Over the last week I've been making an effort to get out every day, either for a walk or a bike ride. Walking is easy, I've been doing it most of my life, and I'm reasonably adept at putting one foot in front of the other. Really steep hills like we have around here in Ronda cause the odd issue and often require stopping for a breath of air but overall I'm happy with my walking :)
Cycling is different. The last time I actively rode a bike was in my teenage years. Flat bits of road I'm happy to say aren't a challenge, downhill cycling isn't a problem either, in fact it's a bit of a buzz going faster than I would have down if I was driving. Disk brakes on a bike make a huge difference to your confidence.
Cycling uphill around the Serrania de Ronda though is a major challenge, did I mention we live in a very hilly environment? I've been noticing that my stomach muscles have been getting very sore, almost like cramps, and this is in addition to the legs muscles, and back muscles, and arm muscles being sore. The stomach muscles being sore concerned me the most.
Then yesterday I noticed our next door neighbor's bike has the seat positioned very high up, he definitely can't sit on his bike and still touch the floor with his feet. I've always believed that the height of the seat was determined by standing on tip-toes, then lift the seat to where your bum is. This is what I did, but the effort of cycling has almost made me want to give up. Remember
my first bike ride from Ronda?
Today I went for my longest cycle yet and halfway through the ride I thought stuff this, I'm gonna raise that darned seat and see if it makes any difference. So I hoisted it up another two inches and started off again.
WOW!!!
Can I just tell you all if anyone tries to tell you the bike seat needs to be around bum height when standing on tip-toes, you tell them to shutup, you have it on authority from me, the bike seat needs to be as high as your bum when you're standing on the pedals.
See what happens when the seat is too low is you use a lot of energy lifting your legs, kinda like doing bench presses in the gym, I mean sure you'll end up with a six pack set of abs but it's not the most comfortable way of riding a bike. Now try lifting the seat another 3-4 inches and see how much more comfortable pedaling becomes.
Having made this incredible discovery, I'm looking forward to my ride tomorrow morning, and I'll take the camera because along the way I saw a really nice spot to photograph the mountains looking back to the village. Hopefully it won't be long until I'm cycling into Ronda, :)
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Sunday, August 24. 2008 at 17:37 (Reply)
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Mike said,
Sunday, August 24. 2008 at 18:02 (Reply)
Anyway, glad to see you're enjoying it, despite that first day's shock! In a couple of months I'll be scouring your site for a photo of you sporting a yellow jersey!
Carl said,
Monday, August 25. 2008 at 19:05 (Reply)
And worst luck, the motor died on me this morning, so tomorrow I have to take it back to the shop and see if I can get it fixed or replaced.
AmeriGlide said,
Tuesday, August 26. 2008 at 20:47 (Reply)
I have just started to run about 1/2 mile with my dog every morning about halfway through our walk.
I usually take her on a long walk in the morning, but hadn't done any running in a while, so was pretty out of shape. Hopefully in a week or two I can be up to running a mile though, because I feel a lot better after the run...
nicole said,
Wednesday, August 27. 2008 at 02:23 (Reply)
Post some pics, please!! :)
Simon Slade said,
Monday, September 1. 2008 at 05:49 (Reply)
Ronda sounds like a gorgeous village. I bet the view sure does make the hill trek worthwhile. Like Nicole said, pics please!