MY CYCLING JOURNEY by Darryl Abbey: March 2012

Welcome to my cycling blog!

Thanks for visiting this site and for your interest in my cycling journey.

As a teenager and into my mid twentys, I worked in bike shops in the greater Boston area and developed a deep love of riding. When I went into the insurance business, I no longer had the time or drive to continue devoting energy to the sport and, consequently, I let it fall by the wayside for almost 18 years.

Around 1999, driven by a middle-aged need for exercise, I bought a new bike and started riding again: partially for exercise but mostly for pleasure. That lasted about two years and then the bike was back in the garage gathering dust until 2010.

Late in 2009, I learned that a close friend had been diagnosed with cancer and, shortly after that, I learned that his sister-in-law, also a good friend, had also been diagnosed. The fact that my Dad and my Mother-in-law had both been taken by cancer made me think about what I could do to support these friends and the many other folks I know whom I discovered had also been affected by cancer.

I am not good at being a care giver or expressing my concern for folks who are ill. I don't know what to do or say and I feel like I probably make both the person I am supposed to be caring for and me more uncomfortable than if I just left them alone. However, I did discover something I could do: ride my bike and raise funds to fight cancer.

I have become a big fan of the Pan Mass Challenge (a focus of this blog as you will see) and decided to participate in this event for the first time in 2010. This blog will give you an idea of my PMC experiences but, hopefully, will allow me to express my joy at having gotten back into the sport of cycling.

Through my renewed interest in cycling, I have made some great friends, improved my health and improved my outlook on life as well. Oh yeah, and through the PMC, I help fight cancer.

I hope you enjoy.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spring and Outdoor Riding Are In the Air

It's March 13th. The outside temp was 70 degrees and it is still light after 6pm. Finally, a good day to check the tire pressure, strap the pack up under the seat and hit the road.

It has been a long while since I have been out on the asphalt. The long Winter of my discontent (alright the pretty mild Winter of my reasonable contentedness) is finally over. I have been trying to stay in shape by using the hydro-trainer pretty often and making sure I vary the intensity and duration of my rides. I have even started swimming again for good cardio work but heading out on my bike today was a treat.

The first couple of miles felt a little awkward, almost like the LeMond and I needed to get used to the ground actually moving under us, but soon we were back in sync and rolling along. The legs felt good and I decided to keep the ride relatively short but include some challenging hill work to see how the quads and lungs would fare.

All things considered, it was not bad. The cadence on the flats was pretty sweet and the climbs were not as painful as I had expected they would be on the first outing of the season. One of the big challenges was to stay focused. When riding indoors, you don't have to watch out for pot-holes, glass, drain covers, oh yeah, and cars. Lapsing into thoughts of anything other than the road in front of me, the traffic around me and making sure that gears are appropriate and brakes ready at all times is a recipe for disaster. Rule # 1 for me is stay focused.

Velominati Rule #5 is almost as important. All you followers of the Keepers of the Cog know what I mean.

I am looking forward to lots of rides both solo and with good friends as I move into Spring and Summer. Should be fun. I will keep you posted.

Oh yeah. Feel free to come join me if you want. Whether physically, if you are in eastern MA, or spiritually if not, you are always welcome.