Learning from the past...

It seemed like such a great idea.

Three hundred and sixty five days of something. 

The idea came to me (as most of my brilliant ideas do) while I was riding my mountain bike.  I was picking my way through an icy trail in my local Palmer Park.  “ Wouldn’t it be cool to do something like this every day?” I thought to myself. The idea of losing the last ten pounds I was packing on my gut helped me decide 2012 was going to be a great year. 

The rules would be simple.  I had to do something physical every day.  A bike ride.  A run, a trip to the gym, walking the dog.  Something - anything - to stay active.  I even included trail work as an activity.  Basically, anything that was physically demanding.

I had felt I should change my exercise routine.  It would be fun to do a little cross-training.  I’m not much of a runner – in fact I was exclusively a single speed mountain biker.  I finished up a two thousand mile 2011, complete with a single speed trip on the Kokopelli Trail.  My dog (a Husky-mix) demanded her daily ritual – a 2 mile, fast-paced walk.  I was fit; I just wanted to lose some extra pounds. 

The New Year started with a bike ride.  I bought some decent running shoes with my Christmas money and started running as well.  I would run at work, or bring my bike in and get in a quick lunch-time ride on the Falcon Trail.  As the first days of the New Year turned into a month, it was very satisfying to see the miles pile up.  By the end of February I had run 150 miles and ridden another 163 miles.  I even entered my first 5k in March, something I had never done before.

I began tracking what I ate.  I found a free app for my phone, and was pretty religious about tracking my food intake.  At the end of each day, the program would say “Congratulations! If you keep this up, you’ll weigh 160 pounds in 6 weeks!”

I suffered a slight calf injury while running in late March, so I switched to my bike until I could run again.  Other than that, I was injury-free.  As the days got longer, and warmer, I kept it up.  I began to adopt a ‘cave-man’ attitude.  A cave man couldn’t take a day off to nurse an injury – he had to keep going, hunting and gathering food to survive.  If a cave-man could do it, then so could I!

I made it into the summer going full stride.  I rode in the oppressive heat.  I ran through the smoke of some pretty severe forest fires.  Nothing could stop me.  The hottest summer on record did nothing to melt my enthusiasm.

As the days went by, though, I started to notice something.  It was subtle at first.  The food diary program would tell me I’d weigh X-number of pounds in X-number of weeks.  I’d get to the magical day, and I weighed the same.  In fact, as the weeks went by, I gave up on tracking my food intake.  I tried to eat sensibly, but sometimes cravings would overtake me.  “It’s OK”, I’d think.  “I’m doing enough to burn these Oreo cookies off”.  “That beer is my reward.”

Around late-July, I started feeling run down.  I could still work out, but I was just - tired.  I chalked that up to the summer heat.  I also noticed I wasn’t losing any weight.  In fact, I seemed to be gaining weight.  It was a very frustrating process.  I was working my tail off.  By the end of August, I had piled up over 1400 miles on my mountain bike, and an additional 500 miles of running and walking. On most days, I would ride 15 miles on the Falcon Trail and walk an additional 2.5 miles in the evening.  By early September, my frustration started to peak.  I wasn’t losing weight, and I was tired.  Maybe I should take a break and allow my body to recover.  I can’t, I’d argue.  I have to make it through to the end of the year.  I began to dread my workouts. 

On Saturday, September 2nd, I cut down a sprawling juniper bush in my front yard.  It took 4 hours of chopping, digging and cutting.  I counted it as a work out.  On Sunday, September 3^rd, I slept late.  I didn’t ride.  I didn’t run.  And much to the vocalized disappointment of my dog, I didn’t walk her.  I rode the next week, but missed a few days.  The following Sunday, I got sick.  I stayed in bed for about 4 days, just trying to recover.

I guess you could argue I worked myself into that illness.  Maybe.  I did a little research on fitness and found out that you can indeed over-exercise to the point of gaining weight.  Your body is an amazing engine, but apparently it can be contrary when you push it too hard.

I spent 2013 struggling to recover from a disastrous 2012.  I spent the first five months training for my sixth trip on the Kokopelli, I lost my motivation during the summer.  I rode, but not as much as I usually do. 

For the year of 2012, I rode 1,776 miles on my single speed and a paltry 1623 miles in 2013.  I have been going to the gym more, trying  to incorporate a more balanced approach to my fitness.  I also got a new mountain bike, and that has rekindled my love affair with the sport.  I will make sure to rest and give my body a break.

One thing for sure is I won’t be doing 365 days of something. 

Papa's got a brand new bike...

I got a new bike for Christmas.

That, in and of itself, is not unusual.  Lots of grown men get bikes for Christmas.  Technically, I got it before Christmas, but make no mistake it was a Christmas present.  It’s shiny, black and has lots of pivots and gears.  The bike is very different from the one I’ve ridden for the last 4 years.  My old bike has no pivots.  It isn’t shiny.  It has one gear.

You see, I’m a recovering single speeder.

I bought the single speed bike to get over a severe case of burn-out.  I had ridden so much in 2009 I actually dreaded going for a ride.  I would get stressed over the thought of doing my usual lunch-time loop.  My riding buddy rode a single speed, and he was fast.  Faster than anyone I had ridden with.  He descended like a demon, and climbed like a goat.   It got to the point I would start twenty minute before him, and he would still be back at the office showered, dressed and sitting at his computer by the time I got back.

So I bought a single speed bike.

At first, it was hard.  But it was fun.  The only shifting I had to do was getting my butt off the seat on descents.  I learned how to truly ride a bike, and not just sit on it.  I sold my twenty-sixer for a song.  After several years, my friends would ask “when are you going to get a bike with gears?  Suspension?”   It was more than a little satisfying to watch the reactions when I rolled up on my trusty steed.  I may not have been the fastest guy to the top of the hill, but I got there.  On a rolling couch, I would tell myself, I was just another middle-aged guy struggling to keep up. 

I realized a lot of things riding a single speed.  For one, a bike won’t make you faster.  I rode a buddy’s full squish and he rode my single speed.  The parts of the trail I had problems with on a single speed still caused me difficulty on a geared bike.   I still suck at climbing.  Maybe it’s a mental thing.  There are points on my home trail where I stop.  No real reason other than that’s where I always stop.  You learn to pick better lines on a single speed.  I’m better at picking out even the smallest path to a smooth line.  Not having rear suspension to bail you out helps.    Walking is an option.  I’ve done the Kokopelli Trail three times on a single speed.  I’ve also walked Entrada Bluffs road 3 times.  ‘Single speed’ is a misnomer.  In reality, single speeders  have three gears; sitting, standing and walking.  There are some parts of the trail I would never clean on a single speed. Or any bike, for that matter.  Maintenance is a breeze.  A quick brush, and occasional chain lube and I’m ready to go.

I’m not a retro-grouch.  I had fully intended to return to a geared bike.  In fact, I attended every demo day I could.  Niner, Specialized, Trek, Salsa – I rode very nice bikes at them all.  The full suspension thing was intriguing, but a little scary.  One bike nearly bucked me off after I hit a water bar the wrong way (what’s this ‘rebound’ you speak of?).  Geometry on bikes had drastically changed.  Instead of the cross country racing, stretched out over your bike geometry, bikes had gone slack.  And it was much better for my back. 

When the time came, I did a lot of research.  I went back and forth between a Trek Rumblefish and a Specialized Camber.  After a visit to several local shops, I decided on the Camber.  As a year-end model, I got a great price, and that allowed me to upgrade to a 1X10 set up.  But most importantly, Ascent Cycles have great customer service.  They didn’t push me into a 2014 model, but instead gave me the information to make a great decision.

I’ve got a little over 90 December miles on my Camber, and it rocks. I cruise past those parts of the trail I used to stop at.  My lines are still clean, but I’m learning to cruise over the rocks.  My goal is to ride the Kokopelli Trail this year, and pedal the majority (if not all) of Entrada Bluffs AND the LaSal mountains.  I’m in good shape, I have a great new bike and I’m raring to go for 2014.

And my single speed?  It’s hanging in the garage, patiently waiting for me to get over this full-suspension fad.

 Gary Fisher Rig. I was sad to see Trek swallow up this brand.

Specialized Camber Comp - one sweet ride.