Let the REAL training begin

Last night I went on what I am calling my first official training ride for the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes. In less than 3 months I'll be in Whitefish, Montana, peddling my butt off. My ride last night was pretty meager, just 14.6 miles, but it provided a valuable learning experience.

Based on last nights experience, there are two key ingredients that are missing from my current cycling program.

• Strength
• Endurance

I began last nights ride by doing circles in my drive way, practicing getting my feet out of my pedals without falling. Once I felt that I mastered that, I hit the road. Luckily, there was not a breath of wind last night. I would not have been able to tolerate a head wind. After I had been on the road for a few minutes, I performed a quick visual inspection of the bike because I felt that something was preventing my forward progress. I expected to find a brake dragging or perhaps a flat tire, maybe even a t-shirt wrapped around my wheel. Finding none of the above, it dawned on me that it was my own lack of strength that was the impediment. A bitter pill to swallow, to be sure, but I forged ahead. Most of my 14.6 miles took me through rolling hills, so I felt like it was a worthwhile ride, given the terrain we're expecting to find in Whitefish.

There are a couple of other miscellaneous observations worth noting.

• My left foot kept going numb. Not sure if my shoe was too tight or what. It was the first ride for the shoes as well, so maybe they just need to be broken in. It may have been an issue of the socks...I just had plain ole socks, not fancy riding socks. (If there is such a thing as "riding socks".
• Also, my hands were sore. I got the fancy gel tape on the bars, but maybe some gloves are in order.
• And lastly, my butt really hurt. Like, really hurt. Now, I have nothing to which I can compare this sensation, but is it possible that a colony of fire ants has taken up residence in the chamois of my biking shorts? (Question...has chamios technology changed a lot over the last decade? My shorts are OLD...maybe that's the problem)

Despite these annoyances, I really enjoyed myself, and I'm anxious to make it to one of the team training rides soon.