That Was Harder Than Expected
Cycling Files 003
Start cycling, I said. It’s easier on your body, everyone said. There can’t be too many challenges to tackle when one wants to enjoy cycling properly, I thought.
A bike, some clothes, a pair of shoes, start riding. I know how to do that. Right?
An activity that could, in theory, be so simple, shoved one challenge after the next into my path. Pushing through those was harder than expected.
I’ve been on a bike fit odyssey, which I’ve hopefully brought to a point that is good enough for the time being.
The months without consistent or structured training took a toll on my fitness, body, and mind. Returning to workouts and a higher training load recently was good fun but also a shock to the system.
My plans to combine cycling and photography had to be put on hold, but I’ve finally had my first taste, which introduced me to yet another challenge.
Final Tweaks = Comfortable Enough At Last?
I had found a decent bike position just to mess it up again. The tinkering in the last two weeks should have returned me to some comfort.
I rechecked how high I sat, resisted my notes, tried a few things, and improved the feeling and, subsequently, my body’s happiness.
The breakthrough came (hopefully) from setback changes, which I experimented with next.
The moment I increased it from the neutral position, the bike felt a million times better, from the pedaling to upper body comfort.
I might have to fine-tune height and setback, but my right leg seems to accept cycling again, just as the rest of my body.
That’s good enough for the time being. The rides are fun and wholesome — for body and soul.
Still, my decision from seven weeks ago stands: I’m keen on doing a proper bike fit one day. Not soon, I hope. But cycling happiness is worth the investment, especially when I’ll eventually prepare an upgrade to a really nice bike.
Rock Bottom
I used the beginning of those final saddle tweaks as an excuse to push myself to a workout, the first in months.
The uninterrupted cycle path between Mülheim and Essen is a decent spot for that. I like it for running workouts. For cycling, it’s one of the few places where one doesn’t have to worry about two-tonne metal tins on four wheels.
I opted for 15-minute efforts around the threshold heart rate zone and to change saddle height after each. Those changes handed me four reps. I don’t know when I spent 45 minutes in that zone the last time. In past bike workouts, I opted for one 20-minute effort.
It was loads of fun. I felt I hadn’t done something like that in a while. Finally, my position was close enough that I could push.
The warm-down was hillier than ideal, and the whole ordeal carried me to a marathon’s distance. Ups.
The next day, I set off for a very relaxed two-hour ride, and despite some front-end unhappiness, I felt fantastic.
I woke up the next day with a decent headache and drank five liters. Apparently, I still have to dial in cycling hydration and fueling.
It took a couple of days before I felt like riding again. And the strange weather interrupted me, too.
When I returned, I had a comprehensive plan to compare different setbacks. But I felt so surprisingly comfortable that I enjoyed the ride uninterrupted — despite a decent rain shower.
The only thing I noticed was that the increased setback had possibly pushed me a bit too high.
So, I dedicated this week’s workout to shorter reps, including height and setback fine-tuning. I also wanted to play with the bike’s front end once I felt more confident about the saddle position. The weather pushed that to a separate activity later in the day.
I felt terrible when I prepared for the 5:20 a.m. ride. Despite wet roads from the start and a heavy shower during the workout, and a group of one off-leash dog and five pedestrians that opened a gap for me on the mixed bike and pedestrian part of the path just to close it when I started accelerating again (thanks for that, chaps), the ride sorted me out again.
As I’ve said above, those final tweaks feel promising on the bike, and my body sends post-ride feedback that is equally promising. It’ll take a while to regain decent fitness. But I hope I can now continuously build up volume and intensity.
Packs, Straps, and An Evening Delight
Combining cycling and photography was one of my goals when I began cycling, besides structured training and enjoying the outdoors less restricted than running.
The positive body feedback gave me the confidence I needed to plan longer rides with photographic potential.
The trouble with photography is it involves equipment that can accumulate very quickly to a pile that’s detrimental to moving about unrestricted.
Ideally, I would bring one camera with a lens attached and carry it strapped securely to my back. Even though I don’t have a dedicated camera strap that does that, I have a workaround that accomplishes the same thing. I still need to build up the confidence for it, though. And the current wet and humid conditions aren’t helping.
The trusty small waist-style pouch bag I use as a shoulder bag for minimal and active situations doesn’t sit securely enough on my back, and constantly having to deal with a bag that swings to the front is not very entertaining.
That leaves the backpack. Bulky, cumbersome, but safe and secure. For the rides that resulted in the Fun With Cameras post mentioned above, I picked the big-boy backpack, which feels like a mini trunk on my back when riding, thanks to its 26 L capacity rectangular box shape. But I also had an e-bike for those rides.
For the re-start of cycling photography, I picked a smaller, less boxy pack. It just about fits my camera with a 35mm lens attached, has room to accommodate an extra lens or two (second camera body if absolutely necessary), and is much less noticeable while riding a bike. It’s the best compromise for the moment.
I have a route planned for next week that reunites me with an old friend and should provide ample material for a Fun With Cameras episode.
That post will also include a few selected images from today’s ride. A chilly morning pushed the ride to the gentler evening, robbing me of the necessary editing time.
But I included a few samples from the ride. I hope you enjoy those.
So much for this cycling update; you can expect a new What I’m Reading and A Journalist’s Diary on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The next cycling post will follow in three weeks, hopefully without bike-fit-related thoughts.
