Apr 19 - aches and pains

On and off the road -- yes, I have some aches and pains.

While riding a few developed. First off, a sore right heel. I have no idea why. There must be some slightly off foot positioning -- it wouldn't hurt while riding, but with the shoes off at the dinner break, it was sore. That's probably the most unusual. It's totally gone now.

Secondly, I noticed an irritation developing from the helmet light. It weighs 3 ounces and there's not quite enough padding in the helmet to deal with that and some part of the helmet was touching or rubbing in one spot in the front center of my scalp. I removed the light from the attachment clips on the strap for the day riding but then put it back on before we left after dinner. It was just an occasional irritation while riding but it hurts to touch right now. I'll have to deal with that because at the 1200 it could be a bigger problem.

My left calf was cramping, so much that there's still a sore spot if I press under the knee on the left hand side, probably where the tendon attaches to the muscle. I'll show Jason or Aaron where it is, either one could probably could tell me which muscle or groups are involved. Anyway, it started in the cold and ended when it was warm. It didn't hurt when standing and riding, but would when sitting. If I stretched it and pressed hard at the cramp it would relieve and be ok for a couple of minutes and then suddenly cramp again -- ouch. Once it warmed up, it went away. There's more than one reason to wear leg-warmers or tights !

My right ankle hurts a bit right now if I work it around or walk. There's no specific place, it might be a residual effect from the ankle break many years ago or again, from some small issue with my foot position while riding. I think that it might also be a result of the cold, perhaps as I was trying to stretch out the Achilles on the left side to address the cramping, I was doing the same on the right side and not pressing down enough with the foot, letting the Achilles take the load without using the muscle. It's hard to describe. I know what I mean.

There's nothing else really, other than some general stiffness but some of that is to be expected.

How did I feel at the end ? Well, I could have continued riding. I still had good legs, as they say, but what that really means is that fueling was keeping up with demand. My butt was ok too. I wasn't dehydrated; I stood and climbed the few hills that Jim found to throw at us; I felt as if my heart rate was coasting, not exerting. We were riding a moderate pace at that point, averaging around 15 - not far off our average for the entire ride.

Our rolling time was 24:37 and average speed 15.2, according to the cyclecomputer. So that means that we spent a little more than 6 hours off the bike or not rolling (waiting for traffic lights etc.). Contrast that to my rolling time for the last 600k which, as I recall, was 15.6. We travelled much faster at night this time, or so it seemed. I rode by myself most of the first 250 last time and pressed harder ... and got fairly bonked around mile 200 from the heat etc. I felt a little fringe of that on Saturday before it started cooling just prior to dinner, but this time a) I was better hydrated, b) my exertion was less because I was drafting sometimes and c) we were travelling just a little slower.

There were only a couple of times that we pressed hard all day, in my mind:

Once, shortly before the lunch stop, we found a headwind. I was pulling, grinding along at 16-17; faster with a little downslope and no wind -- 19-20; a little slower when the wind picked up. At one point -- mile 129 as I recall, because I was planning on handing it off at 130 -- the wind picked up and I hunkered down and maintained my speed. I recall Jerry saying at one point as we circled Lake Superior last June that I was "not big enough to draft behind" -- well, that must have been the factor at work because after I had ground along for a while Alain came up beside me and said "you've destroyed our peloton". Whoops. I was so hunkered down that I'd stopped watching for a wheel behind me.

The other time was with Alain pulling, Hamid right behind, me behind Hamid. I think that Alan was behind me and Pat behind Alan, but I'm not 100% on that. Anyway, Alain was pressing along at 18-20 on the flat. We were at mile 185 -- how do I remember these things ? Well, I was about to call out to him -- "ease up", when Hamid dropped off his wheel with enough of an exclamation that Alain heard and slowed. It was too much for Hamid. As Alain eased back alongside me I said to him -- "save some, we've just reached half-way". Hamid pulled for a mile and then I took over

I did a lot of pulling -- not always at the front, but whenever Alain or someone else was pulling at the front it seemed that Hamid was drifting off the back and I would hang back and pull him in. Mostly, at that point, Alan was in front of me and it was hard to draft behind him anyway. The winds, although not really strong, were seldom direct headwinds, mostly quartering from one side or another. Hamid would sometimes find the sweet spot but as he tired he wouldn't get full advantage.

When we rode across the country, we usually had enough miles on any of the county roads in one direction and open fields / desert on either side that we could perfect our drafting technique. Traffic was light enough that we could usually ride 2 diagonal in a strong side-wind to maximize drafting advantage, adjusting our rotation so that no-one was exposed to the wind for very long.

For most of us, Randoneuring is mostly a self-sufficient affair, even when riding in a group. The "hammers" at the front -- who would have finished several hours sooner than us -- would have a consistent pace and honed technique. While our little group stuck together for mutual support and companionship, from a group riding perspective it was a rag-tag affair. Having said that, if I was looking for fast rides, optimum training, consistent riding abilities -- I would ride with a local club. That's NOT what I'm looking for.

There was only one person who had maximum drafting advantage for all 600k ... Vita !

Anyway, it was fun. If I had to drive to Gainesville again tonight for a 3 a.m. start tomorrow ... would I go ... Yes !

Well, there are lots of things to do today. I've got to pack and then pack and then pack. The boat, the car, the bikes -- on one hand it should only take an hour or so ... but I know that it will take more. I'd better get started. First off though, I'd better wash my bike clothes from the weekend. I'm not packing dirty stuff.