My Giant to the Rescue

This past week was a rather anxious time for me. Not only did I have to endure a week of sore muscles in my lower back and side, but I also worried how the injury would effect my short-term riding schedule. Since April's good weather had put me nearly a month ahead of last year, I didn't want to waste this good fortune. Thankfully, the soreness in my side improved dramatically on Friday morning, paving the way for my return to the saddle on Saturday.

Since my Trek bicycle was in the shop undergoing repairs, I rode my "back-up bike" -- my Giant Iguana mountain bike. This had been my primary bicycle from 1990 through 2006, but it had been relegated to basement storage since I purchased my Trek 7500 in the spring of 2007. Although my mountain bike needs some adjustments to its derailleur and probably a new chain, I was still able to coax 36 miles out of it on two separate rides this weekend. In so doing, I confirmed that I can now resume my riding unabated.

But I did not yet know that when I saddled up late Saturday afternoon. Despite the chilly, windy conditions, I was determined to assess my relative fitness. It didn't take long for me to realize that neither the riding position nor the action of pedalling posed any problem whatsoever. I rode a total of 12.1 miles, following bike trails that took me to the nearby twin lakes of Meacham Grove and Spring Creek Reservoir Forest Preserves. While I rode, I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God that I had escaped serious injury six days before. Had any of the circumstance of the accident been different, I would be in far worse shape. I really was very lucky!

Sunday was forecast to have much more sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures. Skies were partly sunny with temperatures in the mid 50s and light southeasterly breezes. With big knobby tires, my mountain bike is far more at home on trails than on pavement. Knowing this, I planned a route that was 1/3 trail and 2/3 paved streets. I rode along portions of the Great Western Trail, Illinois Prairie Path, West Branch Trail and Hawk Hollow Trail. I started my ride at 11:25 a.m. and ended around 1:40. When it was over, my Sunday ride was 22.5 miles long.

Although my trusty old mountain bike served me well, I missed the more comfortable ergonomics and silky smooth gears of my Trek hybrid. I also missed not having a cycle computer. To collect that data that I needed for my "One for All" fund raising initiative, I wore a wristwatch with a stopwatch feature to maintain my elapsed riding time, and I used Google Earth after the ride to calculate my distance travelled and average speed.

Unbeknownst to me, I fell short by just 1.3 miles of the 300 mile mark for the season, which I will likely surpass this Saturday. With repairs to my Trek likely to be completed on Monday, my cycling world will soon be back to normal.