Easy on the Knees, Hard on the Ass
Dec. 9th, 2010 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astillarIt's been a good day. Especially when you look back. Last time I was at home, I had no heat, no internet, no cable, and no truck. Now I have heat, internet, cable, and my brand-new baby truck baby. It's mucho màs bueno. Oh, and I got a bike too.
I'd been planning to get one for awhile. I'd enjoyed using the treadmill while I was up in Canada, but I've often heard that the downside of running is the toll it takes on your knees. I want to start being more active again so a bike seemed to be a good cardio option without the drawback, plus it's a lot more useful than running in place. The reason I purchased it now, with just a few minutes of consideration was because as soon as I got back to town, I'd have to drop off my company truck. My truck was still in the garage. How was I gonna go get it? Walk? Pay another cab fare? Nope! I'll ride a bike! So I bought one on the way into town.
I didn't really know what the hell I was getting. Every bike I'd ever had was found, not bought. I looked at the ones on the close-out rack, but still, they were a lot more expensive than I expected. (In hindsight, I probably could've gotten a bike at Wal-Mart for a third of the price, but those are probably just POSs.) "I want that one," I told the bike clerk. It was black, but other than that I couldn't tell the difference between it and any of the other bikes on the rack. Then she started asking me questions and I instinctually tried to hide my ignorance. Everything she asked, I knew. Of course I knew all about the shifters and the suspension system and disc brakes and aluminum frame and the seat adjustment and my groin height and the derailleur system, etc etc etc. She would not stop. I just wanted to buy the bike, not look like a total newb; I could figure out the rest later.
Today was the bike ride. Just 5 miles from my office to the garage. It would take 10 minutes by car, or an hour and a half by foot. I wasn't sure if I'd made all the correct adjustments, but there was only one way to find out, right? Boom! I hit the road. The first couple miles were awesome. I was like, "Wow, this is so fast and so smooth! I should've gotten this years ago!" Then I started hitting the hills near Walnut Creek. Oye. My legs were like, "What the hell are you doing to us?!?" They were not prepared. Even though there was frost this morning, by the time I got to the insurance place, I was sweating. It was one heck of a workout. I stepped off the bike and nearly stumbled; my legs were so rubbery. They recovered quickly, but there's one muscle that didn't.
My ass is killing me. I don't know if it's the bicycle seat or I'm a white guy with no ass to begin with or maybe I just need to develop butt callouses. But MAN, it felt like my pelvis (hipbones?) had nearly gnawed their way through my gluteus maximus. Even now, 6 hours later, I'm still sore down there. Don't get me wrong, riding the bike is fun and I intend to do it regularly, but I gotta do something about my butt because this is painful.
I'd been planning to get one for awhile. I'd enjoyed using the treadmill while I was up in Canada, but I've often heard that the downside of running is the toll it takes on your knees. I want to start being more active again so a bike seemed to be a good cardio option without the drawback, plus it's a lot more useful than running in place. The reason I purchased it now, with just a few minutes of consideration was because as soon as I got back to town, I'd have to drop off my company truck. My truck was still in the garage. How was I gonna go get it? Walk? Pay another cab fare? Nope! I'll ride a bike! So I bought one on the way into town.
I didn't really know what the hell I was getting. Every bike I'd ever had was found, not bought. I looked at the ones on the close-out rack, but still, they were a lot more expensive than I expected. (In hindsight, I probably could've gotten a bike at Wal-Mart for a third of the price, but those are probably just POSs.) "I want that one," I told the bike clerk. It was black, but other than that I couldn't tell the difference between it and any of the other bikes on the rack. Then she started asking me questions and I instinctually tried to hide my ignorance. Everything she asked, I knew. Of course I knew all about the shifters and the suspension system and disc brakes and aluminum frame and the seat adjustment and my groin height and the derailleur system, etc etc etc. She would not stop. I just wanted to buy the bike, not look like a total newb; I could figure out the rest later.
Today was the bike ride. Just 5 miles from my office to the garage. It would take 10 minutes by car, or an hour and a half by foot. I wasn't sure if I'd made all the correct adjustments, but there was only one way to find out, right? Boom! I hit the road. The first couple miles were awesome. I was like, "Wow, this is so fast and so smooth! I should've gotten this years ago!" Then I started hitting the hills near Walnut Creek. Oye. My legs were like, "What the hell are you doing to us?!?" They were not prepared. Even though there was frost this morning, by the time I got to the insurance place, I was sweating. It was one heck of a workout. I stepped off the bike and nearly stumbled; my legs were so rubbery. They recovered quickly, but there's one muscle that didn't.
My ass is killing me. I don't know if it's the bicycle seat or I'm a white guy with no ass to begin with or maybe I just need to develop butt callouses. But MAN, it felt like my pelvis (hipbones?) had nearly gnawed their way through my gluteus maximus. Even now, 6 hours later, I'm still sore down there. Don't get me wrong, riding the bike is fun and I intend to do it regularly, but I gotta do something about my butt because this is painful.
