Back on the bike

I’ve been meaning to get back on my bike for quite awhile.  I did a ride in late January, but have been unable since then.  February was rough in terms of cold and snow and conditions just didn’t allow for me to ride outside.  Also, the last 3 weekends were dominated by races or long runs, and I was afraid to ride outside and mess myself up for critical runs.

But, I’ve got the March Madness Biathlon in less than 3 weeks, which entails 2 full loops of Central Park (plus 2 miles before and 2 miles after, both of which include UP cat hill!), and I need to get going on the bike.  Last night was perfect to get out.  The temp was 55 degrees, at 9pm, absolutely perfect.

So, pumped up the tires, rounded up all the gear, and went out.  My course was the reverse of my favorite 10.3 mile medium range run, namely, up 1st Ave to 60th, over the Queensboro Bridge, down Queens to Pulaski Bridge, through Greenpoint and Willamsburg, over the bridge and back up 1st Ave.

The other interesting factor are my elbows.  They were both in a lot of pain at the end of the bike season last year.  I saw my doc twice, and did a bunch of rehab in the gym.  My left elbow is completely better, and my right elbow is much, much better.  The right elbow will hurt if I sleep on it incorrectly, which will make it achy for a couple of days, but lately I’ve noticed it not hurting as much.  And on the ride, my left elbow was totally fine, but the right one was achy.  It seemed totally fine after the ride.  So, for now, will try to limit my rides to an hour or so, continue rehab in the gym, and hope I can keep it under control.

I believe my elbow problems could be due to my bike fit not being right.  Will try to get to a real bike shop for a real fitting, and get everything properly adjusted.

I have been concerned I won’t have enough miles under my belt before the race, but, when I last did this race, in 2008, my first time on the bike was only 10 days before the race, and I only got 34 miles in ahead of time.  This year, I’ll have twice as many days, and should be fine…

In other news, Rhode Races (Providence Marathon) is in 54 days!