JGOB and Friends

I ride with a core group of 6 or 7 women. We have been known as “The Ladies of C” (we are C level riders, as in A through D) and more recently simply GOBs (Girls on Bikes). Today, Easter Sunday, I thought we would be the JGOBs – Jewish Girls on Bikes. But in fact 15 men and women of diverse religious backgrounds (as least that is my assumption because I certainly didn’t ask) showed up, including 2 other JGOBs. This was a surprise because at 10 am, the temp was 40 at most and a cold steady wind was blowing (it was warmer in Juneau Alaska). We were dressed in varying degrees of winter gear. As we headed north on Rt. 22 with a fierce headwind, I thought to myself, “if we have to battle this for 34 miles, I am dead meat.” And indeed I am dead meat. The ride was pretty hilly especially the first half and the winds picked up on the return. At certain points I had to pedal going downhill to keep moving and on the flats so I wouldn’t get blown backward. This was the most difficult ride I have done yet this season. I had to go to that place within me to find my inner beast, something to keep me moving forward. The title of this ride was “If I Should Fall Behind,” (Bruce Springsteen song) which was a very apt description, as the JGOBs stuck together in the back. But at one point I thought the title should have been Give Me Novocaine. But we did it. Mighty GOBs, Fierce GOBS, Beautiful GOBs, GOBs Who Get the Job Done, Slow and Steady GOBs, GOB Goddesses, The GOB Force. I think we need GOB jerseys.

The Medicine Ball

I'm moving slow today, all because of a 6 pound medicine ball. After spin class and an upper body workout yesterday, I took the medicine ball down to the gym and did wall ball squats and wall slams. Wasn't really counting or anything, just doing something different since I had to workout indoors. I spent more time watching the kids on the other side of the gym play dodgeball, wishing I could play too. Well, today I am surprisingly sore in my lower back and glutes. There sure are alot of muscles in the human body, and I guess its easy not to use them. And all it took to rediscover them was a ball and a wall. It made me realize you really have to work at the total body thing, cross train, mix it up. And every once in a while, you have to suffer through a day or two of some really sore muscles that you rediscover.

Bike Camp

I’m going to Bike Camp with some other GOBs (Girls on Bikes). It’s a 3 day program in Northampton MA for improving the riding skills of intermediate cyclists. You ride for 3 or 4 hours in the morning, have lunch, spend the afternoon doing other things (shopping), regroup for dinner and then a classroom lecture on certain skills. Then you fall sound asleep in your hotel bed. If nothing else, you spend 3 days riding in a really beautiful part of Massachusetts with some really nice people, make a few new friends perhaps, eat some good food, and pick up a few pointers. Or, you spend 3 days learning to suck it up as you climb mountains and find your inner beast to be released when you return home with quads of steel.

Psycho Bike Computer

At the beginning of the month, I took the battery out of my bike computer to set the odometer back to ZERO for the new season. I rode about 25 miles. But the next week when I went to put my bike in the car, I noticed that I had over 3,000 miles on the odometer! WTF? Well, maybe my bike, Dolce, is having a relationship with DH's bike, Isaac, and her wheels are spinning all night long every night! Or maybe there was a spike in the time space continuum. So I pulled out the battery and reset the odometer again. This time I didn't put the computer back on the bike and kept it in the house. This time the bike computer only rode 1900 miles. Okay, time to consult with the bike shop dudes. The only thing they could suggest was to change the batteries. So I did that and psycho still rode 3899 miles, at an average speed of 28 mph. Now I am forced to conclude that the bike computer is terminally demented. So today psycho bike computer was replaced. There's just so much we GOBs (Girls on Bikes) can take! Don't mess with my equipment.