Back in the Saddle
(Apologies in advance for the shifting fonts in this post - I can't seem to track down the problem.)
I got back to Seattle late Friday afternoon watching the roads I'd just pedaled roll backwards under the car wheels while Katja drove. I was aware of the first of several odd sensations that would come over me that weekend. This particular one was a mix of incredulity and awe especially as we drove down inclines that I had labored furiously to get up and over just days before. Katja offered to take a different route but I wanted to see where I had just come from. I think it was a good choice.
I spent that night with Katja and Craig. They were going to a party so it seemed a good opportunity to have some quiet time and try to decompress. I had grabbed some gear from our house, Tiny Bella, and hammered out a plan of sorts with our house-sitters Kelly and Stephanie. I went back the following day (Saturday) to do some laundry and clarify our plan (I was pretty spent the day before) and then headed to Columbia City and Howard and Julie's Yellow Cottage where I have been crashing since.
They ran in the Seafair Torchlight Race that evening so I accompanied them for the moral support. They both did well. Julie in particular managed to shave almost 5 minutes off of her previous years race time.
THE GREAT RACERS
The next morning, Julie and I met our friend Mark for breakfast at Cafe Flora. I was pleased and touched to learn that Mark, who had suffered from a stroke in early June, was beginning to read again in part because our blog. It's slow, he said, but good. For myself, it was a balm to hang out with the two of them because of odd sensation # 2- I was all jangly inside. A mixture of feel adrift, unsettled, physically recovering from the emotional stress of self-doubt and leaving Ivan. Eating warm, nourishing food with comfortable and comforting companions soothed me quite a bit.
Later that day would bring odd sensation #3.
The recumbent is neither a small nor a light bike. We usually transport them using the bike hitch on Ivan's Saab - a car that, for various reasons, I don't contemplate attempting to drive. My own car has a Yakima Little Joe rack that they don't recommend using on my make and model. It's seems fine for smaller road bikes, but I'm too cautious to put the recumbent on it. So I had packed up my Specialized Sirrus with the constantly flat front tire. After breakfast I walked it to BikeWorks in Columbia City sure that they would replace both the tube and the tire. But the mechanic found a piece of glass embedded in the tire and promised that, if it flattened, I could bring it back and he wouldn't charge for the labor. So with a new tube and a quick check of the brakes I got on the bike for the first time in about 4 months and I had the immediate sensation of falling over. I pedaled to the corner but the feeling of being unsafe was so strong that I got off and walked it back to Howard and Julie's. A few hours later I got on it again and biked around the neighborhood getting re-accustomed to the feel of being on a diamond frame because I had a plan that I was determined to follow through on.
GEARING UP
Monday morning just before 7:00am I got into my biking clothes, shoes and helmet and went on a brisk 6.5 mile ride along Seward Park/Lake Washington Blvd. My feeling of tippieness didn't last long but I was acutely aware of the pressure on my wrists and sits bones- two sensations I had not experienced in months.
I felt stiff and sore this morning especially in the upper body, but I got up again and went for an 11 mile ride. Compared to the Bacchetta, the Specialized feels spindly, like I'm riding a bike made of wood and it might shake apart. That said, I do go much faster if my bike computer is accurate, and hills aren't terribly hard although there are a couple I've been avoiding. I'm going to attempt them on tomorrows ride - my last of the week. On Thursday morning I'm heading out to Idaho/Montana to catch up with Ivan for a night before he gets too far for me to drive. I expect to be gone most of the weekend but I'll be back in the saddle next week. I'm fielding offers for weekend bike rides and I'd like to see if I can make them all materialize at least until I hopefully, head out to Virginia later this summer.
I'll post more about them in the weeks ahead as well as some catch-up posts about the ride out to Twisp. I have few vivid memories as I was spending most of my time focusing on my pedals, but those I do have are good.
I got back to Seattle late Friday afternoon watching the roads I'd just pedaled roll backwards under the car wheels while Katja drove. I was aware of the first of several odd sensations that would come over me that weekend. This particular one was a mix of incredulity and awe especially as we drove down inclines that I had labored furiously to get up and over just days before. Katja offered to take a different route but I wanted to see where I had just come from. I think it was a good choice.
I spent that night with Katja and Craig. They were going to a party so it seemed a good opportunity to have some quiet time and try to decompress. I had grabbed some gear from our house, Tiny Bella, and hammered out a plan of sorts with our house-sitters Kelly and Stephanie. I went back the following day (Saturday) to do some laundry and clarify our plan (I was pretty spent the day before) and then headed to Columbia City and Howard and Julie's Yellow Cottage where I have been crashing since.
They ran in the Seafair Torchlight Race that evening so I accompanied them for the moral support. They both did well. Julie in particular managed to shave almost 5 minutes off of her previous years race time.
THE GREAT RACERS
The next morning, Julie and I met our friend Mark for breakfast at Cafe Flora. I was pleased and touched to learn that Mark, who had suffered from a stroke in early June, was beginning to read again in part because our blog. It's slow, he said, but good. For myself, it was a balm to hang out with the two of them because of odd sensation # 2- I was all jangly inside. A mixture of feel adrift, unsettled, physically recovering from the emotional stress of self-doubt and leaving Ivan. Eating warm, nourishing food with comfortable and comforting companions soothed me quite a bit.
Later that day would bring odd sensation #3.
The recumbent is neither a small nor a light bike. We usually transport them using the bike hitch on Ivan's Saab - a car that, for various reasons, I don't contemplate attempting to drive. My own car has a Yakima Little Joe rack that they don't recommend using on my make and model. It's seems fine for smaller road bikes, but I'm too cautious to put the recumbent on it. So I had packed up my Specialized Sirrus with the constantly flat front tire. After breakfast I walked it to BikeWorks in Columbia City sure that they would replace both the tube and the tire. But the mechanic found a piece of glass embedded in the tire and promised that, if it flattened, I could bring it back and he wouldn't charge for the labor. So with a new tube and a quick check of the brakes I got on the bike for the first time in about 4 months and I had the immediate sensation of falling over. I pedaled to the corner but the feeling of being unsafe was so strong that I got off and walked it back to Howard and Julie's. A few hours later I got on it again and biked around the neighborhood getting re-accustomed to the feel of being on a diamond frame because I had a plan that I was determined to follow through on.
GEARING UP
Monday morning just before 7:00am I got into my biking clothes, shoes and helmet and went on a brisk 6.5 mile ride along Seward Park/Lake Washington Blvd. My feeling of tippieness didn't last long but I was acutely aware of the pressure on my wrists and sits bones- two sensations I had not experienced in months.
I felt stiff and sore this morning especially in the upper body, but I got up again and went for an 11 mile ride. Compared to the Bacchetta, the Specialized feels spindly, like I'm riding a bike made of wood and it might shake apart. That said, I do go much faster if my bike computer is accurate, and hills aren't terribly hard although there are a couple I've been avoiding. I'm going to attempt them on tomorrows ride - my last of the week. On Thursday morning I'm heading out to Idaho/Montana to catch up with Ivan for a night before he gets too far for me to drive. I expect to be gone most of the weekend but I'll be back in the saddle next week. I'm fielding offers for weekend bike rides and I'd like to see if I can make them all materialize at least until I hopefully, head out to Virginia later this summer.
I'll post more about them in the weeks ahead as well as some catch-up posts about the ride out to Twisp. I have few vivid memories as I was spending most of my time focusing on my pedals, but those I do have are good.
posted by maryja at
12:11 PM
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