2020 Ride Plan

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show

Charles Dickens

OK, perhaps somewhat melodramatic for a ride plan but it seems that each year for the past several I’ve put together a plan that includes a number of longer rides I want to do for the year and always end up falling short of the plan by either not finishing or not starting some of the rides. This has mostly been due to injury (back) with the majority of these injuries caused by me doing something stupid (a persistent failing).

So the question presents itself: why do I keep making these aggressive plans when I’ve historically not been able to fully realize them? Good question! Here are a few answers:

1. I choose rides that interest me because they take me to places I've not been or to places I want to visit again.
2. I want to ride with friends that I've made around the world. It turns out that there's a small (but deeply disturbed ;-) ) group of people that do 1200K's so you tend to see a lot of the same people at different places around the world. One of the things that I like about the shared struggle that is randonneuring is the friendships that are formed.
3. To continue to challenge myself. Although I hate a DNF as much (or more) as the next person, the truth is that you don't really know how any long ride is going to go so you just toe the start line and give it your best. If in my post ride analysis (which I do a considerable amount of) I can say that I did the best I could that's enough for me regardless of whether I finished or not. Having said that, I'm perhaps foolish enough to say that if I'm healthy, I finish. There's really only one ride (Hound Dog 1200K) that I didn't finish because I managed the ride (heat) poorly. Other than that, I've mostly been laid low by back pain, usually on rides that I started with my back hurting. Over the years I've learned a few things that trigger it and/or make it worse and have learned to avoid doing those things but despite this there's no guarantee it won't recur.

Reason enough? Well, I guess it is for me.Without further ado, here we go for the 2020 plan…

• March - Murray 1200K (Australia). I'll be starting the year in the land down under. This one is fairly flat (just under 12K feet of climbing) so plan is to take it easy ride myself into shape. The year has gotten off to a fairly bad start with a strained soleus and I've not done much in the way of longer rides thus far barring a single 200K which was the cause of the soleus strain. I'm hoping to get in a few longer rides before I leave but given that's only three weeks away time is getting short. I'm also planning on a fléche while in Australia. Looking forward to seeing my Aussie friends! 
• One "for sure" and one "probably" for April:
• HCR 1000K. I did this one in 2019. I always enjoy riding with the HCR crew and like the route so I'd like to go back and do it again. If I do, it'll be enroute to returning home to Wisconsin from Texas. I'll decide depending on how I feel after the Australia trip
• Okayama 1200K (Japan). I've wanted to ride in Japan for a number of years. I've been there a few dozen times but always on business trips. Although I did manage a bit of sight seeing on those trips, seeing the world at bike speeds is definitely a lot more enjoyable.
• May - brevet series in Wisconsin. Not a complete series but the 200K-400K over three weekends. I'll need to get an ACP 600K somewhere to finish the series.
• June - a big month!
• Northern Virginia 1200K. My friend Hamid is putting this one on. I've ridden in Virginia and Maryland several times but have never done a 1200K there.
• Sandhills Tour. Spencer Klaassen has put together a 4 day loop through the Sandhills of Nebraska with each day being approximately 200K.
• Tour of the Driftless 1000K. My annual 1000K that I actually plan on riding this year!
• July - Colorado SR600K. Going to take another run at it after my DNF last year. Hoping for better weather - and a better back! This is the remaining thing I need for the ACP R10000 award.
• August - Hokkaido 1200K. Back to Japan! The Okayama and Hokkaido are on two different islands of Japan so I expect they'll be completely different experiences. Although I've been to Japan a number of times, my visits have been to the mainland and predominantly to the larger cities (Tokyo, Osaka, etc). Hokkaido is more rural so it should be an interesting contrast.
• September - motorcycle trip. Destination unknown. Drink beer and gain weight. Recharge the batteries.
• October - plan still in the works.
• November - Great Southern 1200K. I was DNF last time with back issues on day two after a pretty good first day so I've got some unfinished business to attend to! 

So there you have it! Two 1000K's and five (possibly six - more on that later!) 1200K's along with a Super 6. What will I be writing for the 2020 year in review? Will I be "the hero of my own life" or will I be cataloging failures and frustration?

Stay tuned!

2019 - year in review

OK, the weather here sucks (cold and rainy) so what else have I got to do? NB: I mostly write this blog so I can look back and see e.g., my history of back problems or other issues I've had on rides looking for trends and also in part to relive different rides when I've forgotten the details due to advancing senility (what did I have for breakfast this morning anyway?). Oh, and also for my readers (hereinafter referred to as "adoring public") since I know both of you will be disappointed should I stop ;-) Most of these are detailed more fully elsewhere in my blog.

OK, with that as intro, how did 2019 go versus my plans? My friend Bob says for most people it'd be a "career year" but when measured against what I planned to do the results are mixed. Here's the summary of the longer rides:

• Geelong Flyer 1000K. First long ride of the year (March/April). Had a fantastic ride, felt good the entire time and rode well. Did the Oppy (fléche) the previous week so I got off the schneide in Australia with two good rides. Spoiler alert: going back in 2020.
• BNBB 1000K (April): put on by my Hill Country Randonneur friends. Surprising to me, I've done a full series plus 1000K with HCR. Always enjoy the company and liked the route. It was really hot - definitely a case of "too much, too soon" but I managed with careful attention to electrolytes and fluids plus I discovered the power of a sun sleeve filled with ice around the neck. Historically, I've really struggled with riding in the heat so I felt pretty good about managing this one.Spoiler alert: going back in 2020.
• Florida Sunshine 1200K (May): I did this as a pre-ride since the regular ride conflicted with two of my own events. It was hot! I mean really hot with temperatures in the middle 90's and a heat index above 100 with characteristic Florida humidity. I managed the heat pretty well with only one brief episode of heat related nausea but the real secret to success was the exceptional support that Wayne and Melanie provided on the ride. They met us about every 12-15 miles during the heat of the day with cold drinks and ice and that made all the difference. There's a lesson there somewhere about regular hydration stops in extreme temperatures, sadly I didn't learn it (see below).
• Herentals 1200K (July): I did this with my friends Dave and Hamid. I was more than a little worried about whether or not I'd be able to do the ride because about 10 days previously I fell and broke my coccyx (tailbone). It was definitely a test of my ability to tolerate pain and the ride included a number of sections of cobblestones which were pure agony. Very satisfying to finish despite the pain and enjoyed riding with my friends.
• Prague 1200K (July): Dave, Hamid and I hatched the scheme to drive from Herentals to Slovenia to do the Prague 1200K and it was one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" sorts of things. I'd previously done three 1200K's in less than 2 months with the shortest interval between finishing one and starting the next less than 2 weeks. This however proved to be too much for me or possibly I managed/paced my ride poorly. At any rate, it turned out that 3 days between finishing one ride and starting the next was too much. I rode pretty well the first day (204 miles) but just felt tired. Overnight and the next morning I had diarrhea like symptoms and my stomach was upset. As I lay awake thinking about it I thought mostly about the logistical difficulties should I DNF somewhere out on the road so I decided to not start day two. With benefit of hindsight, I might have been able to continue but the second day was a pretty tough one and I still feel like I made the right call.
• Paris-Brest-Paris 1200k (August): Had a fantastic ride and great experience. My goals weren't very lofty: enjoy the ride and finish inside the time limit. I accomplished both. I rode strongly and had 7+ hours stopped each night. 
• Texas Hound Dog 1200K (September): As the date for this one approached I became increasingly anxious as I looked at the forecast: hot! I thought seriously about just not going but I'd already made all the arrangements so I decided to go with the lessons about heat management from the Texas 1000K and Florida Sunshine 1200K in mind. Long story short, I completely bolloxed my ride, didn't manage the heat well and DNF'd on day two. Although I take some solace in the fact that I wasn't one of the three people who ended their day in an ambulance I do think that had I done a better job of managing the heat I'd have been able to continue. This one hurts because basically I just screwed up.
• Geelong 1200K (November): Another painful experience although in this case I didn't start. I hurt my back really badly and decided not to go literally on the morning I was supposed to drive to the airport. Was really looking forward to seeing my Aussie friends and to riding with my friend Mark as he completed his 60th 1200K. A real disappointment.

So there you have it. 8 long rides scheduled, 5 finishes, 1 DNS and 2 DNF's.  My lofty goals for 2020 include the usual ridiculous number of rides and finishing all of the rides I start.

Stay tuned.

Testing 1, 2, 3

As I said in my last post, I did a short ride today. Had a lot of misgivings about riding, fearing that I'd make it worse but also thought that so long as I didn't push it that it would be a good test and might actually aid healing.

So I went out to a local state park (LBJ State Park) near Stonewall with the Hampsten. I did a very easy 10 miles. In order to avoid putting any undue stress on the soleus I stayed seated the entire time (out of the saddle is harder on the calf muscle group and is harder to control) and used the gears pretty extensively to keep myself spinning easy.

I had a few minor twinges but then I always have a few minor twinges somewhere. Nothing serious nor remotely painful. As I write this I've got my leg elevated on an ice pack. I'm hoping that there won't be a worsening of pain or soreness as the day goes on. My plan now is to do a similarly easy but somewhat longer ride tomorrow.

Oh, and the weather was lovely so it was really nice to get out today.

An encouraging start. Now if I can just keep myself from doing too much, too soon (a recurring problem).

(Very) slowly improving

As I write this on 6 February,  since doing the 200K on January 28th and one short ride on the 31st I've not been on the bike. I've self-diagnosed the problem as a badly strained soleus. To save my non-medical friends from heading off to google, here's a definition from Encyclopedia Britannica:

Soleus muscle, a flat, broad muscle of the calf of the leg lying just beneath the gastrocnemius muscle. It arises from the upper portions of the tibia and fibula, the bones of the lower leg, and then joins with the gastrocnemius to attach via the Achilles tendon at the heel.

And here's a shot:

So it runs up the side of your leg between the heel and knee toward the outside. The protocol for a strained soleus is the standard RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) which is basically what I've been doing. A couple of days ago I added some short sessions with a foam roller and gentle stretching.

It feels better today. Not painful but I feel it, especially the first few steps after sitting.

My forced layoff from the bike has been made a little bit easier by the fact that it's been cold AF (overnight low in the upper 20's). Today is a bit warmer (high of 50) but I'm going to give it another day then perhaps try an easy ride on the Hampsten tomorrow.

In analyzing how this came about with an eye toward preventing a recurrence it seems fairly clear that my extended time of riding the 'bent exclusively did a pretty decent job of helping me maintain both fitness and leg strength but the position and specific muscle groups used were not exactly the same and that was the problem. It did a good enough job that I felt like I could make a hard effort when the truth was I needed some time to readjust to riding the DF.

In one part of the 200K, about 25 miles in there's a big climb on Gypsum Mine road. As I noted previously, I was really encouraged by how good my legs felt in my first rides on the Hampsten and I was feeling pretty good at that point. I hit that climb pretty hard with the goal of doing the whole climb seated (it peaks at 19%) and pushing hard the whole way. Post-injury analysis pretty strongly suggests that's when I strained the soleus. As noted previously, it started to feel sore further on in my ride and multiple stops to stretch didn't help.

I'm a bit worried about doing even a short ride but am hopeful that an easy spin will aid healing rather than cause a regression. We'll see.

In looking back through my last dozen or posts you'd get the impression that I'm a delicate lotus blossom that the slightest breath of cold will wither. In fact, for the most part the opposite is true and perhaps that's why I go on so much about any injuries I get. I've been an athlete all my life and have done a variety of sports over the years. For all that time I've been injury free the vast majority of the time. Modulo falling off the bike (which I've done twice) and nagging back ailments (mostly brought on by me doing something non-bike related and stupid) I've been remarkably injury free.

Hoping to get back to that soon.

Still hobbling about

After three days rest that included ice/heat, NSAID's, ace wrap, elevation, etc., and some gentle stretching on the third day I thought I'd try a short, easy ride.

Big mistake.

I went out first on the Hampsten. My Achilles and the muscles on my lower calf felt sore from the start but I thought they might loosen up a bit once I got going. Went two miles and that wasn't happening, in fact they started to feel worse so I turned around.

Decided since I was well acclimated to the 'bent that I'd head out on it. Rode at a super relaxed pace (12 MPH average speed), used easy gears, spun up what little climbing I did. Rode 15 miles total. The leg felt fine while riding, not a twinge.

That night, I woke up at around 1 AM and went to the bathroom. Calf/Achilles felt pretty tight. Went back to bed. Woke up at 3 AM and it really hurt. Like "OMFG, I can't stand this" kind of hurt. I hadn't put the ace wrap on as I thought it'd be better to let it relax and breathe a bit. Got up at about 4 AM when I couldn't stand it anymore. Used the heating pad for a bit, rubbed on some CBD/Arnica (which doesn't really seem to help but can't hurt), wrapped it in the ace wrap then used the heating pad some more. Finally went back to sleep at around 5 AM.

So here we are two days later. Hurts to walk. Not bad but painful. No riding today (and it's supposed to get up to 78 today). I'm beginning to get vaguely concerned about the upcoming 1200K next month. The forecast is for pretty nice weather until Wednesday (it's Sunday as I write this) when it turns cold with a high of 46 and the "s" word in the forecast overnight when it gets down to 29. Sigh.

Oh, and I started dieting when I got here to Texas to take off the accumulated holiday pounds. Had lost 12 pounds and was pretty close to my goal. That's gone to hell.

Crap.