Weight I have lost

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I won the lottery!

Yes, that is what I said.
I came to work yesterday. For some strange reason, rather than waiting 2 months before checking the 1 lotto ticket I get every 2 or so months, I brought it in the day after. First number- miss,2nd-miss, 3rd-miss, 4th- miss, 5th-miss...mega millions-33, match. Oh well. Wait, I said. I checked what getting 0/5 + the Mega Ball...

I am rich!!!

$2

I know you are jealous. And I have already collected and spent my earnings on what? Another lottery ticket. Just like that I lost $2!

In other news, day 2 of Tri Training was a little harder than Day 1. It was 60 minutes on the bike that I do not know how to ride. After tormenting my friends for 3 days about where to go ride, I went to the Alpharetta Greenway. Flat-check! No hills-check! Flat-check!

So I got all ready at work, and drove the half mile over to the park. Riding probably would have been faster for most, but this is me, and I'm sure no one wanted to be waiting in traffic after some crazy woman fell off her bike into the road with no cars around, and closed down the road. So I drove.

I had looked at the map all day. I knew this path inside and out. I parked in front of the map. "YOU ARE HERE!" was on it. Where the hell is that? I couldn't figure it out. Oh well. I started my watch and Garmin, and off I went. Gear 2 on one side and gear 5 on the other (I have no clue what that means). So riding on a big wide path. This is nice...got to a turn. Forgot how to brake. Turned infront of a biker who cussed me (with reason), and I rode off the path 'cause I got all nervous. Scratched my nose and restarted. Stayed on the right hand side. Lost control a few times, but regained it. Was passed by many people. Everytime I had to pass a runner, there was always a runner on the other side passing the other way. I worked on my braking, and I can do it pretty well. A few small hills...never left gear 2, but did go between gear 4 and 6.

Got all the way to the YMCA, and stopped. Shook out my hands. The wrists were a bit sore. Gone about 2.25 miles. Turned around, almost ran into 2 joggers. But they were on both lanes with ipods, and didn't hear my On your left. I ended up going through them. 2 rollerbladers passed me. Nose itched. Stopped and scratched it. My wrists were really hurting. I decided to make the turn back to the car. I got to the map, and was ready to cut off my wrists. Garmin said I had gone 4.49 miles in 32 minutes. No way I could go for 28 more minutes.

I tried to be all Jillian Michael's on myself telling me I needed to do this. But the other part of my brain said FU to me. So I loaded up the bike and came home.

Talking to friends I have learned:
I need the bike fitted (will do).
I need gloves
I don't need gloves
I need to relax.
This is beginner's anxiety and all my weight is resting on my arms.
This always happens to some people
This never happens to some people
I need new handle bars

What I do know:
My bike is too small to fit IN a FJ Cruiser. I need a bike rack.
I need the bike fitted.
I need to keep riding.
All the other things...I'm not sure about.

11 comments:

Aka Alice said...

I sooooo got all excited for you that you were a millionaire or something like that...

Yeah...I'm gullible that way.

I know I don't know ANYTHING about biking...but for all its worth, I wear gloves (the gel kind with padding) AND I got some new ergonomic grips where I can wrest my hands. It's way more comfortable than the regular grip...and I'm all about comfort.

The other think I know about biking is that I'm gonna NEED to win the freekin' lottery with how much money I'm spending on it.

Aka Alice said...

Duh...I meant "rest" my hands...

Robin said...

It just takes practice, Al. I thought biking was HELL when I started 2 years ago. Once I rode a few times, it was fine. Just make yourself get back out there as often as you can handle.

And I agree on the fitting. It's critical!

SeeGirlRun said...

There's an 9.5 mile greenway in Suwanee and there's also the Silver Comet trail. We rode 15 miles on that as a family last year. coffee shops and bike shops everywhere. Congrats on the $2. It's more than I usually win....

Laura

Missy said...

Bike fit #1, gloves, meh, don't need em if a bike fits and you probably won't want them in a tri - too hard to get onto wet hands. They do absorb the shock, though. Keep at it, cycling is the best part.

The Lazy Triathlete said...

I love winners!!! You rock. LOL

Everything with biking becomes easier. I wore gloves my first season, but I don't any more. My hands have gotten use to it. I think it was being tense as I rode. As I got more comfortable it became much easier.

Tammy said...

Woohoo!! You big spender!

I don't ride my bike enough to have any helpful advice.

B. Kramer said...

See? And this is why riding bikes is dumb. Here you're working your legs peddling away and your hands and wrists hurt? That don't make no sense!

I suggest gloves. They helped me when I pretended to be a cyclist for a summer. But you know what reduces pain and improves confidence? Beers! Cheers.

Sarah said...

What kind of bike do you have? I had a hybrid and my hands and wrists hurt just because the hand position wasn't too comfortable. You have gotten some great advice, take it in and get it fit (Atlanta Cycling is really friendly).

I ride a road bike and I usually wear gloves, sometimes my hands will fall asleep on long rides and that's just because of my hand position - there is a nerve that you can press on that will put your hand to sleep if your wrists are pointing down for a long period of time - I try to ride with my hands on the hoods almost facing each other or at least, without pressing my wrists directly down.

Anyway, don't get discouraged! Keep on trying, it'll get better!

Diario de Elysia said...

LMAO 2 bux Alb? Woo hoo

timeformetofly said...

Hey, share the wealth! I'll be happy to help you spend your winnings. ;)

As for the training, keep it up and it will get easier. Although I must admit that I went from racing style handlebars to more upright ones because I never adjusted. But then again I am not as motivated as you and am not training for a tri, so I just ride it around the neighborhood!

Keep up the great work!