Would I be a nut for cycling if I still lived in PA?

Sure, I rode bikes when I was a kid...first a teal blue Schwinn that I got when I was five and then a bright orange Sears Roebuck 10-speed in sixth grade. It was the orange one that led me to kill my front tooth in seventh grade. I was riding it home from my girlsfriend's house while carrying my red Ambridge jacket (not wearing it because for some reason at that age I felt wearing jackets and coats was uncool). The sleeve got caught in my front tire causing it to jam and consequently hurl me from the bike where I knocked my teeth on the curb. The tooth died a slow death, turing from its normal color to a pale greyish ivory and then ultimately an even more shadowy eggshell.

But I digress...I soon abandoned the bicycle when I turned 16 and adopted my fondness of driving the 65 Chevy Impala car that lacked power steering, a good heater and power brakes. It wasn't until I took up the bike at 45 that I found cycling to be the exercise of choice for me. While I haven't really given it much thought until this visit to western PA, I often wonder if I would have ever taken it up if I hadn't moved to Arizona. Here, swimming is a May 31st through September 1st activity. Few people have outdoor swimming pools because there are more months you cannot use the pool than months you can. I guess I subconsciously viewed bicycles as one more of those activities that are seasonal.

While out scouting for kitschy western PA items to tote back to AZ, (like T-shirts that say Stillers instead of Steelers) I came upon two cyclists out for a morning jaunt in Zelienople. The temperature at 11 AM was stubbornly stuck at 28 degrees. My ears were aching and my hands were in shock and I was just standing still. Yet, these two were cruising along at a speed of at least 21 mph, clad in tights, toe warmers, ear warmers, arm warmers, face warmers, yet they were chattering to one another (evidenced by the steam exchanging between them) and seemed oblivious to the frigid temps. If the cycling addiction grabs hold of a person, it's likely it won't matter what the temperature, a person with a cycling monkey on his back's gotta have his fix. After all, look at the many cyclists that brave the southwest sunshine and high temperatures to satisfy the craving. Add the early hour of riding at 5 or 6 AM and the questions of dubious sanity begin to circle.

The winter cycling situation does beg a few questions:
Are polar bottles necessary to keep the water from freezing?
How do the frigid temperatures affect the performance of carbon, rubber and spandex?
and
Do people ride with hot tea, hot cocoa or coffee in their bottles?

You gotta have a dream...

There was a time about 20 years ago that I got into a crazy multi-level marketing scheme with my then husband. In retrospect, besides being very clean (there were terrific soap products involved) the leadership outfit or 'upline' of the group encouraged us to read positive books and listen to tapes of speakers from the organization who had ACHIEVED and were purportedly rolling in cash.

Anyway, the soap-selling business was just one of his crazy ideas, but the one thing I never regretted was the reading. And, most of those books were written about positive thinking, learning how to avoid pitfalls or negativity and nearly every single one of them discussed setting goals. When learning to road ride, goals can be your friend and can be the impetus to improve your speed, your endurance and increase how serious you are about becoming a better cyclist.

Setting a goal as a cyclist is really no different than setting any other kind of goals. To steal one of the tools I read in those books, goals should be SMART - Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and Timely. These elements will help you get where you want to go with your riding. If you are a new cyclist, talk to someone who is patient and experienced to help you arrive at your first cycling goals. To help illustrate this, I will walk through setting an initial goal. As I write this, I think it's time for ME to set some new cycling goals...Hmmm.

OK..moving forward.

So you now ride twice a week and your longest ride has been 30 miles. If increasing your distance is your first goal. Choose a distance that you want to reach. A metric century or 100 kilometers or 62 miles is a good goal for starters. This meets the Specific criteria as well as the Measurable one. You'll know whether or not you reach it or not because it's easy to determine that distance.

Since many organized rides offer metric centuries, you can choose one of them or visit www.mapmyride.com to locate a route near you that is save and meets the distance criteria you are seeking. Find one you like and keep that route saved somewhere.

Establishing the metric century goal is definitely Achievable but it's also important to view WHEN it's achievable. Some fit cyclists can ride a couple of times and achieve a 62-mile ride. They may have a sore tush and experience cramping and aches. However, others cannot achieve that in just a few training rides and even if they could complete it, they certainly wouldn't enjoy it.

Keep in mind REALISTIC and TIMELY as you set the date. If you are brand new to exercise and riding, completing a metric century in three weeks when you can only train one day a week, isn't realistic. Putting a date on your goal is essential though. So if you are brand new, consider that you will need to ride no less than two-three times a week for about three to four months to prepare your bottom, your lungs, your legs, and the rest of your body for that 62-mile ride. If you can ride only on weekends, you will probably need to add another month or two to your training.

To recap:
Specific -  Metric century - 62 miles
Measurable -  62 miles, plotted on a map
Achievable - With the training, yes!
Reasonable - Coupled with the appropriate training schedule, check!
Timely - Set the date and ride, baby, ride!

Barks and bikes: when bikes and dogs clash! What to do...

In the orthopedics's office today, I glance over to see an attractive woman with her left arm in a sling, a bandage over some road-rash-looking-bruises on her shoulder and more of the same on her left side. At the risk of thinking everyone in a orthopedics's office is there because of an unwanted relationship between a bike and as semi, I smiled and continued to read emails. Until I heard another couple ask what happened to her arm..."A dog ran into me while I was riding my bike."

BINGO! No, not the dog BINGO...But BINGO, I was right.

After sharing some discussion and learning we knew some of the same cyclists, I pondered this dilemma. Three dogs ran out to her, the small ones just chased, but a very large pit bull ran in front of her bike and her front wheel actually ran over a part of it. What could she do?

Top five tips for dealing with dogs while cycling:

5. Out ride them! If you can take off and ride like the wind, do so...it could discourage them.
4. Bark at them. Yelling NO will usually do no good whatsoever. Some cyclists say barking helps.
3. If you have to get off of your bike, put your bike between you and the dog. They are territorial and you are on their turf.
2. Make a lot of noise by screaming at the dog...some say this overpowers them and makes them retreat.
1. Grasp your water bottle and squirt the dog!

Out of all of these, I like the out ride them or squirt them ideas the best. Among the times I was confronted with dogs, the most common place has been on 51st Avenue when riding around South Mountain. Just after the Shell station where most cyclists stop to, uh, refresh, there are some residences with outdoor dogs that are untethered. After a couple of times, we just expected them and rode as fast as we could...

If you have a better idea...please let me know about it!

Sedona Bike Festival Ride this Saturday - FUN and Beautiful - two options! FREE!

WANTED!  ROAD RIDERS
Celebrate May as our NATIONAL BICYLE MONTH!
May 28th, 2011 (Saturday)

* 2 SATURDAY MORNING ROAD RIDES IN VOC/SEDONA *

ORGANIZED BY: Verde Valley Cycling Coalition

Come join with the VERDE VALLEY CYCLISTS COALITION (VVCC) & friends Saturday morning, May 28th to participate in a bike ride through the beautiful red rock region of Sedona AZ.

Sponsoring a choice of 2 GREAT RIDES to suit your riding comfort level! This 2 group set-up offers a choice of rides so more folks can join us and ride at a pleasurable pace based on experience level. Each ride is fun & challenging, with good company and beautiful scenery to enjoy. HELMETS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED.
GROUP 1: Longer & semi-strenuous ride - average pace 14/16 mph - with few stops - length approx. 50 miles. Looping through Sedona, Page Springs, Cornville & Village of Oak Creek.

GROUP 3: This is a casual, less strenuous ride for beginner to moderate riders. A shorter & slower paced ride - with more rest stops - length approximately 15 miles.

• START TIME: 9:00 AM

• END TIME: 1:00 PM … approximate … depending on ride choice
• BEGIN/END LOCATION: Village of Oak Creek/Sedona. Rear parking lot behind the VOC Outlet Shops. Corner of Jacks Canyon Rd & Cortez.

Don't be shy. Come ride with us on Saturday. Come to the VOC to ride and meet cycling friends!
VOC RIDE LEADERS: • Thomas McGoldrick (928) 301-3621  • Heather Parris (928) 274-3109

May 2011 - Girls Gone Riding Newsletter

Click on the caption  of this cheesy photo of me after my first 100-miler three years ago to read May 2011 GGR Newsletter!

My cheesy grin after my first 100-miler three years ago!

It's like falling off a horse, you have to get back on...

Despite the fact, that I have logged under 200 miles in the last two months, I finished 65 miles at the Ride For the Children this past weekend. I was shocked that riders finished after me cause I was pretty sure Peggy and I were the last riders. What's worse, we snuck out early. Not by much, but we wanted to avoid that mass start of tangled wobbly, hurried, bicycles. (It's like being in a crowded movie theater and someone yells FIRE!) It was a wise choice.

The hills were not as imposing as I remember and luckily the hazy April Arizona sun hid from sight for much of our meandering trip through beautiful Paradise Valley. We window shopped the behemoth homes and dallied with the camel at the six-mile rest stop since its portajohn beckoned without a single person there. (The portajohns at the start were like turnstalls with rows of coffee-laden riders waiting to get in. At one point, I couldn't believe we were actually back together on a charity ride once again. I am so completely and fully charmed to be able to be doing that again.

Having just attended Charlayne's peddling clinic last week, I practiced some of the drills she showed us. I imagined I was unable to pedal downward, only upward. I could feel my cadence rising higher each time I remembered to do this. It's a great lesson to practice in your quest to round out your pedal stroke and increase your might while riding.

Each hour as we pedalled and moved closer to completing our ride, I thought little of our experience last August. Instead, I enjoyed the scenery, hoped the uphill would end soon and the wind would wait a while to fully engulf us--all of the things I would have done before. Occasionally, I felt that pinching pain in my ankle as a little reminder that I am not past the physical remnants of the accident and once, had to remove my compression stocking and release my swelling foot from the confines of my cycling shoe. And, the firey pain in my shoulder flared up as if to try to distract me from the goal. But the worst reminder was the moment the Bud Light truck zoomed a little too close as we were crossing the 101 at Pima Road. It's fierce, rolling pairs of rolling tires cause me to flinch as I felt its draft as it stormed by. I recovered quickly but it was unnerving all the same.

So it's time to get out and get my speed back up to par, chalk up more miles on each of my tires and look for the beginners who are seeking answers to riding as the road calls to them.

It's rebirth on a bike. I have more of a zeal and passion than ever before to share the love of bikes.

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