The Long Bike...

 

Sometimes it seems like it goes on forever.  When you’re on your own, it gets lonely out there.  The wind is in your face and you travel dozens of miles in search of nothing but maybe a new adventure or road that has fewer cars or has been virtually undiscovered by the local cycling communities.  Cycling takes a long time.  In order to prep for IM, its not uncommon to go out for weekly weekend 4-6 hour rides.  You simply can’t do that running, you’d breakdown, but on the bike, there is no impact.  The stress is all bound up in the major muscle movers, i.e. the quadriceps, which seem to be able to withstand almost anything if done at the right intensity.  You can bike forever, as long as your back, neck and seat can stand it.  With very little fuel to run on, working with the minimalist approach, you do get hungry out there.  Biking is different in that compared to running.  I don’t typically get hungry running; I’d rather take my calories in liquid form.  On the bike, you can eat.  I mean like full-blown sandwiches if you really wanted to.  Couple that with loneliness and boredom (at times) of several hours on the road, you tend to want to feed the system, not to mention, you can easily ride through breakfast lunch and encroach upon dinner.  However, with the minimalist approach, we continue to burn, baby burn.  That’s the goal.  You can’t run for 6 hours, but in cycling, you keep the fat burning system rolling for hour after hour – stoking the fire and destroying the fat reserves.  It’s all very good…but it does get lonely out there and you must rely on internal self-talk which is where the real discovery occurs.  Often times I feel it difficult to find routes that are both safe, have enough variety and exploration while getting the distance in that is necessary.  Having been hit on the bike in Long Beach in 2005, safety is always at the forefront of my mind.  Here in NE, the roads are tight, they’re heavily traveled and now with the Smartphone, people are paying even less attention.  Yes, I too am at fault of this.  Comfort in numbers - finding riding buddies and routes are the biggest challenges.  Group rides work, to a point, but there is no drafting in our sport and there is certainly no one helping you keep pace or pushing you.  The group ride is not where the gains are made.  The gains are made, when you’re out there alone for those long, long rides; where you really put the work in.  It’s out there where you conquer your fears, overcome self-imposed obstacles and learn to rely on yourself and your resourcefulness.  You may be 50+ miles from home and get a flat, some other worse mechanical issue or remember that you’re 50+ miles away from home.  This is nothing different than what we’ll face in our race and in our life.  The long ride becomes bittersweet benefit.  Like the long run, only longer, much farther and more reliant on equipment and mechanical systems not to mention the body’s systems.  You can cross state lines and weather systems without even thinking twice.  A whole new element is explored and it’s during this that you realize the ability to overcome almost anything by spending hours reflecting on your life while chewing up mile after mile.  The quads continue to burn, but you seem to keep moving forward towards that never-ending search towards the goal that is on your door step, taunting and teasing you; daring you to take that personal challenge.