Though my options are limited right now as my calf muscle continues to give me trouble even when walking, I headed out on the bike again, expecting that I’d have thigh cramping before I was done. I picked a different course and targeted a two-hour ride. It would make my third such ride in five days…and that’s okay when you’ve been doing that kind of thing, but I hadn’t. My concerns were cramping thighs, chafing in sensitive areas, shoulder and neck soreness, and something new…butt pain. All joined me before the completion.
I’ve been riding since…well…since Moby Dick was a minnow. I’ve never really had any issues with butt soreness from too much time in the saddle, but I am now. Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s a result of almost four hours in the saddle on Sunday and not enough preparation for that…or recovery since. In any event, coupled with a sore neck and shoulders, riding becomes more of a chore for me and less enjoyable. I’ve seen fellow riders with the slick, new split seats and wondered about their comfort. It may be something I need to try because I love riding and hope to do a lot more of it this summer. I don’t know that there is any cure for the neck and shoulders short of an upright riding position that cannot be achieved on a road bike…which is out of the question for me…and something I’ll continue to live with. The thigh cramping will likely disappear as I put in more miles on continuous days…conditioning.
Don arrived at my place two hours late for our fifth installment of the Ken Burns documentary, ‘Baseball.’ He’s usually late and never has his cell phone on, so I’d kind of given up on him and ate the spaghetti I’d made without waiting. When he finally called and said he had a flat and was waiting for AAA, I suggested we make it another night.
“Did you make the spaghetti?” he asked…a pleading note in his voice.
“Yeah…and it’s great. I was starving and figured you weren’t coming so I ate,” I said.
“Oh man…I love that stuff. Hey…I could be there by nine if I hurry. Keep it warm.”
I did and he made it. The 5th inning covered the demise of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the beginning of Bob Feller and Joe DiMaggio and the continuing tragedy of our National Pastime…the exclusion of the black man. What the white American baseball fan missed in not having the opportunity to see the great Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell and Josh Gibson, except in barnstorming games against the major leagues during the off-season, is tragic. It is estimated that the best teams from the Negro Major League’s played the best of the Major League’s about 500 times…and won over 350 of those meetings. The next episode will bring us up to the Jackie Robinson era…and the best baseball ever played in America.
Savannah made her way to the midnight showing of ‘The Hunger Games’. I’ve yet to read the books and the more I’ve seen about them has convinced me that I need to. It seems like they could be a very beneficial influence on getting more young people outdoors and into the woods in an attempt to gain an understanding of survival skills manifested in the book and movie…and that’s a good thing.
Bike Duration: Two hours.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1675.
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