Today's Ride.

After a two days off, Thursday and Friday, to recover my energy from my bonk on Wednesday, I hopped back on my trusty bike for the commute to Pullman. Yesterday it was raining quite heavily, and I woke up late, so I didn't bike yesterday. I'm a little disappointed in myself, but it was raining a lot, so I don't feel so bad. It's much nicer weather today. Cold, but it's a little cloudy, so it's not freezing, and it was windy-ish this morning.
It's amazing how different I feel on days I bike vs. days I don't. The days I bike, I feel like I have so much more time during the day, even though 2 hours of it are taken up by pedaling. The week seems longer, too. I just seem to have more time, in general. I love it.
Over the weekend, a large amount of animal feces seems to have accumulated on the Paradise Creek path. Dogs, I think. Seriously, every 50 yards or so, there was a pile of poo. That kind of annoyed me a little, but dogs have to go somewhere, I guess.
It just gives me a more urgent reason to get a better headlamp. Which I plan to get today or tomorrow. I'm borrowing my finace's and it is not bright enough for safety or to safely avoid little piles of stink on the trail.
I also want to get reflector tape and put it on my bike and stuff.
I saw one of the same bikers I always see, an elderly gentleman in yellow, with a chiseled jawline. He's always been friendly, but he recognizes me now and smiles more when we pass going in opposite directions. He had the wind at his back today.
There's usually another lady, the same age or a little younger than me, that bikes to Moscow, too, but I only see her when I leave earlier. I left late today, so I didn't see her.
Over the summer, there were more regular bikers, but they weren't as friendly.

The stranger who kind of inspired me to begin biking is this guy who has lost so much weight since he started in early Summer. I saw him every day when I was driving to work. He's got this mountain bike that looks so difficult to pedal. But day after day, he was out there biking to WSU. So, when I started biking, one day biking back home to Moscow, he passed me blaring opera music out of his phone.
Which I thought was cool.


Gear.
On Saturday, while running errands (also on my bike), I went into Hyperspud to look for some wet-weather gear. The winters are wet here, so I knew if I wanted to ride to Pullman later into the year, I needed some sort of wet-weather pants. I already own a Marmot rain jacket, which I love for it's functionality and simplicity. As soon as I enter, what do I see? I see Marmot rain pants. Windproof, waterproof, and breathable. Perfect!
The best part is: if the lining wears off, all I have to do is take the Marmot gear back to Hyperspud, pay $7.00 in shipping, and I'll get a total replacement.
I tested them out this morning, and I am so pleased. my legs weren't wet with sweat, and they skin wasn't frigid like it was last week.
Also, I have been oscillating between getting a saddle rack for my stuff, or not. And I came to the conclusion this weekend that I actually enjoy toting my backpack while I ride. Why? Because it keeps me warm. Having that extra padding on my back is nice, especially since I have a tendency to lose body heat easily. I'm almost always cold.
I might end up getting a saddle thing in the Spring or Summer when it's really hot, but for now... mmm.... warmth, sweet warmth...

Food.
So, I bonked last week (DON'T EVER USE BONKING AS A TRAINING TOOL). Because I did, I made a lot of mistakes at work because of my mental confusion. I didn't think it was that bad at first, but Friday and yesterday, I kept discovering mistakes I had made on Thursday.
I never want to bonk again.
It makes too much work for myself later.
Anyway, my co-worker sent me a link to EatToPerform.com. The website, if you don't have a prescription is like one big ad for the book or whatever it is they sell, so I wasn't too keen on that part of the information they had, but did have a pretty accurate-looking calculator for how many calories I should eat. It turns out that I should be eating about 2 or 3 times the amount I was eating last week.
I've always had problems remembering to eat, or not feeling hunger, so I've been trying to pay more attention to that.
So, I ate more for the last 4 or 5 days, and I already feel lighter and I think I look thinner, too.
I know it's only been 1.5 weeks, but my history with weight gain and loss is jumpier than kid watching a horror flick. It goes up and down, sometimes 10 pounds in a week. I've never really known why, which is one of the things the Eat To Perform website gave information about.
It made sense.
Anyway, I need to have a more nutritious base to support all my plans. It's nice to have it more stable now.
To try and counteract my activity level, I ate a lot this weekend and yesterday I bought a protein bar to consume pretty much right after I got to work today, which has made me feel much better so far. I'm less shaky.

Condition.
I seem to keep discovering weird aches when I bike. It was in my chest this time. It might be the cold air, or breathing a lot. But, there's a plus- the aches in my inner thighs has gone away! Hooray! I'm getting into better shape!
I was biking into the wind today, which was less fun than normal, but that's okay. I just have to be stronger than the wind. Today I was.
Also, my hypothesis about my ankle hurting turned out to be correct - it was a slight stress injury from me pedaling in a gear too high for me.
I haven't used my upper gear at all since I started biking again and my ankles don't feel stressed in the slightest. Maybe I'll ramp up the speed and effort eventually, but I want to make sure I'm totally strong before I do that... and I also will probably want to wait until it's not cold. I'm pretty sure risk of injury increases when the temperature decreases.

Rant about something other than biking.
Also, this is less about bike-riding but more generally about my attitude towards the economy, and especially fashion economy, but Hyperspud is one of the only places in Moscow where you can try on and buy fair-trade and/or eco friendly clothing. Their clothes are also functional, pretty, and reasonably priced. They carry Prana and Kavu and a couple of other brands. But beyond that, Hyperspud is a local store that's been around for over 25 years and I have to support it.
When I worked as an arborist's assistant, I used to go there with my supervisor to get climbing and arborist gear like nylon straps, climbing rope, carabiners, etc.
The more I visit Hyperspud, the more I like it!

Anyway, back to the whole fair-trade, eco-friendly fashion thing...
One day I woke up and saw the news about another factory, with unsafe conditions, killing it's workers. It was in the fashion industry...again.
It's not as if this was a random thought of mine. I have a personal tie to unfair fashion practices. My father, grandfather, uncle, everyone, used to work in the fabric mill in Clover, South Carolina. I don't know who owned the factory, but they produced T-shirts. Anyway, my father's life was put in danger numerous times by the management of the factory. I am so happy my father got out of that system. In many towns in the South, there were places called "Mill Villages" and that's where the 'trash' lived. The mills and factories owned the houses and the stores. They would pay their workers less than it cost to live there, and would therefore keep the workforce, essentially indentured or enslaved to their jobs. The houses didn't have indoor plumbing. They had outhouses.
My Dad didn't have a toilet until he moved out of the Mill Villages with his family when he was fairly young. I think he was 9 or 10. As a teenager, he worked for the factory.
Then he met my mom, a college student, and decided he would be a college student, too, and got a degree in Biology, got into Med school, etc.
BUT- for many people less brazen as my father, or with families that depend on them, or in countries where opportunities are fewer and reserved for the upper class, these types of working conditions persist to this day.
So, when I decided that day, I remembered the stories my father told me about the carpet-baggers from the North coming down to establish their domain in the less affluent South. In 1965, my mother remembers her school throwing a party when the 100 year war-reparation payments to the North were finished.
Around the 80's, most fabric production moved overseas, but the conditions didn't improve with the move and I now that someone like my father or grandfather is working in terrible conditions, making T-shirts that get branded by Lacrosse or Tommy Hilfiger and those company's aren't aware, don't care, or both, about the welfare of the production line.

So, even if Prana pants are a little more expensive (although, still cheaper than many unethical brands), I must for my own reasons, support that.
Because I support good business practices.
Anyway...
It's a bit of a rant there...

Well, that's my lunch break. I spent all of it writing and listening to nature sounds/music.
Time to get back to work... just counting down the hours until I can hop on my contraption and ride again!

I Bonked

The first time I discovered this word was a couple of months ago. Reading it I remembered one of my favorite scenes in My Big Fat Greek Wedding:

This scene still makes me laugh after so many years.

Anyway- I actually experienced this last night after I my 63rd mile this week.

It's supposed to rain today and the high is 41 degrees Fahrenheit and I could barely get out of bed, so I decided to drive to work.

I know, I know. Mind over matter. I'm already lazy!

These are self-defeating thoughts that I have to push aside to be healthy and commute daily (or almost daily) like I want.

Let me explain what 'bonking' feels like and why I seriously wonder why anyone would consider using this as a training tool without very, very scrupulous and attentive athlete-professional guidance.
So...
Monday.  I bike to work and feel great. I bike home and feel great. Very energized. A little sore, but I take a hot bath and feel better.
Tuesday. I bike to work and feel great. I bike home and feel a little tired. Less energized. A little sore, but not too bad. I take a hot shower and go to bed early.
Wednesday. I bike to work and feel sluggish. I try to bike home and have difficulty biking in a straight line. It takes almost 10 minutes longer than the days before. I get home and I'm shaky and so hungry I feel sick. I three slices of a large pizza after a warm bath and go lie down at 7:30pm. I'm asleep by 8:30pm.
Thursday. I wake up and feel sick, dizzy, and like I'm going to pass out.

My mistake, methinks, is my choices of food over the last few days. I already struggle with maintaining my blood sugar. I am genetically predisposed for diabetes and while I don't have diabetes, I am often hypoglycemic. I have 'bonked' even without much exercise.
This is due to the fact, I think, that my meals are too few, small, and far between. I've had to be very aware of my calorie intake since High school, as I have a tendency to under-eat for my activity level and metabolism. I just don't have much appetite most of the time, so I can't tell when I need more carbs or fat or protein or just food in general.

Something is out of whack.

This experience has led me to do a bit of research on bonking. It frightens me that people think it's okay to do this on a regular basis. I would say, just based on my own experience: WHY. From what I've read, it takes too long to recover to make it worthwhile and if you're not incredibly careful, you'll end up losing some of the muscle you've worked so hard to achieve.
If I can help it, no thanks.

But, anyway, just reading articles alone, I'm having a difficult time finding the answers to some questions I have about my own personal situation, like, what I need to eat and how much? I would love to be told, "stuff your face with bread all day!" which is what some of the articles sound like, but I wonder if that's the best approach.

Most of the articles I've found tend to focus on men athletes and diets/bodies than women.
I'm a woman, and I'm sort of small. Maybe I should look up articles on lady-trainers/athletes.
I'll do that next.

But, I know, whatever happens that I do not ever want to bonk again. I hate the sensation more every time it happens, either from exercise, or my own erratic eating habits.

This biking 2 hours a day, although I've hit a set-back today, I think will help me be healthier in the long-run because it's bringing to light the problems of how I treat my body day-to-day. Like not getting  enough nutrition or calories to sustain what I want to do.

This venture will help me harmonize with my body in a better way, which I think will ultimately benefit me. So, I must see this hazy, tired, and sluggish feeling as a learning tool, and not as a failure.

Why I Bike Commute

My favorite aspect of commuting from the small city of Moscow, Idaho, to the slightly less small city of Pullman, Washington by bicycle is the opportunity to observe my surroundings with less distractions.
Driving the highway is always wrought with cars cutting me off, people driving at that awkward not-quite-the-speed-limit-but-not-quite-more-than-that speed which annoys every driver I know. It's also scattered with road kill and that sneaky, but strong, sense of anxiety I get when I know that travelling more than 30 mph is a recipe for ending up like the roadkill.
I don't want to be road kill.
I'm lucky to live in a place where almost my entire commute has a dedicated path to pedestrians and cyclists. There are no cars! It is glorious. I realize not every commuter has this luxury.

So, there are 3 things I like about commuting, so far:
1. More present and at-one with my surroundings
2. I see live animals more than I see dead ones.
3. I'm travelling at a reasonable speed of less than 15 mph.

Another major benefits is the alleviation of my anxiety and depression. These things are nasty. And bicycling every day makes them less horrible, I dare say, almost bearable. I still have them, but their hold on me is less certain and gripping.

Although, I did start out a bit rough. My first attempt at commuting the 11.5 miles from my apartment on the Eastern edge of Moscow was in June. And it was hot. Very hot.
The heat here is dry, dusty, and windy, so it's more of an "in your face" heat than a surrounding heat. The hot days seem to shove themselves down your throat, in a way.
I had not trained at all for this feat, and I soon discovered that setting off into the heat with a small amount of water and no preparation was probably not the best idea I've ever had. It's not the worst idea I've ever had, but that's for another post one day.
One day, I will write about the time my ill-planned biking expedition almost found me in the ocean at the bottom of some rocky cliffs, but today is not that day.
But, for now, back to the heat.
I biked, and stopped and rested, and biked some more. It took me 1.25 hours to cross the Palouse hills to Pullman. There's a pretty long hill at the end, with one part being rather steep, that was grueling at the time. My vision blurred, my breathing heaved, I arrived at work, I chugged some water, and promptly vomited.
But then I felt better.
The ride back was much better, even though it's more generally inclined going back to Moscow, this has never, for some reason, made the trip back longer. The trip home always seems shorter.
And that, is another reason why I like commuting by bike. Every day, I get to take two little hour long trips.
Well, now I can bike in less than an hour, around 45 minutes if I put my mind to it. But there is a great pleasure in simply pressing on without over-exertion whilst listening to an audio book that I have a hard time wanting to go any faster.

Another benefit: improved mind by 'reading' two hours a day.

After that first bike, I biked every day for a week, over 100 miles in a week.
But my lack of preparation caught up to me in other ways besides that initial projectile vomit and heat exhaustion I had. I had pushed myself too hard and hadn't tackled the hill properly and my left ankle began to give me a lot of pain.
I have a history of various sprained body parts. Mostly because I tend to fling my body into things only to discover that I'm not made of steel and rubber.
So, I had to take a few weeks off.
Then I got lazy.
Then I re-injured my spinal ligament doing some yoga.
A few weeks turned into a couple months.

Then, this week, after a slow slip-slide back into an anxious and depressed state so bad I had to see a health care professional because it was affecting my personal and work-life, I hopped back on my bike again. Maybe the low-dose Prozac reminded me that I like the feeling of the wind in my face and pedaling about in a beautiful world. Maybe because I finally found the impetus to improve my internal situation and "Just Do It" (as my father always said, long before Nike adopted his motto... he jokes to this day that Nike stole this from him).
But now it's cold. Today was first frost. As I think back to when I started in the heat of Summer, more out of shape and unconditioned to now, cold and frost on the bridges that span Paradise Creek - the frost makes a delightful dry crunching sound when rolled over- I become more proud of myself each time I get back on that bike. Biking at dark is a little difficult and more sketch, but it's still better than driving at night.
The best thing about biking in the cold is I can't feel any pain in my butt because it's numb. I wear a lot of layers, and I try to keep warm, but I still sweat, and I'm still going about 12mph, so my skin still gets chilled.

I don't know whether 2 hours of biking every day is a bit extreme. But now that I've healed up and I am taking it slightly easier, instead of killing myself trying to achieve a better time, I have to say that I wonder why I ever, injuries aside, stopped biking in the first place.

Another benefit to biking is knowing and learning your limits. And I've learned my limits can be expanded. I can grow. And that's a great realization to have. Especially for someone who's biggest fear is regressing and failing at things.

Additionally, parking is effing expensive at WSU, so it saves me a several hundred dollars over the course of a year that way (in gas and fees).

Plus, my ass looks fantastic.