip-ties and dust tape. I also frozen a one gallon freezer bag, folded in half, with water. The bag fitted inside Camelbak reservoir.

The problem with biking is you need at least two hours to get a good workout. So the only time I can ride is on my days off. Saturday was good work out, but my hands still keep getting numb. I was nice to have fellow cyclist wave at you. Felt like you were in a team.

Not wanting to miss out other opportunity to ride, I made some adjustment, lowered my seat and went out again on Sunday, but much early in the morning. There was a slight breeze when I left with it on my back and the ride most started down hill. As I got closer to turn around point, the wind was very strong. I stopped immediately and turned again, but it was too late. I was riding against 8 mph winds with gust up to 15 mph. I struggled against the wind, to stay up right, and keep hydrated. I would stop on downhill segments to rest and drink. I couldn’t advantage of the down hill portions because the wind would not let me coast, instead I nearly stalled. I almost ran out of water till I open the zip lock bag in the reservoir.

With five more hills to climb, I called, my soon to be ex-wife, for a ride, but her phone was turned off and only got the message hour later. I could feel I was using many muscles and would develop a real tightness on my thighs, but periodically resting I was able to finish the ride. Now I am treating a very sore right knee. Hopefully I will be able to work tomorrow. As for riding I will have to be aware of windy condition, because I live in very windy area.

I stopped at Trek bike store to check out road bikes. I was impressed by the quality of bike you can buy for your dollar. Even carbon frame seemed reasonable priced. I found the Madone 4 ($1,999.99) to my liking. I was also please with standard components of the model, such as Bontrager R1, 700x23c and Tektro R540 brakes w/Shimano 105 STI levers. What was interested was how the sale person approached you. Much like a car sale men style. Trek has realized the contact with customer does not end in the sale, they offer Trek Red Shield extended warranty that includes maintenance service for 3-5 years and trade-ins.