First Month of Training

Although we picked up our trikes at the bike shop in February, the weather did not get good enough for any serious riding until the second week of March. As a result, our "official training" began with a 10-mile ride on March 11. The ride took 1 hour 45 minutes. Wasn't too bad. Our old legs took it pretty well. That ride established 10 miles as a good starting point for our training.

Our training goal is to turn our couch potato selves into athletes who can pedal at least 50 miles per day over extended periods of time. We plan to make our first extended tour later this summer. It will be a 900-mile trip to Albany, New York to visit our son, his wife, and our new grandson-to-be. The trip will take about 18 days of riding at 50 miles per day. We are using a modified "periodization" training system to help us get our bodies ready for the ride. The first period (base training) will involve about three months of long, slow rides -- low-intensity workouts at maximum volume. The purpose of this phase is to patiently build up our aerobic foundation while minimizing the risk of injury or over-training, an important consideration for old codgers like us. We will gradually ramp up our miles and riding time during this period, adding about 10 percent each week. We will follow each three weeks of training with a week off for recovery. These recovery periods, according to the experts, are crucial. Training stresses the body and tears things down. Recovery give the body time to respond to the stress of training and rebuild itself at a higher level of fitness.

We completed our first three weeks of training last Saturday. Our total distance in 16 days of riding was 167.4 miles. Our total riding time was 22 hrs 4 min. Our average ride was 10.5 miles, with an average duration of 1 hr 23 min. Our longest ride was 14.8 miles. Our longest duration was 1 hr 52 min. Our average speed for the entire period was 7.6 mph. Hopefully, we will get a little faster in the future! Nevertheless, we were quite satisfied with our first three weeks of training. Our physical conditioning has improved considerably (which isn't too hard when you start out with none at all). Our first out-of-town ride, on March 11, was 10 miles in 1 hr 45 min. On March 26, we rode 14.7 miles in 1 hr 42 min. The times were almost the same. However, we added 4.7 more miles in that time, an increase of 47 percent. That, in my humble view, is a significant improvement for a couple of out-of-shape 60 year-olds. 

We currently are enjoying our recovery week. Our next three week training phase will begin next Sunday. We will begin with 15-mile rides and hope to ramp up to 20 miles by the end of the three week phase. We are not shooting for more speed at this point. We intend to make a conscious effort to keep our average speed down to 8 mph, while focusing on increasing the length of our rides. If all goes well, we should ride about 217 miles and spend about 27 hours in the saddle. 

Equipment

I think it might be worthwhile, before talking about our training, to write a few words about the trikes we purchased and our reasons for doing so. Recumbent trikes can be pretty expensive compared to traditional delta-frame bikes (like thousands of dollars more). This was an important consideration for us, since we are retired and live on a limited, fixed income. We decided, after considerable research, to buy a pair of TerraTrike Cruisers. These trikes are produced by Wizwheels, an American company located in Michigan. We purchased them at Amling's Cycle & Fitness in Niles, Illinois. We chose the Cruiser for three reasons. First, the Cruiser is the highest-quality, entry-level trike we could find on the market. At $1,400 each, they were not cheap. Nevertheless, we saved at least $4,000 compared to what we would have spent for two similar trikes produced by other manufacturers. Second, WizWheels has a fantastic customer service reputation. We could have bought other brands of trikes at a similar price. Most of those, however, are built in Taiwan. The manufacturers have no formal dealership organizations in the United States and provide little if any customer support. They may produce good trikes, but once you buy them you're on your own. Third, the Cruiser provides a sound basic platform which we can upgrade in the future. We already have added fenders, water bottles, mirrors, lights, computer, and luggage racks in anticipation of touring this summer. If we are still at this cycling thing next year, we plan to add a series of upgraded drive train components. We should, at that point, have a pair of really decent touring trikes.

First Post - A Little Background

I have discovered an interesting thing about being 61 years old. All of my kids are raised, my work for the world is done, my last remaining parent has been nursed through her final years. It came, for me, as a question: "What now?" I attempted, after my mother's death, to resume doing the things I used to enjoy most, like fishing and photography. It was fun for awhile. I found quickly, however, that the old, familiar activities were no longer enough. I had done them all before. Ho Hum ... another bass. Yawn. I have no need to go back to work and no desire to do so. I enjoy being a grandfather and spending time with my kids and grandchildren. Too bad for me (maybe good for them) that they live too far away to see every day. So, what now? Time for the rocking chair on the porch? Make my will and start planning for the nursing home? Nawwwww! What I needed was something new in my life, something sufficiently interesting and challenging to rekindle my passion for living.

That's how I came up with the idea of going off on a cross-country bike expedition. I'd contemplated that fantasy many years ago while suffering through seemingly endless business meetings, but the time was not right. Life was too busy and demanding. My life now definitely is not busy or demanding. So, why not now? When I discussed the idea with my wife Patti, she thought it sounded like a fine idea. She also suggested that we use recumbent bicycles instead of the traditional delta frame models. Actually, she suggested recumbent trikes. Trikes have many advantages for old farts like us. They are, most of all, extremely comfortable compared to traditional bikes. No numb hands, no numb arms, no numb shoulders, no numb butts. Almost as importantly, trikes are very hard to tip over. And the fall isn't far if you do. Riding a trike is like sitting comfortably in your lawn chair, just watching the world go by. All of this comfort and safety is perfect for an old grandpa!

We are just in the beginning stages of this new adventure. Purchased our trikes in February. Started our training in March. Our training goal is to be able to ride at least 50 miles per day comfortably before we start serious touring. Getting there may take awhile. After five years of taking care of my mother -- a 24 hr/day, 365 day/year, never go anywhere kind of job -- we are starting from fitness ground zero. Getting off the couch without assistance was becoming problematical for me. Where are we after one month? That will be the subject of my next post.