| Entry Date:
May 9, 2009 (Saturday)
The Dangers of Training!
So how dangerous can it be when you just ride in your neighborhood? We'll see in a moment.
Before I start training rides that take me far away from home, each year I try to get a few
miles under my belt before venturing too far from the home front. So I decided to aim for a leisurely 20 miles
just riding around the area I live in. As it turns out, I was able to complete 20 miles in about one hour and twenty minutes.
This was a non-stop ride averaging 14.9 miles per hour.
The ride route included a level loop that is about 4 tenths of a mile where I can
put in a decent spin between 15 and 20 mph. It's level - not much traffic - and is almost like my personal velodrome. A couple of laps one way - then the other... then venture to a different area around home.
The different area includes a similar loop - perhaps a half mile long - with a slight incline on one half
and downhill on the other half. Do a loop or two - rinse and repeat in the other direction and then back to the first loop.
The third variation of terrain is provided by doing loop 1 (my velodrome) then loop 2 with slight up and down
inclines... then out onto the county road that borders our "development" which provides some rolling terrain with s-turns.
This provides a decent workout - never far from home in case of thunderstorms.
But there are dangers lurking for bikers - even in this situation. In the case of this particular ride
I was on loop 1 (my velodrome) doing about 18 to 20 miles per hour - when out of the
corner of my eye I spotted movement from behind a car in a driveway. A boy of about 8 years or so in training for dodge ball was
winding up and ready to launch a basket ball at my head... the biggest #$@%! basketball I have ever seen.
He missed !
Where upon I slowed down - made a U-Turn - and let his big brother (teenager) know that
I found this behavior to be socially unacceptable. I was amazed at the lack of the use of expletives on my part. I have a rather
interesting arsenal at my disposal but for some reason I failed to implement any of my colorful collection of terms that would have been
appropriate for the occasion. I must be mellowing... or just stinkin' happy that he didn't knock me for a loop.
Maybe it's time to get out onto the road - where it's more dangerous... yet maybe safer.
Meanwhile, Chad continues to train by racing mountain bikes. Here his is (on the right)
racing at Plattekill... a crash - broken spokes and derailleur gone wrong did not help - but he had fun !
Note the shot of him in the air. This was taken near the finish - he is clearing a distance
of about 25 feet between bumps instead of riding the section as rollers.
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