Category: Cycling

38 Minutes

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

I went bike riding this morning just as the sun was coming up.  I don’t recall the time, it was before 7am though.  Instead of stopping at California Ave and turning right and going back home, this time I decided to keep going to Truxton and turn left to go to Oak St. which is the way to get to Beach Park where the bike path is at.

I went to Oak but had to turn around and come back home because I’m so heavy that as I was riding my bike I could tell that my seat was going down because my legs were no longer straight when my pedal was all the way down.  They were bending still and when I left the house they were straight.  So I’m so heavy that I’m pushing my seat down which is not good.  Next time I go on a ride I have to raise the seat again.  I have a feeling that until I lose this website I’m gonna have to keep raising the seat every time.

That’s ok I guess.  I’m just happy that I rode a longer distance than before.  38 minutes is a lot longer than 14 minutes.  I also rode for 4.2 miles total.  I checked it out on Google Maps.  Go me!

By the way, I was so close to Beach Park, like 5 blocks from it.  I was so close I could have tasted it.  I had no idea that I was that close either.  If I knew I was that close I would’ve tried harder to get there.  At least they had water so I could have refilled my bottle lol.  I ran out just as I was getting closer to the house.  That only tells me I need to bring the bigger bottle next time lol.

Edit: I went to Spark People to add my cardio for today and 38 min at 10 mph (I don’t know what my speed is as I don’t have a bike odometer and 10 mph is the lowest they have so it’s my only option) and that is 342 calories burned.  The total for the whole week is 87 of 90 min that they require you to do and 783 of 780 calories burned.  They only want you to do exercise cause they are there to tell you what you need to do to get thin.  You aren’t “required” to do anything you don’t want to in which case you don’t have to sign up on their website.  But anyway, my point is that I exceeded the amount of calories for the whole week but I was still 3 minutes shy of the amount of time.  That’s fine though because next week will be double because I was so close to Beach Park that next time I will actually make it there and maybe even get to ride on the bike path for a little while.  I might end up doing the entire 90 min for the entire week in just 2 sessions.

Picture Of My Bike

On By Michel McDonaldIn CyclingLeave a comment

By the way, here is a picture of my bike as is.  Not including any lights that is.  It has the frame bag with the tire repair kit, mini pump and hex tools.  The cup isn’t there but it’s black so you wouldn’t see it but if you look hard enough you can see the cage that the cup goes in.  Yes, the bag is big but the cup does still fit in it.  And as you can see my helmet.  To see full size click the image below.

Bike Lights

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

When I was 16 my parents bought me a bicycle so I can get to work a lot easier and they won’t have to drive me.  The bike was a cruiser bike and since I would be riding at night I would need lights and all I can remember is that I thought my step-dad was so cheap by buying me the kind with a generator.  I didn’t need batteries because it generated light as I rode.  However, if you think about it, this is probably a very good idea because batteries cost a lot of money.

If you buy lights that are rechargeable they are very expensive.  Yeah the lighting is a lot brighter and probably better but they cost a lot of money.  And I’m talking $200+.

I have been looking for this light with generator for a while and I can’t find it anywhere.  Bike Nashbar doesn’t have it, neither do any of the other well known online bike stores.  Target, Wal-Mart, sporting good stores, Sniders etc.  Nobody has it.

I found it on eBay for $49.  Wow.  What a deal.  I have to wait 2 weeks before I can buy it but I’m going to get it when I get some money.  Here is a picture.

I don’t plan on riding at night unless I need something from the store and I need to get there fast but what I do plan on doing is riding early in the morning.  I’m talking 5am early.  Yeah at 6am it’s still dark but there are cars out on the road that early.  I’d rather get out at 5am.  This way I can get in as much bike time as I can without any traffic and any pedestrians.  I want to get my exercise in without any dangers of getting hit by a car hehe.  I haven’t been on the streets in over a decade and I’ve already made a couple of mistakes and I need to relearn the rules of the road before I go back out there with the cars.  I think getting to where I need to would be a lot faster with no traffic too.

High Seat

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

When I came back from my ride the day before yesterday I raised my seat up a lot but I guess not enough because today I rode my bike and I was still in pain when I got home and I noticed that my leg was still bending as I was riding.  Your leg is supposed to extend fully when it gets all the way down.  If your seat is too low it can cause an injury to your back and/or legs.

Well, when I lowered my seat I lowered it all the way then I realized how to raise the handlebars but I never raised the seat again.  Big mistake.

So anyway, this morning I thought it was high enough but it wasn’t and I came home from my ride in a little bit of pain in my legs.  Not as much as before but I raised it even higher and got on it and it was perfect.  My legs straighten completely.  Hopefully tomorrow I can keep going past California Ave instead of turning right.

My goal is to get my muscles strong enough to where I can ride the bike for long periods of time but having my seat so low was counter productive to my progress.  The longer I am able to ride the more calories I will burn and then I can just go back on with my life.  When I was a kid, teen and young adult (in my 20’s) I was very active.  Either running from bullies (junior high) or riding my bike to and from school, to and from work, to and from Hollywood via North Hollywood, to and from Simi valley via Canoga Park.  Point is I was active and active means skinny.  I never gained an ounce.  I could eat and eat and eat and believe me, I was a hungry guy and I never gained any weight.  So, hopefully, I can keep my eating habits but exercise it all off with the bike.

I also wanted to add that I am so excited to have my Dell DJ back.  I went too long without it and I’m so excited that I got that battery for $10 + $7 shipping.  I nearly bought the same battery from another retailer for $25 and another was selling the same thing for $50.  I almost gave up until I went on eBay.

Longer, Harder and Uncut

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, ExerciseLeave a comment

Ok.

I thought the ride would get harder because when you push yourself to go that extra block you use more energy to get there.  Well, when I got to Eye st. I decided to just keep going to Chester and I made it so then I was able to turn right and go back to 3rd.  It was actually easier coming home on Chester than it was going to California on H.  Maybe because I knew I was coming home.

Hmmmm, let’s see, what is uncut…  Well, this blog is, there are no commercials.  So there 😛

By the way, going from Eye to H to California to Chester to 3rd then back to Eye was only 1.6 miles and I’ve been going 1.5 miles turning on Eye instead of going to Chester while on California.  I know, 0.1 mile is not a lot and 2 min extra is not a lot but I started out with 15 min for 2 days then got to 17 min.  Who knows, tomorrow I might do 17 min again or I might do 20 min and 1.7 miles.  The point is that I’m getting my legs used to the work.  The first day my legs were in agony, I could barely move.  Of course today when I came home I could barely walk, I looked like i was an old man using a walker again lol.  But that’s what it takes to get the muscles back into shape.  A little pain at the beginning so I can go the distance with no pain at all.  That’s why they say “no pain, no gain”.

I remember as a teenager riding my bike to school in the morning and not being the least bit tired from the bike ride, then riding home, putting my McDonald’s uniform on and going back out the door on my bike to work.  When I got there I had no pain in my legs because I was so used to riding a bike that my legs were never in any pain from it.  I think because I was so thin back then helped my case because I have 100lbs more than I did 22 years ago.

Also when I was 22-23 years old and I rode my bike from North Hollywood all the way to Hollywood and I did that several times a week too and it would take maybe an hour but it didn’t matter, I was never in any pain.  And I never had a water bottle with me because it wasn’t that hard that I needed water.  Although now that I think about it I probably could have used a water bottle lol.  But that trip was uphill and downhill and curvy.

Oh and when I was 19 and I lived in Canoga Park I used to ride my bike once in a while on the Santa Susanna Pass going to Simi Valley to visit my Aunt Betty at Ralph’s.  That never even phased me.  Although I was a bit winded, I needed water lol.  But I got through it no problem and the ride home was a breeze because it was uphill the entire way there so it was downhill the entire way home.

Todays Bike Ride

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, ExerciseLeave a comment

I did the same thing as yesterday.  I couldn’t go any further.  I was looking at the street signs this time and it was 7th street when my legs started straining.  I only live on 3rd so that’s only a few blocks lol.

Anyway, I brought my step counter this time because it has a stop watch on it and I did 14 minutes total.  And I was in the wrong gear by the way.  That’s why my legs are struggling to keep me standing up when I get up.  When I realized the lower gear was an asset I kept it.  So tomorrow morning when I go out the bike will be in the right gear and I won’t have to struggle to ride and maybe, just maybe, I can go further.

COLD

On By Michel McDonaldIn CyclingLeave a comment

It’s 6:53am.  I woke up at 6am and have been waiting for the sun to come up before I go bike riding because my light doesn’t work right and it kinda broke actually.  And I don’t have a back light so I’m waiting for the sun before I go out.  The sun is coming up now though but I’m hesitant to go out because it’s 43 degrees outside.  CHILLY!!!  But, I realized I have thermal underwear.  I hope that keeps me warm hehe.

PAIN

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, Doctor, ExerciseLeave a comment

Ok.  First off Darrin woke me up at 6am because the pain was too great in his stomach and he needed to go to the E.R.  He told me he was having a heart attack.  He wasn’t thank goodness.  The doctor gave him some meds for his stomach pain and we were on our way.  Ok that was Chips pain.

Now for my pain.  When we came home from the hospital Darrin got ready for church and then left.  I on the other hand geared up for what I thought was going to be a long bike ride but turned into a 20 minute bike ride, if that.  I put my sunglasses onto my glasses then strapped on the helmet then put the ear buds in so I could listen to Gavin Degraw’s latest self titled CD in my Dell DJ so the ride would be at least tolerable.

I go down H street from 3rd and I’m nearing the Catholic church which is like 10th street or something, I remember seeing 11th street as I was passing the church but just before I started to get near it I could feel my upper front legs just tightening up from the stress I was putting on them from the ride.  I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t in the right gear or something but my legs were in pain.

I had to push myself to get to California Ave though so I could say I tried.  As soon as I got to California Avenue I sighed a big sigh of relief.  Then I had to turn right and Eye street wasn’t too far then I could turn right and go back to 3rd st.  Now keep in mind, I didn’t go very far.

I finally got home, took of that hot helmet and I swear to science that my legs were in so much pain I was walking like an old man in a retirement home using a walker.  Flower was so happy to see me that she was jumping up on my back legs trying to show her love and trying to get me to pick her up but I could barely walk much less bend over to pick up a toy chihuahua.

I’m glad it’s over BUT… I gotta try again tomorrow.  If I can get to California avenue and not be in so much pain then I can keep going, maybe to Truxton lol.  The song I was on was just track 5 so you know that I wasn’t gone long lol.  Maybe tomorrow I will get to track 6.

This is a cropped image from Google Maps of today’s short route hehe.  It was 1.5 miles by the way.

Very Disappointed With Things That Came in the Mail Today

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, MusicLeave a comment

Well, I finally got my packages today and I’m not happy at all.  The battery came way earlier than it should have and I was ecstatic about that but it doesn’t fit.  It’s too wide.  I plugged it in and it turned the Dell DJ on instantly but since the battery was dead it said low battery and shut off.

The frame bag is way too big, that’s why I bought the cheaper one because I thought it was going to be smaller.  It covers my drink holder, where will I put my bottle of water now?  I could shove it over so it doesn’t cover my water cage I guess.

The pump doesn’t do what it is supposed to do.  Sure it pumps the tire up but the gauge doesn’t show me how much pressure is in the tire.  What is the point of having a pump with a pressure gauge if it doesn’t work?

I can live with the big frame bag, I can even live with a pump that doesn’t do it’s job (gauge).  I just wanted a mini pump and that’s what I got with a bonus feature (that doesn’t work).  But the Dell DJ battery, that one I cannot keep and deal with.  That one has to go back and I’m back at square one.  No music.

I was just thinking, if I plug the battery in but then strap it to the back of the Dell DJ with a rubber band then charge it, I wonder if it will still work.  It will be a little bit bulky but at this point I really don’t care.  I just want my DJ back.

I’m calming down now, trying to find a silver lining.

Kern Wheelmen Bicycle Club

On By Michel McDonaldIn CyclingLeave a comment

This website might help me for a good bike route.  Bakersfield put in a bike path along the Kern river beginning at the Mouth of Kern Canyon, the Kern River Parkway includes over 6,000 acres of trails, parks and waterways extending over 30 miles westerly to Highway I-5.  There is a bike club that does trips which go out of the bike path which starts at Beach Park, goes for 42.5 miles in a circle and ends right back at Beach Park.  The bike ride to Beach Park from our house is only 2.7 miles.

Of course before I can do this ride I’m going to have to get used to riding my bike again.  Also all the people on the picture in this website are all athletes and they are all in shape so before I even think about joining their club I need to be as fit as they are.  I would lag too far behind these guys.

Well, this is the website address:  www.kernwheelmen.org

I hope some day I will be as skinny and fit as I used to be a long time ago.  I feel that I am wasting my life being fat.