Movin' right along

[melaniesuzanne]

Despite soreness in my legs and tush, I hopped back on my bike yesterday morning and rode a surprising 5.75 miles. I say surprising because I'd thought that I would ride up to Old Town Herndon, but I was feeling pretty tired by the time I got to Crestview and decided to turn around for home. What I forgot is that there's a slow but steady incline from Sterling Blvd to Crestview which means the ride back is downhill. After lots and lots of coasting, I felt refreshed and continued across the boulevard and on up to Church Street. I wanted to ride up to the cemetery, but there's no sidewalk that far up and Church is pretty dang busy and scary there. Instead, I rode the sidewalk along Church to Magnolia and dove into that neighborhood until I found the cut-through to my neck o' the woods. Try as I might, I could not peddle up Holborn. I walked halfway and then hopped back on for the final, and slightly less steep, portion of the street before it curves onto my street.

Surprisingly, my legs didn't hurt after that ride. Even more surprisingly, they still don't hurt. I am saddle sore, but the new seat pad definitely helped. Hubbyfink attached a new rack and basket to the back of my bike last night. We're going out for a ride tonight to see how stable the set-up is. If it's all good -- and the weather isn't too stormy -- I'm biking to work on Friday.

So excited!

Comments

[baronalejandro.livejournal.com]

AWESOME!!

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

It is indeed.

Love the usericon. Hee!

[aelf.livejournal.com]

This is fantastic! And I love the icon :)

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

When I think of biking, I think of Kermit peddling along in "The Muppet Movie". :)

[greta-k.livejournal.com]

Excellent!

My brother rides regularly (i.e. he tries for 1000 miles - yes, you read that correctly - each year). In addition to a gel pad seat, he also recommends the padded riding pants. When I was riding with him, I found those to be a butt (and crotch) saver.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Scott got a pair of padded bike shorts yesterday and is looking forward to giving them a spin tonight. I'll need to see if I can find any in my size. My upper body fits in sporting goods store sizes; my bottom half doesn't quite.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

The great thing about cycling shorts is that they are made for big thighs and big butts so you may need a smaller size than you think you do.

I don't remember what size your bottom is, but I'm usually a 16 in pants and I don't wear the largest size they sell at local bike shops. My shorts are a few years old, but I'd be happy to grab the info from the tag if you think it will be useful.

And if you do need larger bottoms than that, Terry makes plus-size shorts and men's shorts come in larger sizes than women's and some of them aren't too bad a fit.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Good to know! If you wouldn't mind sharing the manufacturer of your shorts, that info would be useful.

Thanks!

[greta-k.livejournal.com]

As sskipstress said, bicyclists tend to have muscular butts and thighs.

If you have difficulty finding your size, you can also try men's shorts. However, I think you will be able to find women's bike shorts to fit you :-)

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

I found lovely gel-padded bike shorts are REI tonight. And they weren't the largest size. I'm so stoked and can't wait to try them out on Wednesday.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so glad you went to try stuff on.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

Mine are Black Bottoms in size M. I couldn't find a model number. Their website seems geared toward custom team gear now, but has a few of these older styles for super cheap on their sale page.

[sskipstress.livejournal.com]

I usually find that butt bruises are the worst part of starting up biking each season and there is very little difference in soreness between a 5 mile bike ride and a 75 mile bike ride. The good news is that the more frequently I ride, the less I experience the problem. While I'm sure my butt does get used to riding, I think the bigger part of it is that as my legs get stronger, I transfer more of my weight to my feet, especially over rough terrain.

For longer rides and warmer weather, I love my bike shorts. Mine are just a chamois and not actually padded, and they work great at soaking up sweat. No chafing!

[greta-k.livejournal.com]

This :-)

[belfebe.livejournal.com]

That's pretty awesome. And yes, those steep hills are a pain in the butt. Literally.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Heh. True dat.