#28) Belated Notes from the Big W and Tour de Farms Update

Artwork from the house

I apologize for not keeping my journal up to date. The "Spring Break" trip down to the Florida panhandle was a much needed break from the horribly snowy winter we've been having in the Chicago metro-area... As it stands now, the 2013-14 snow season is the 3rd snowiest since record-keeping began in the 1890's.


We rented a beach-housed in Blue Mountain Beach, FL named "the Big W". I don't know if the name was in homage to the
 campy early 1960's comedic film "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" but the house had kind of a campy early 60's vibe although not in a good way. Don't get me wrong, the house was clean  and well maintained and all that, but it was a cross between a beach house and a north woods fishing cabin, with a stuffed swordfish on one wall, a large mouthed bass on another, paintings of seagulls next to pheasants, seashells and antlers , bedrooms painted in beachy pastel hues and a living room with walls of dark walnut.

Grayton Beach State Park

I was able to get out for three good 12.5 mile rides along the paved Timpoochee Trail, which  parallels State Highway 30-A, on the Florida panhandle, improving my time with each ride.

Surfer at Sunset on Blue Mountain Beach 

After basking in the 70f temperatures for one week the return to Chiberia has been difficult to handle. There has been two days where the daytime high neared 60f. On the first day, I went for a ride a 7.46 mile ride at the Morton Arboretum. The roadway was strewn with a mixture on salt, sand and water run-off from melting snow.  This was my first hill ride since last fall so my gearshift timing & technique  was off
but that will return with practice. On the second 60f-ish day I went to the Herrick Lake Forest Preserve. I went 100 yards down the muddy trail but decided to turn back after I discovered snow and ice would make it impossible to ride.

I have been going to the gym for more weight  and spin training in preparation for the June 21st Tour de Farms bike ride.
Earlier this week I took my hand-cycle into the shop for a tune-up (repacking of ball-bearings, cable/shifter adjustments, wheel alignment  and chain maintenance). In order to see what type of terrain I would be faced with on this ride I drove out to DeKalb, Il for a look-see. I didn't follow the entire course but from what I saw the terrain is relatively flat with long stretches slight inclines followed by long stretches of slight declines.

Finding the correct gear near the base of the climb will be essential.


Here is the bike route from last year.

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Music

Indoor Cycling Mix from Youtube.com

#26) Keep on Keeping on

Progress Report

I have begun to follow a training program I found on  the Bike MS web site. It is designed to help bicyclists prepare for 50 mile events so I'm using it to help me get ready for the Bike MS Tour de Farm on June 21st. Hopefully my arms will be able to keep up with this program that was designed for your standard bicyclist. If I can keep up I will have to register for the 50 mile ride instead of the 35 mile ride I initially signed up for.

The first two  weeks of the plan calls for 4 rides (Tues, Thurs, Sat, & Sun) The Tuesday & Thursday rides are  45 minute rides, a long distance  ride on Saturday and 45 minutes recovery ride on Sunday. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are "recovery days" and you are instructed to  1) stay off of legs all you can, 2) watch nutrition closely (healthy carbs, lean protein, and good fats), 3) stretch, and 4) drink when thirsty. Other common recovery aids include massage, napping, elevating legs, floating in water, and listening to music." I like the massage, napping, elevating legs floating in water and listening to music ideas but I think I need to spend that time working out to build upper body strength.

Here are my sessions to date: 
02.18.14: 45 minutes 8.61 miles  (11mph average) and burned 587 calories. 
02:20:14 60 minutes (15 extra) 12.32 miles and burning 722 calories.
02:22:14 140 minutes 20.10 miles (12.30mph average)  ???calories Polar monitor sez 1267 calories but that can't be correct.
02:23:14 45 minutes  recovery ride 8.0 miles (10.7mph average) forgot monitor 
02:25:14 45 minutes 9.35mile (12.5mph average) 505 calories.

Despite missing a couple days lifting  I am encouraged by the improvement in the average speed of my 45 minute rides and the fact that I was able to maintain that pace during my long ride. I have another 45 minute Thursday and a 25 mile ride on the calendar for Saturday so we'll see how that goes.......

Music

I have yet to make an appropriate uber up-tempo playlist for my MP3 player. During my last "long ride" it seemed like my Sony Walkman randomly picked every slow song in the library. 

"Redheaded Stranger" Willie Nelson
Don't get me wrong, I love this song but not when trying to keep a 90rpm pace.

or

"Everybody Hurts" (Live) R.E.M.

Again, a great song but ....

#21) Know Limits > No Limits

I know it doesn't seem like we have turned the seasonal corner, what with the recent "Polar Vortex" phenomenon of record low temperature readings and heavy snowfall that has all the climate change deniers crawling out of the woodwork, but if you  take a moment you can see that each morning daybreak comes earlier and evening the sun dips below the horizon a minute later than.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I will be outdoors riding any time soon, but it's a comin' so I feel the need to become more disciplined with my training routine.

I continue to alternate between strength training of my slow twich muscles and cardio workouts. My primary focus is on my arms, shoulders and chest but I throw in some abdominals and leg exercises. To help motivate myself with my weight-training routine I think back some of the hills I encountered last season and how tired I got as I neared the crest.

The Polar heart monitor I received as a Christmas gift is helping me monitor and refine my cardio training efforts. Hence the title "Know Limits > No Limits" (As in, it's better to know your limits than to blindly forge ahead.) I have had little experience tracking my heart's performance prior to getting the heart monitor gift.

Using the standard 220-age=Max Heart Rate, my MHR is 164bpm.
And what I am learning in writing this blog is that I might be pushing a bit too hard. Take my last 60 minute spinning only workout. I rode 12.30 miles, burned 848 calories, my maximum HR was 167bpms and my average hr was 143bpm. Meaning my training was at the upper end of the anabolic threshold range, nearly to the Red-Line zone.

I don't know why but every time I go for my 60min spin I try to increase either the distance traveled or calories burned. On some days I combine a mini-strength workout with a 30 minute interval training program....

I have just begun using the elliptical cross-trainer for  a change of pace. Damn, it's almost like running but the stride
motion doesn't require you to utilize your hamstring muscle when you lift your heels while taking a step. Its more of a sliding shuffle or maybe like cross-country skiing. I loved running, but MS induced spasticity in my hamstrings makes that impossible. I never thought that I would be happy with a twenty minute mile, but that's what I did on my second session.

I was so disappointed with my performance that I tried to do a 30 minute interval session at level 5 instead of level 4... I made it through (barely) but it took a full 5 minute cool-down 

before I felt like standing up...

Again KNOW LIMITS is of greater importance than NO LIMTS

MUSIC

Billy Idol White Wedding Live

Fleet Mac Tusk

#19) Just One More Time

I really thought I would be able to get in a few more spins before the elements would make it too difficult and uncomfortable to ride, but as is typical in Chicago, the seasons have changed rather abruptly. These rapid changes are especially true with the spring/summer & the fall/winter transition. Winters are cold and too long while summers are too hot and not long enough. But your picture perfect spring and fall days are few and far between. There never seems to be a gradual progression as the seasons change. If you're lucky there will one week of your stereotypical spring or fall days. This fall we didn't even get that. The week when the fall foliage was peaking the skies were clouded over so I wasn't able to take the pictures that I had hoped to.
During my rides this summer I had scouted out some great locations for fall pictures at both the arboretum and the forest preserve but the sun never seemed to cooperate.
I am still hoping to get out for a ride but it is difficult with shorter daylight hours and falling temperatures.

So once again I am back to the gym routine.

I will try to alternate between strength training and aerobics, doing weights 3 days a week and ride the bike for 2 days, and switch it up the next week doing 3 cardio and 2 strength. And this off-season I have a better idea of which muscle groups need extra work.

But I really want to get out
 Just One More Time
by The Derailers

#18) What I write about when I write.. (with apologies to Haruki Murakami)

 

"Summer of 42" grass-scape Nantucket, MA

Way back in August, more specifically, way back on August 5^th, I found the inspirational crutch I needed to help me with my writing of “The Handcycle Diaries.” That was the day I began reading Haruki Murakami’s “What I Write About When I Write About Running.” The book is a memoir of Murakami’s running experiences woven around his growth and development as a writer. I was anxious to gain some insight on how someone develops as a writer. What really struck me on that hot August 5^th day as I was sitting on a beach in Lake Forest, Illinois (yes, there are beaches in Illinois) were the very first words I read from his book: August 5^th… Was it Karma, serendipity or just a plain old “shit happens” event, I don’t know. But the irony of the August 5^th occurrence fired up my creative process. I could use “What I Write About…” as a template for Handcycle Diaries.

The karma/serendipity/shit happens theme was still in play of when I placed a bookmark to save my spot in the book. The bookmark itself was a rather innocuous marker that one sees near the cash register at bookstores. This particular marker had been inserted into a collection of short stories that my mother had given me for my birthday. 

One side of the paper bookmark was an advertisement for the bookstore where the book was purchased; on the flipside, a quotation that read, “One informed reader is worth a thousand boneheads.” Handwritten in ink below that quotation was a note from my mother that simply said “A thought for today. Love Mother.” I know that was a pretty standard quote to extol the virtues of reading but what grabbed me was the relevance of these quotations to the discussion that took place with my family on the car-ride to the beach.

 

B&W Milkweed Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

As we drove to the beach we listened to an AM station so we could get updated traffic and weather reports. The headline story of the day was the ever-growing NSA scandal and I voiced my worries about the invasion of privacy that was occurring. The family was nonplussed by the news and opined that I “spend too much time reading the New York Times and watching MSNBC.” That bookmark, with the quotation and note from my mother, helped ease my anxiety over my families’ reaction to the NSA scandal but it increased my bewilderment over the karma/serendipity/shit happens time-warp that I found myself in.

But I digress, back to “What I Write About”. My first realization was that a memoir is a looking back, best of highlight piece where the writer has the luxury picking and choosing what to include, whereas a journal is a real-time log of events. Other than that, I can see some similarities in our writing styles and Murakami even includes the titles of the music that he uses for motivation while running just like I had been doing at the ending of my blog posts.

So for the next couple of months I will post writings about the various trails I have taken and also how this new-found passion has effected me, both physically and mentally.

With that I leave you with two songs: (Don’t read anything into these selections, other than, I really like the sound.)

Excitable Boy by Warren evon

and

Country Death Song by The Violent Femmes

#17) Seasons come and seasons go

Damn, it wasn’t that long ago that I was worrying about staying cool and keeping my system properly hydrated on my rides…Through trail and error I finally came up with a cooling system that provided me enough relief from the heat but that didn’t make look like a suicide bomber with an explosive vest. I found that placing a frozen gel pack on the seatback worked the best. It is uncomfortable at first until the rockhard pack begins to thaw.

I knew enough to avoid the hottest part of the day and forgo riding if the heat index was too high. I placed a water-soaked bandana under my helmet and wore a cooling band around my neck. On top of that I kept a wet rag in my tool bag to wash off my face if I became overheated. Using a commonsense approach of paying close attention to weather conditions and utilizing cooling tools I wasn’t as effected by the summer weather as I feared.

But now it is a whole new ballgame as I try to find the proper mix of clothing to keep warm but not overheat .

For me, the ideal temperature band ranges from 55f to 75f. My big decision when temps fall within that range is whether to wear a short-sleeved or long-sleeved t-shirt.

When temperatures drop below the mid-50’s I wear a long-sleeved jersey as a base and then a short sleeved t-shirt on my torso. I also have a pair arm sleeves to keep my arms warm, which I can peel off once I get warmed-up. My only issue with the drop in

temperatures is that hands are extremely sensitive to cold, turning white and numb when temps are below 50. (Raynaud’s Syndrome caused by MS?) and I haven’t found the optimal glove combination that prevents calluses while keeping my hands warm. I am certain I will find a solution to this problem so I can continue to get out as long as the trails are clear of ice and snow.

The only other thing that has changed is the subject matter of my pictures...From this....

Sconset Fisherman's Shack

Two ladies on a log Nantucket, MA

On the trail near Provincetown, MA

 To this....

Milkweeds Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

Two Ducks Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

Two ducks Reverse Image Herrick Lake Forest Preserve

#16 Where in the world have I been???

I know, I know, I know...where in the world have I been?

Well believe it or not, I have logged over 700 miles since I began riding my handcylce back in the spring… The odometer reads 734 miles but that reading is a little too high because of a calibration error I made when I first installed the devise. If you’ve ever attempted to follow one of those multi-language instruction sheets that you are provided with when you buy a foreign made electronic product I think you will understand how an error like that could  happen.

When I last wrote I was either riding the 7.5 mile long Grand Arboretum Loop or 10 to 15 mile rides along the Prairie Path. As I became more confident in my riding abilities I began to research other places to ride. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Within Dupage County there are 41 forest preserves with over 240 mile of trails and bike paths.
Obviously, my hand-cycle can't traverse any of the single-track mountain bike trails but there are plenty of trails for me to ride.

Rather than bore you with details of each ride I will post some pictures of and links to some of the various rides I have taken. My trips are usually a distance of 10to 20 miles with actual riding times lasting  between 1 to 2 hours long.

I'll start with my 1st non Arboretum/IPP trip: The Ned Brown Forest Preserve and Busse Lake in Elk Grove Village, Il
(There are actual elk in an actual grove that the bike path passes through)

                                                                     

The main loop is 8 miles long  with a couple of shorter routes that can add on a couple of more miles. These slightly hilly paved trails wind around the lake.  My wife and I took a couple of wrong turns and ended up riding 14.6 mile in 1hr 35min. Map My Ride calculated that if I was riding a normal bike I would have burned 600 calories and my average speed was 9.3mph. 
I've only rode on this path once but I would do it again. Because the preserve is closer to Chicago, the increased population density and the mix of walkers, runners, inline skaters and cyclists (Bi & Tri & Hand) made it a little crowded but most on the trail used proper etiquette.