Riding Recap
I’ve been riding, reading, writing (just not on here), reeling, rockin’, recovering, and resting. Oh, also, I’ve been babysitting my niece, Ramona, which is hilarious if you know me.
First and perhaps not surprisingly, I have another back injury that I’m currently working through. It is in the same area as my injury from last July, but luckily, all rib heads have remained in their appropriate locations this time around. I am seeing a chiropractor twice a week because of the severity of the pain I’ve been experiencing, but I’m doing everything I can to try and feel better. Thanks to my ribs being a bit more cooperative this time around, the injury hasn’t totally prevented me from being able to ride, which is a huge improvement compared to the last time I had this issue. I’m trying to be mindful while riding and in comparing this experience to the one I had last summer, I think I’ve gotten better at listening to my body, but also better about not feeling guilty about listening to my body.
So, let’s get into it:
Back in January, I joined Polly for a NYCC ride to Addisleigh Park in Queens. This historic portion of St. Albans is also known as the, “African American Gold Coast,” and the ride took us past the former homes of jazz musicians like Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, and Count Basie, and baseball greats including Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth. Lunch was at Singh’s Bar and Roti Shop in Richmond Hill and the team there was incredible. The ride leaders had called ahead of time to let them know we would be stopping there for lunch. The restaurant allowed us to store our bikes inside and even helped our group separately, so as not to interfere with their other customers trying to get food. This was my first time trying roti and it was dope.
Next up: Zwift rides.
Keeping my trainer set up has gotten me on my bike more frequently than if it were NOT set up, so I guess I should just accept it as a permanent fixture in my living room during winter months. Refer to the above Strava recaps to see how I always opt for routes with the least elevation gain when I’m using the trainer…
It’s been great having the trainer as an option on cold days, but the world is ending, it’s been abnormally warm for February, and I’ve ended up getting in more riding OUTSIDE than inside.
A lot of these rides have been laps in Prospect Park and I have rather unwillingly been pushing myself on the hills. Despite my natural aversion, I’m actually setting PRs (which are still nothing to brag about) on the hill and it feels good to see the progress I’m making so early in this season.
I have also been using my bikes to get around a bit more and finally got my Pack Rat back out for a spin. I grabbed lunch with Polly down in Ditmas Park one day, and met my friend, Matt, for BBQ in Gowanus another day.
I’ve been spending a lot of time on my bikes lately, much more than I normally would for winter, and it feels so good. Riding has been my only reliable source of joy, fulfillment, learning opportunities, social connections, and excitement lately, so I’m going to really keep that in mind while I continue to navigate all the other nonsense we’re dealing with everyday.
Both bikes are due for some maintenance and since my mechanical skills are not quite up to snuff to do tune-ups on my own, I’ll probably have to get them into my LBS soon. In the meantime, both bikes also need some cables replaced:
the end of the shifter cable on my road bike is incredibly frayed; Joe did the best he could to help me maintain it in the meantime, but also told me he thinks I can replace this myself, so I’m going to give it a shot!
the rear brake cable on the Pack Rat has gotten damaged from all of the adjustments I’m constantly making; the physical appearance of the cable alone is causing some concern and I refuse to allow these V-brakes that I hate so much contribute to my demise in anyway.
If you never hear from me again, I probably didn’t install the new cables correctly.
