Cycling Ellen

1/26/08

One of the challenges of this ride for me is the fundraising. Believing strongly in the causes that I’m collecting money for makes it possible for me to ask for money but it isn’t easy to ask! I’m so grateful when someone hearing of my ride asks me, how can I support you?

In order for people to know about my ride, I have to let the world know what I’m doing so I was thrilled that our local paper did a feature story on me in yesterday’s paper. I must say it’s very strange to see your own picture on the cover of the paper (especially knowing that many of them are going to end up in woodstoves all over Windham County!). Here’s the link to that story: www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_8084647

Yesterday I spoke with a woman who did this same trip last year and raised $50,000! She was so inspiring and full of all kinds of practical help in getting me ready for the tour. We talked for over an hour (she’s from Tennessee) and this morning I woke up with my brain going full speed with all the things I need to do in the next five weeks.

One of the things she stressed is the need to really train for this ride. The first week is very challenging going straight up into the mountains of California climbing almost 4000 feet in the first two days. There is also a 90 mile day in the first week. She said last year it was obvious who had trained and who had not at the beginning of the ride and those who had trained were feeling much better than those who hadn’t! I went outside to ride right after I hung up the phone. It was really cold and windy and there were patches of ice and snow on the side of the road which scared me at times. At the end of two hours my toes were freezing, even with heavy socks and neoprene booties on my feet, so I gave up at that point and came home to toast my feet by the fire. With fresh snow on the ground this morning, I’m headed down to Greenfield with my husband and a friend to try out the indoor computrainers that they train on. These machines simulate riding a course outside. Which is better - sweating inside or freezing outside?

1/22/08

This weekend I’ve been singing in 2 performances of the African Sanctus by David Fanshawe. It’s an amazing piece of music that consists of tape recordings of indigenous music from Africa recorded by the composer, layered with live percussion, electric guitars, piano and a chorus singing a unique setting of the Latin mass. What fun it all was!

The chorus has been rehearsing since September to learn this music that takes less than an hour to sing. In the many hours on stage this last week, I had time to ponder how similar the process of rehearsal for a musical performance is to the process of practicing for this bike ride. In both cases, there are technical skills to learn from music theory and vocal technique to pedal strokes and bike mechanics. In each case, hydration is an issue as is body position and stamina. You have to learn the skills involved but then comes putting it all together with practice so that the skills become innate and the experience of the music-making or the bike ride becomes ingrained into the mind and body.

A couple of weeks ago, I did get outside for 3 rides in relatively balmy 30 degree temperatures.  This week, Hank wants me to do two or three more but now the temps have dropped.  Time to add more layers and get back into the rhythm of more intensive training.   I’ll still have music in my life but now it’s the background to my time on my bike.

1/8/08

On Friday last, I met with Hank Lange who coaches triathletes.  For over 5 hours we discussed how to prepare for a cross-country bike ride from what to eat and how to find time to train to how to get a good night’s sleep and stay motivated.  Hank ran me through some fitness testing on the bike using my heart rate and perceived exertion to see how I’m doing at this point.  He showed me some pedaling techniques so that I can use different muscles as I ride and tricks to avoid fatigue when the hills keep going longer than I want them to.  We set up a training plan for the next 9 days which involves 2 two hour outdoor rides (yes, this is in Vermont in the winter!), 3 training/technique rides inside using pedaling pyramids (this is where my musical training pays off) and 2 callous rides - long slogs indoors on the trainer using my cadence meter and heart rate to keep going at a steady pace.  Already this is helping me to get out there when I  don’t feel that I really have the time or energy.  I did a 25 mile ride in not quite 40 degree weather this weekend on my cross bike which, I can assure you, I would never have done without Hank looking over my training shoulder.  It was actually fun to ride outside after all the time in the basement although my chilly toes weren’t always happy.  It’s different riding along the West River with giant hunks of ice and occasional running water to see instead of rocks and swimmers in the summer.  The last couple of days, though, I’ve come home late and exhausted and used my 2 allowable rest days in a row.  Now that I’m writing about this for the world to read, I’ll do my training the next few days.  I will!  I will!