![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydyAs I've said more than once, now, my primary emotional response to suddenly taking up biking is, "What have I done with the real Lydy, and who am I now?" I do not have answers for these questions, but I do find them amusing.
I am biking very nearly every day. I find that, unlike a lot of my friends who also indulge in biking, I am far more heat tolerant than they are, but far more morning averse. And while I was living with Patrick, and could be reliably gotten out of bed with coffee at ungodly hours of the morning in order to bike before the heat of the day, living back at home, getting up at six or seven a.m. is just a bridge too far. On the other hand, I can cheerfully bike for a reasonable amount of time in the heat. Beth, with whom I often bike, gets rather frighteningly knackered in the heat, and David just declines.
My stamina and strength are clearly improved. Hills that were a problem are now a dawdle, hills that were impossible are now just really fucking hard, and some hills remain impossible and I just walk my bike up those because life is too short for an asthma attack, I tell you what.
I have little blinky lights on my bicycle, a white one in the front, a red one in the back. (They will also emit a steady light, but since I use them to alert other vehicles, and not for illumination, I set them on blinky.) This has meant that I have been willing to bike after dark. (I should probably invest in a high visibility vest, at some point, as well.) The last two nights, I've donned a spectacular amount of bug goop, and gone biking around the neighborhood after dark, and it was been wonderful. I've always really liked walking around the city after dark. Biking is even better. I could wish there were more street lamps, since I hit one or two pot holes by surprise, but the air is sweet, there's very little traffic, and there are stars and clouds and there's a feeling of peace that one doesn't get during the day.
Two nights ago, while spraying my legs with bug goop, I noticed a weird bulge in my right calf. Concerned, I examined it more closely. It was...muscles. I mean, I am aware that people who exercise do acquire more muscle definition, but those people have never been me. It was startling. I am not losing weight, nor did I expect to. I might be gaining a little, one hopes this is muscle mass, and not more fat. But, well, I'm not biking for health, I'm doing it for fun.
As far as health benefits go...well, my resting heart rate is lower, so that's probably a thing. My knees continue to give me trouble. I do think that there are some days when it seems like they are getting better, but other days, it seems like they're the same or getting worse. I now own three different types of knee braces, each of which has its own flaws and benefits. If anybody has any suggestions for good knee braces, especially ones that ameliorate pain above and behind the patella, do let me know.
I had been told that regular exercise would help reduce or eliminate general aches and pains. Yeah, not so much. Possibly has increased them. So, that's a bitch. Also, I've been told that it helps sleep, and again, yeah, not so much. I'm still having a lot of problems falling asleep. Weirdly, my sleep issues are worse since I returned homes and I don't know why. Now that I'm home, by body really, really wants to revert to going to sleep between three a.m. and five a.m. I have not been winning this fight, I may surrender.
The final piece of "my god, who am I now?" is that I bought a trainer. Ok, it was very cheap, from Craig's list. But it's a dealybopper that you attach your bike to and lets you turn your normal bike into a stationary bike for exercise. I need to shovel my office so that there's space for it. I am thinking about the winter. And I don't know how fun just riding in place will be, and possibly this was not money well spent. But I also don't really want to go without biking all winter. And while a lot of my friends are good with cold, I am not. I chill easily, and stay chilled for far longer than a normal person would. So, um, we'll see about the trainer.
I don't really know what to say to all my friends who have been into bikes and who kept on trying to tell me how great they were. I mean, you were right. But I don't know what I could say to past me that would convey why biking is so much fun. I honestly don't know how to explain it to present me, and present me is doing the biking. But I will say that if you have a friend who's asthmatic and says that they can't exercise because of exercise-induced asthma attacks, you might suggest biking, which really does let you titrate the effort in a way that can avoid attacks. At least, if you're biking in largely flat areas.
I am biking very nearly every day. I find that, unlike a lot of my friends who also indulge in biking, I am far more heat tolerant than they are, but far more morning averse. And while I was living with Patrick, and could be reliably gotten out of bed with coffee at ungodly hours of the morning in order to bike before the heat of the day, living back at home, getting up at six or seven a.m. is just a bridge too far. On the other hand, I can cheerfully bike for a reasonable amount of time in the heat. Beth, with whom I often bike, gets rather frighteningly knackered in the heat, and David just declines.
My stamina and strength are clearly improved. Hills that were a problem are now a dawdle, hills that were impossible are now just really fucking hard, and some hills remain impossible and I just walk my bike up those because life is too short for an asthma attack, I tell you what.
I have little blinky lights on my bicycle, a white one in the front, a red one in the back. (They will also emit a steady light, but since I use them to alert other vehicles, and not for illumination, I set them on blinky.) This has meant that I have been willing to bike after dark. (I should probably invest in a high visibility vest, at some point, as well.) The last two nights, I've donned a spectacular amount of bug goop, and gone biking around the neighborhood after dark, and it was been wonderful. I've always really liked walking around the city after dark. Biking is even better. I could wish there were more street lamps, since I hit one or two pot holes by surprise, but the air is sweet, there's very little traffic, and there are stars and clouds and there's a feeling of peace that one doesn't get during the day.
Two nights ago, while spraying my legs with bug goop, I noticed a weird bulge in my right calf. Concerned, I examined it more closely. It was...muscles. I mean, I am aware that people who exercise do acquire more muscle definition, but those people have never been me. It was startling. I am not losing weight, nor did I expect to. I might be gaining a little, one hopes this is muscle mass, and not more fat. But, well, I'm not biking for health, I'm doing it for fun.
As far as health benefits go...well, my resting heart rate is lower, so that's probably a thing. My knees continue to give me trouble. I do think that there are some days when it seems like they are getting better, but other days, it seems like they're the same or getting worse. I now own three different types of knee braces, each of which has its own flaws and benefits. If anybody has any suggestions for good knee braces, especially ones that ameliorate pain above and behind the patella, do let me know.
I had been told that regular exercise would help reduce or eliminate general aches and pains. Yeah, not so much. Possibly has increased them. So, that's a bitch. Also, I've been told that it helps sleep, and again, yeah, not so much. I'm still having a lot of problems falling asleep. Weirdly, my sleep issues are worse since I returned homes and I don't know why. Now that I'm home, by body really, really wants to revert to going to sleep between three a.m. and five a.m. I have not been winning this fight, I may surrender.
The final piece of "my god, who am I now?" is that I bought a trainer. Ok, it was very cheap, from Craig's list. But it's a dealybopper that you attach your bike to and lets you turn your normal bike into a stationary bike for exercise. I need to shovel my office so that there's space for it. I am thinking about the winter. And I don't know how fun just riding in place will be, and possibly this was not money well spent. But I also don't really want to go without biking all winter. And while a lot of my friends are good with cold, I am not. I chill easily, and stay chilled for far longer than a normal person would. So, um, we'll see about the trainer.
I don't really know what to say to all my friends who have been into bikes and who kept on trying to tell me how great they were. I mean, you were right. But I don't know what I could say to past me that would convey why biking is so much fun. I honestly don't know how to explain it to present me, and present me is doing the biking. But I will say that if you have a friend who's asthmatic and says that they can't exercise because of exercise-induced asthma attacks, you might suggest biking, which really does let you titrate the effort in a way that can avoid attacks. At least, if you're biking in largely flat areas.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-21 07:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-08-22 04:45 am (UTC)I've been trying to make up for it by walking more, but walking to do errands instead of biking usually means riding the bus, and while I do get to witness poor mask compliance among Twin Cities transit riders (while faithfully keeping my own mask full up over nose and everything down to chin), it makes riding the bus a lot less fun. If I weren't so engaged in trying to settle my housing situation, I'd definitely be trying to settle my bike situation.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-22 09:36 pm (UTC)Any suggestions on a headlamp? Near as I can tell, it is possible to spent any amount of money on one, and that they range in lumens from 40 lumens to 2000 lumens, or maybe more. No idea what is a reasonable number, to be honest.
Luck with your housing!
no subject
Date: 2020-08-24 02:24 am (UTC)I do have a couple of headlamps suitable for tent camping and whatnot, but they are not really bright enough to help with potholes in the dark.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-29 09:28 am (UTC)https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GT49F9C/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's 300 lumens on high, and has a lower setting, too. I haven't ridden a bike in a couple of decades, but the headband did a fantastic time of lighting up the pasture when I was taking care of Howard's horses, Bandit and Smokey.