Wisdom Wednesday: Intracoastal Waterway Century

On October 25, 2015, my wife, Margie and I participated in the Spacecoast Freewheelers metric century bike ride. The ride began in the historic little village of Cocoa, wound north and east along the Indian River. The first rest stop was the American Police Hall of Fame Museum. After passing through the Kennedy Space Center, the course then turned south along the east side of the Indian River and Intracoastal Waterway. At southern most point, the route crosses the Indian River again, turning north back to Cocoa.

The weather was mixed with cloud cover to keep the heat down but the wind shifted as the ride progressed so we faced a head wind for the first 55 miles. Once we made the final turn to go north, the wind decided to stay southeast and give us a little push.

Neither of us had any experience in drafting as our annual trek from Miami to Key West strictly prohibits riding any closer than one bike length between riders. Triathlons also will disqualify riders for drafting.

However, after Margie and I each spent close to 40 miles without drafting, we were exhausted. Finally, a couple of retired firemen from Jacksonville offered to lead us in as they had been drafting us since the first rest stop.

Apparently, people who draft and never lead are called “leeches” and we had between 10 and 20 at all times. They ride in the draft that you create, saving up to a third of the energy the lead rider is expending.

Wisdom Wednesday: Cycling

Riding a bicycle can be an excellent form of exercise. It doesn’t have the high caloric burn of running but can be sustained easily for long periods of time to consume calories.

Proper equipment is vital to safe, effective riding. I recommend a hybrid bike for beginning riders. Hybrids have upright handlebars, relatively thin tires, and as many gears as you would ever need. The gear ratio is lower than road bikes to make hill climbing easier. You can purchase a good hybrid bike for $600. It will give you a comfortable ride and is very versatile. My hybrid had 21 gears and the pedals were duel purpose – one side accepted a riding clip while the opposite side used a standard shoe. My wife and I rode our hybrids for a couple of years and put several thousand miles on them before moving up to carbon fiber road bikes.

Start out slow and keep the riding distances short. We would ride up to coast about 13 miles early on a Sunday morning, have breakfast and ride home. That 26 mile trek was our long ride for the week. Try to add two shorter rides during the week, just like pattern used in running.

You can increase your long ride by 5 miles per week, for 3 weeks in a row, and then return to your previous long ride the next week for a brief recovery. Again, this pattern is very similar to that used to increase running distance.

It really helps to have a goal. I recommend you register for a charity ride. Pick a distance, and then set up a training schedule to prepare for the ride. You can find organized bike rides on the internet for your area. Distances vary from just a few miles to rides of 100 miles or more.

Safety is the number one concern. Always wear a good quality helmet. If you fall and strike your helmet, replace it. Replace it every couple of years regardless of damage as the UV light breaks down the plastic, rendering it less effective.