For those who may have missed it, my work life passion is civil engineering specializing in stormwater management with a special emphasis on pollution prevention. So today, as I as riding my bike on what may be one of my last outdoor rides of 2011, I was thinking about wind erosion. The temperatures were decent (mid-60s), but the wind was strong (30 mph + gusts). I have never had to pedal so hard on a flat section. The wind was from the south. The bad news? The only (very short) section where the wind was at my back was a downhill section! Ugh! The wind was definitely eroding my resolve.
But regardless, I got in some hills (into the wind up the interchange twice and by ABP once plus the hill on the way home). I also got in some flats. Map My Ride said it was a little over 15 miles (that's 5 points on the challenge!). I forgot to wear my watch so I'm not entirely sure how long it took. This was the first time in a while that I noticed pain in my nether regions from the saddle. What's up with that?
I ate some portabello mushrooms for lunch and topped off with an apple. I have a date with my son for mexican tonight and this restaurant isn't very veggie friendly so that may be the only produce I get today. Need to work on that. How do you get in more veggies? I swear I always struggle with that. Fruit is easy enough.
Crazy - 3 posts today (although one is really for yesterday). Hope I can keep hitting it and earn some points!
Pain in the nether regions is something to keep track of. To some extent, a bit of discomfort is expected, and as you get used to more time in the saddle, you can go longer.
ReplyDeleteThat said, there are saddles that fit the female anatomy better than others. Actual pain needs to be checked. The solution might be a different saddle. Nobody will laugh at you if talk about the problem at a bike store. They've heard it all before.
I came across your blog from another bloggers site. I love it! So inspiring! The wind has been craaaaaaazy here in Arkansas too. I realized just how bad it was when I was pushing to go downhill.
ReplyDeleteVeggies: I keep a massive load of veggies prepared and ready to munch on in my fridge so when I want a snack, I can grab celery sticks, baby carrots, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, etc and pair it with some hummus. I’m kind of in love with my veggies and hummus now. :)
If the pain is chafing type pain, you might want to pick up some chamois butter. I went through my entire first tri season without using it. Then, had brutal chafing after my first spin class, so got some. It is a godsend! Just like bodyglide is a must for running, chamois butter is a must for cycling.
ReplyDeleteWind on the bike can be brutal. And sometimes, it seems like it changes direction so you have a headwind both ways.
I think the real key to getting a lot of veggies in is to make lunch, dinner, or both a vegetable based meal. I'm planning on doing either a stirfry or salad for one of those meals every day. You can easily get 4 servings in like that.
I'm not feeling too into raw veggies lately, so I've been roasting them in my toaster oven (mostly because my regular oven is still broken, but it's good for a smaller serving anyways.) Brings out the sweetness in them.