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Relapse!

03.19.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

Apparently, I pushed it real good. Too much, too soon. I rode four days in a row, which was great, but after a hilly 26-miler Monday, I returned home with that same hacking cough I complained about in an earlier post.

“I thought the exercise would drive it out of me,” I said to my wife.

“No. That just made it worse,” she said. “You’re staying off the bike until you get rid of this.”

I obeyed.

Which killed me, because although some rain was in the forecast this week, it never really materialized. We’ve had three glorious days in a row, and I was stuck indoors, doing actual work on the computer.

I’m fine, except for the cough. It’s not frequent, but when it comes, it’s loud and deep. I have even been banished to the guest bedroom because my coughing woke my wife the other night, and she had trouble getting back to sleep.

So, like a rider with an injury, I’m impatiently biding my time. It’s supposed to rain heavily here over the weekend, so those rides wouldn’t happen, anyway. I can only console myself knowing that this thing will go away, as it has done in the past, and all will be rolling again. It just can’t happen soon enough.

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // illness

Let the Training Begin!

03.15.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

Finally, I’m back in the swing of things. It’s Spring Break, and I have a week off! I got on the bike Friday, and have ridden each day since then.

It’s important that I do so, because I’ve committed to a bike ride at the end of the month that will involve some challenging hills. It’s not a race or anything — just a semi-organized ride over some roads in Northwest Austin that I’ve never ridden, but have always wanted to.

But my lackadaisical attitude this winter has set me back, fitness-wise. If I’m going to ride hills — and on a ride whose mileage is not a challenge — I need to start training for hills.

Today, I did. I headed out through my immediate neighborhood and worked my way over to Convict Hill, a place I’ve written about before. I used to climb Convict Hill regularly, in both directions. But I haven’t been there in weeks, and I hadn’t ridden it in weeks before the last time I rode it. I knew I’d be pushing myself.

Sure enough, I was. I’m still not quite over the hacking cough that’s been bothering me for the last week, but I’m almost over it. It’s not badd enough to keep me off the bike, anyway. But when I hit that hill, I could tell I hadn’t been there for awhile.

Where I could climb it in the big ring before, I struggled in the small ring today. But I rode all the hills on the route, even if slowly, and reminded myself of where I need to be in a couple of weeks, fitness-wise. If we hadn’t had to be at an event in the afternoon, I’d have ridden longer.

When I pulled up to the garage and hopped off the bike, I was anxious to see just where I stood, according to Strava. How did I do today compared to previous rides on that route?

I’ll never know. I had one of those pesky Strava fails. It registered exactly zero miles on the ride. (Before I could delete it from my account, one of my wise guy friends gave me kudos.) I retraced the route on Map My Ride, and it came out to 17.4 miles. Problem is, I have no idea how long it took. I didn’t check my watch when I started, and I didn’t bother to bring the cheap bike computer along on the ride, because Strava is always there.

That’s okay. I intend to ride every day this week, so I’ll have a chance to cover the route again soon. In the meantime, it’s fun to have something to shoot for.

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Categories // training Tags // hills, training

How Badly Do You Want to Watch Yourself Ride?

03.11.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Over the last couple of years, it seems that drones have become the go-to tool for all manner of applications. Now, drones are invading the biking world.

A French make, Hexo Plus, is touting its drone’s ability to get Hollywood-style action shots of not just bikers, but athletes generally. The drones are small, as the photo shows, and a GoPro camera is easily attached.

It's actually a pretty small unit.
It’s actually a pretty small unit.

It’s also easily controlled, by swiping a simple iPhone app. The drone can do a 360 overhead, and keep up with a rider while doing it. It can zoom up on a rider from behind, and soar past.

The footage can be dramatic.
The footage can be dramatic.

If you have a GoPro of your own that you take on bike rides, you might be open to putting it on a drone. It would sure supply a new variety of shots, and put you in them, rather than having a helmet-mounted camera shoot the approaching road.

On the other hand, to me, the drone seems like overkill. I know how my rides went. If I’m desperate to remember them, I can snap a photo or two, and that will be enough. Besides, I’m kind of a minimalist biker, and although I did give in to the Strava craze last year, I can easily pass up a drone. The Hexo Plus, for those of you who can’t, can be pre-ordered on their website for $1,200.

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Categories // Accessories Tags // Accessories, camera

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