Yesterday was the very first time I had ever ridden along the East Service Road. Ever. And today I did it again, going through a loop where I turned somewhere about two kilometers from here and taking a road that led me to the back of our subdivision. I used my gravel bike.
It was pretty thrilling to actually finally ride outside the subdivision. I treat myself as a total beginner in cycling basically because I stopped biking after a crash I had in grade school and only started seriously cycling a few months ago, when I made it a goal to assemble a gravel bike.
It's basically a 3.5km loop that I do, something that takes me around 12 to 15 minutes inside the subdivision. Outside it's much faster since there are almost no humps and almost everyone outside is going way faster than me. I probably average around 15-16kmh inside the subdivision, but outside whenever I get the chance to check my cyclocomputer I ride at around 20kmh or so.
Yesterday when I finished my ride my hands were numb and sore. Today I felt like I cracked on the way home. I've been trying to adjust my bike's setup as well as my own fitness levels to avoid these things, and I'm glad that riding outside gave a reality check of the stuff I need to improve on.
My core strength needs improving so I don't lean too much on the bike. I've seen countless bike videos on youtube of bike fitters and cycling channels saying that engaging the core is important. I've also read a few articles from what I believe are legitimate and trusted sites that do say that one of the most important factors in riding well is the core strength.
My stamina also needs improving. I think the reason why I felt like I cracked in this morning's ride was because I tried pedaling on smaller gears today. Maintaining a high cadence with more effort is of course draining, and since I'm doing intermittent fasting I'm basically running on "empty" whenever I ride in the morning. Lesson learned, at my current fitness level I should go use the bigger gears.
I also need to work on my balance and spatial awareness. Cycling on public roads is very different here in the Philippines. You've got public transportation, motorcycles, other cyclists, and other vehicles sharing the road with you and they're not really bike friendly. So I need to constantly remind myself to ride at a slow but decent pace, stay on the right, keep a cool head, and make sure I'm riding properly.
Overall I'm quite happy and motivated at what I have done. I'm realizing a lot of things I need to improve as a cyclist, and I'm feeling a level of freedom. I do know I need a lot more training to do before I can even ride further than what I'm doing now.
I'll probably ride inside the subdivision again this week and ride outside on Sundays, when there are hopefully less vehicles on the road.
Out.
