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A Feeling Like No Other

04.11.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

It’s been a long and frustrating hiatus from biking. My bronchitis just wouldn’t go away. The fact that I approached like a typical guy didn’t help any — a typical guy would do nothing but take some throat lozenges and hope for the best. That’s what I did. And although my wife was after me to see the doctor, the Mayo Clinic’s website says you don’t need to see a doc until you’ve had the bronchitis for three weeks. If it hasn’t cleared itself up by then, maybe an intervention is called for.

I took solace in the fact that I coughed a little less each day. Aside from the coughing, I felt normal. But the lack of cycling exercise contributed to an overall sluggish feeling that I couldn’t wait to shed. Finally, I could do it.

Friday dawned with heavy local rain. I figured my plans for a ride later that afternoon would have to be put on hold yet again. I gave a presentation at the university on our new system for creating online classes, then kept an appointment with a new faculty member whom I met through a mutual friend. By the time we took our leave of each other, the rain had long since stopped, and things were almost dried out already.

At home, I walked around outside a bit, and noted with satisfaction that the sun was breaking through the remaining cloud cover, and starting to warm things up. It took just a few minutes to change into my biking clothes, pump up the tires, and venture onto the neighborhood streets.

For my first ride back after a four-week layoff, I decided to head over to the Veloway and do a few laps. The road to the Veloway, which also leads to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, was solidly lined with cars for its entire length — about a half mile — on both sides. It’s spring, and this year, Texas is having the finest explosion of wildflowers I’ve seen since arriving here 15 years ago.

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush set off a MAMIL along a back stretch of the Veloway.
Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush set off a MAMIL along a back stretch of the Veloway.

I did three laps around the Veloway, then headed home. Modest mileage — 15.2 miles — for a ride of almost exactly one hour. I rode steadily, only pushing it in a few spots, and not for very long there, so my Strava feed showed no trophies for any of my segments — as if I cared. The layoff hasn’t adversely affected my riding. That is, I never felt as though I was working hard. Well, I was pretty huffed by the time I got to the top of the HEB hill less than a mile from home. But I can be pretty huffed on that thing even when I’m in condition. That pesky little four-tenths of a mile, gentle but steady climb does test the rider.

So what? I’m back. It was great to be in the saddle again, great to be out on the familiar roads. Riding a bike is a feeling like no other, and I’ve missed it.

Looks like we’ll have rain for the rest of weekend. I might miss it some more.

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Categories // Rides Tags // illness, Veloway

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

Biking Helps You Avoid Getting Sick, Right?

03.08.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

sickHere we are, well into March, and I haven’t been out on the bike yet this month. Weather, as I mentioned in the last post, has been terrible. And on Friday, when we finally had sunny, dry — if chilly — conditions, I came down with something.

What started as a tickle in the throat Thursday blossomed into a full-blown sore throat and deep cough Friday. The cough is still with me Sunday, and now the rain is back again.

What kind of a bike blog is written by a guy who hasn’t been riding his bike?

A short one, I think. I’m going to pour another hot cup of green tea and lie down.

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // illness, rain

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