Who needs a saddle?
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009This is a little story of what I have been up yesterday and today. Pushing myself physically and enjoying springish weather, basically. With no respect for my overall lack of preparation I decided to test my long distance biking abilities on a route from where I’m based at the moment to my university. A mere 55 k’s.
Weapon of choice for this epic challenge: my ’98 Raleigh mountain bike. Weight reduced by rust since a few years and by a lack saddle, which some incomprehensible person stole from me a while back. I just never got around to replacing it. I had it mounted in the lowest possible position anyway so I thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. Until now, when I know better. To illustrate the situation I took a little snaphot just outside Landskrona. In the background, conveniently blurred, is also the beginning of an annoying 2-3 kilometre uphill. Since my rear gear selector has seen better days I had to tackle this section at gears “2-5″, which would be roughly equivalent to 12 or 13 of 21. With a few stops along the way I actually made it up there in a decent tempo.
Yesterday I managed to “sprint” to Lund in 2 hrs 58 mins, but I paid the price for this achievemt today, clocking in at somewhere between four and five hours for the way back. Overall the experience boosted my confidence when it comes to self-propelling, reminded me of my constant need of hydration and earned me some nice “manual” memories. I have to have a look at those handlebars… And maybe get a new set of biking that don’t come with a holes on the palms from bmxing…
On my wish list: One road-racing bike, saddle included. Most prominent soundtrack of the ride: David Guetta - The World Is Mine Kicked in on my way out of Lund this afternoon. Sunshine on my back, sheltered as it was by a backpack full of linguistic theory, apparently not the best power bars ever…
So, then what’s your physical challenge for the season?