Special Report: GOBA 2022 Day 4 Wapakoneta: to New Bremen and Back Part 1 of 2
Tuesday, June 21, 2022, Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure
For the past 3 days, I was riding with other people on a casual ‘Sunday out with the family’ kind of ride. Occasionally I would break away and do a little speed work just to get the spiderwebs out of my legs.
The heart pumps the oxygenated blood out of my heart, down the aorta to both of the femoral arteries from there it travels to increasingly smaller blood vessels. From the arterioles into smaller capillaries, the red blood cells are forced to flow in a single file. That is where the magic happens. The microcirculatory vessels are delivering oxygen and nutrients through the capillaries at the same time they remove the carbon dioxide from the muscle cells. All systems are functioning as planned.
Today was to be my day, a day I can push my body a little past my comfort zone, just a little for I want to have enough energy for tomorrow’s mandatory ride. For that to happen I need to concentrate on what my body is doing and give it a little push at just the right time. But that will come after my warmup.
No thanks to the aging process my warmups are taking much longer. If this horse comes out of the gate too fast then kiss the rest of the day goodbye. And yes, I have been there, done that. Back in the late 1980s I took up the sport of triathlons, swimming, biking, and running. Not the Ironman distances; 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run, but I seemed to do best and trained for the Olympic distances; swimming 0.93 m. biking 24.8 m. running 6.2 m.
I learned the hard way to start out slow and get in a good warmup before pushing my muscles hard.
When you push your muscles too fast too soon a lot happens. First, there is a lack of oxygen, then your muscles begin to build up lactic acid. This build-up of lactic acid or lactic acidosis is felt as muscle pain, or for me, a burning sensation. that starts slow and builds as I push harder. All you can do is slow down till the O2 gets in the cell and metabolizes the glucose and glycogen the cells use for energy.
I have a double whammy, I’m a type 2 diabetic. I still produce insulin but either not enough, or it's insulin resistance where the insulin is not doing the job of transporting the glucose and glycogen into the muscle cells for them to use as energy. I need to be careful and listen to my body and concentrate on how my muscles are feeling.
Scott and Brenda.
The day starts quietly as some people pass me and I in turn pass other slower riders still keeping in my comfort zone. Every now and then I engage with a rider and we carry on a conversation. This morning I happened on a couple of riders from the Dayton Cycling Club, who lives nearby and Scott is their team truck driver. On these layover days, he and his wife like to get in some miles.
Did you know Scott likes to talk? And in a few minutes, I heard just about his whole life story which I’m sure there is a lot more had we been sitting in a bar enjoying a beer. Brenda had a brace on her right wrist from an injury sustained in an accident and was shortening her rides. She and her husband would ride to the first AM stop and Brenda would disembark on her own route to the last PM stop before returning to the fairgrounds. A distance of about 20 miles and she seems comfortable in doing so. Scott would complete the entire route.
They both appeared to be strong riders and have prepared well for this event. If I recall correctly Scott said they had over 2000 miles done this year. After the AM water stop in New Knoxville, Brenda left on her planned shortcut. Scott and I continued to the lunch stop at New Bremen and a visit to the Bicycle Museum. I rode ahead listening to my body as Scott continued to explain their summer vacation plans of flying overseas to Bangkok and then flying to Viet Nam for a bicycle tour. But before that, you will hear his retirement story and what he got as a retirement gift from his coworkers, 400 dollars in gift cards.
My leg muscles were doing a good job of ignoring all that and were warming up nicely.
New Bremen Missed Lunch.
As we approached the town of New Bremen, I was anticipating a good lunch since I only had a Cliff Bar and water for breakfast and to see the bikes in the exhibit. The skies remained clear and the sun was in a good position to pour its UV photons directly into my forearms and the back of my legs. I can feel a sunburn coming on.
Scott and I arrived at about 9 AM and a small group of riders was lamenting the museum which is now closed and will not open until 10 AM. Well, put this visit to the museum back on the “to do” list. We followed the group into the parking lot and a couple of riders turned left and a larger group of 5 cyclists turned right. Scott and I both heard this larger group saying they were going to the lunch stop so we followed.
Chased Missouri cycling club.
Bad decision. Either they misspoke or I misheard as we traveled it became apparent there was no lunch stop. Scott and I made the decision to continue with this group some were wearing Missouri cycling club bike jerseys. That will cut half an hour off our time and with the westerly headwinds building it seemed like a good idea. This group of 3 women and 2 men in their late 50s or early 60s were not your average cycling riders. Somewhere on their bodies, they must be sporting Olympic Medals.
They rode 2 x 2 but staggered back and forth. Like a common remora, swimming to find a morsel of food falling from the shark’s mouth I was feeling for a sweet spot where their bodies and bikes blocked the headwinds from reaching me. Scott found a spot just behind to the right of me.
Burn out.
Now the real workout begins. In a typical year, I would have had close to a thousand miles on my bike by this time. This year seriously sucked. I allowed the cold and damp spring to hamper my motivation to ride. Big mistake.
At this point, my 70-year-old brain who still believes it is 30 years old said let’s do this. My leg muscles retorted, all looks good down here, let's go!
I have been using the free version of Strava and it captured this segment from New Bremen to St Mary’s rest stop, a distance of 10 miles. For the middle section of 8 miles, my average was a sustained 17 to 18 miles per hour jumping up to 20 - - 22 mph for short sprints as I followed close behind in the pack ever searching for that aerodynamic sweet spot.
It wasn’t long before my leg muscles started to regret that decision. I can’t ignore the feeling of the slow steady burn rising in both calves’ muscles. Now begins the suffer-fest. Every triathlete, every Tour de France rider, and every cyclist who trains in high intensity knows this feeling. The casual cyclist abhors it. The elite cyclist lives for it. My 30-year-old brain is in control and we push it farther. It’s no secret a part of my mind is in constant competition, to be faster, to go further, to endure more pain, and continue to function. My legs are screaming in lactic acidosis and my rational brain can’t shut them up. My competitive brain refuses to relinquish to my rational self. It has total control now. Only the muscles that are necessary are forced to produce at maximum effort. My eye’s like an eagle focused on my prey just in front of me. I can barely hear my phone app as it calls out my heart rate,
“Heart rate is 140”,
“Heart rate is 155”,
“Heart rate is 165.”
My body has jumped from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. My triathlon training manual momentarily comes to mind: “Anaerobic exercises are only meant to be repeated for 10 to 15 seconds, as these powerful movements usually can’t be sustained for long.” My heart rate app recorded a total of 4 minutes over the 10 miles. My competitive brain is disregarding the cries for oxygen my muscles so desperately crave.
There is one more trick my brain has up its sleeve to keep this insane effort alive. The pituitary and hypothalamus glands in my brain start to produce endorphins. The name is derived from “endogenous morphine,” meaning internally produced morphine. Yes, the pain killer, Morphine. Some may refer to it as the ‘Runners High”. Now my brain squelches the intense discomfort but for how long?
Find out what happens in the next Special Report on the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure.
In Part 2:
St Mary Villa Nova Carry Out stop
Riding with Jan
Glynwood water stop
Meet at Armstrong Air and Space Museum
Dinner with Girls from Silver Wheels Cycling
June “Scenario Sara”