Insert Training Montage

 It's already been over a month and a half since I fell a bunch. My ribs still hurt in certain strenuous movements and exercises, and my pinky finger still hurts when flexed or pushes in certain ways. Both seem to slowly be improving so I assume they're just that kind of injury, and being 50, maybe I'm slower to heal.

Like a Rocky movie, I'm turning my defeat into motivation. I'm rising up, back on the wheel... just a man and his will to go ride.

I've been working out every day, losing weight, improving cardio, and getting stronger. I'm doing a combination of workouts from my collection, Fitness Blender, P90X, Insanity, some freestyle workouts, riding bikes with Kessa, and riding bike and uni in the neighboring trail path.

The two rides I did on that trail path were 5.25 miles each, on my 26" Oregon fat tire.

I'm certainly ready to do some muni at Webster Park and Whiting now. But I'm also going to continue with workouts. I'm thinking about more strength training. I've looked at a number of programs that use barbell lifts, and I'd like to give one a try. I've done some Strong Lifts 5x5 in the past but I think I was using improper form or moved too fast or inconsistent, and tweaked my back, so I never stuck with it. I think I need to be ok with starting at low weight and maybe video my profile to analyze form. I found this r/Fitness Basic Beginner Routine which surprises me. Reddit users created this? I hope to feel ready to start this soon.

https://thefitness.wiki/routines/r-fitness-basic-beginner-routine/

One Two Three Four, Now I'm Feeling Very Sore

Back in the day it was an upcoming race that kept me motivated to keep riding and stay in shape. These days I'm not really into racing. Are any muni riders in a four-hour radius even organizing muni events or joining mountain bike races? So I made my own goal for the year: to ride the Hojack regularly, through the Chiyoda and Bird Sanctuary trails, and try to top my own round-trip time, from home to the end and back.

Today was my first ride. It was a cool 45°F and I was joined by Kessa, patiently riding lazily on her mountain bike. I'm out of shape and this was the first real ride of the year.

Unfortunately it did not go well. I fell FOUR times while in high gear. Every fall was caused by me just losing control in high gear. There are enough bumps in the trail to cause me to wobble forward and back and have to correct my balance, and my corrections clearly aren't good enough sometimes. It feels like a feedback loop and a series of over corrections but just kind of happens in the blink of an eye.

The first fall was on the outbound leg on the Hojack.
Moving fast, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.
My left knee hurt and was dirty from an impact and my palms were chaffed and stung a bit. It hurt but I was ok to walk it off and keep going.

Fall two was also outbound.
Same, moving fast, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.
I think I hit the same parts. My left knee hurt more and was now bleeding and dirty and my palms we more chaffed and stung more. But this time I got some wind knocked out of me. I think I jammed my left elbow into my left side during my roll and my ribs hurt. I'm 99% sure my unicycle never hit me during a fall, but maybe.

Seeing that it wasn't going well, my knee was weeping blood, and I had already felt like I probably wasn't in great shape to get to the Hojack end and back, I decided heading back home would make sense.

Fall three then happened on the Bird Sanctuary trail.
Same, moving fast, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.

The fall added some dirt to my bloody knee, but more notably caused my left calf to cramp up. I think I stepped off awkwardly and pulled it wrong. I had to remain on the ground for a few moments for the cramp to subside before my leg was usable again.

Fall four happened soon after getting onto the Chiyoda trail.
Same-ish, just not moving too fast yet, I lost it, fell forward, pushed the handlebars down, a step or two, one tuck and roll to my back, and a short slide.
This time my right calf cramped up! And my right pinky must have gotten pushed funny because it hurt in a worrisome way.

But everything was still working, and Kessa and I continued home.

On the road portion, I didn't want to press my luck again, and there was a noticeable headwind to contend with, so I sadly kept it in low gear and hobbled home.

Once home, of course I cleaned up and checked myself out.
The left bloody knee was the focus.
Palms were raw and ached.
Pinky is sore but ok.
Left side is on the edge of scary sore. Laughing and breathing deep makes it hurt more. Bruised ribs?
Right knee is sore and scuffed by an impact.
Shoulder is scuffed through my clothes.
Ego a bit hurt.

So what happened?
I'm out of shape and fatigued to the point of failure?
I'm getting older and my balance is suffering?
I'm expecting too much from myself in high gear?
Tire pressure issues?

And now what?
End my personal year challenge on my first ride?
Get back on the horse once I'm healed and try again?
Train more first?
Do smaller wheel slow muni more instead?

The ride was 8.7 miles. I also rode 3.4 miles while Kessa jogged the neighborhood streets, last Sunday.

Speedy Ride With Kessa

Kessa is an exercise machine and often wants to go on a bike ride or workout, which we often do together. But today her quads were sore, and she wanted to go on a less intense ride, so she encouraged me to ride my Flansberrium geared uni.

end of ride photo tradition

So she biked and I unicycled from home through Chiyoda and the Bird Sanctuary trail to North Ponds and back. We also added The Meadows neighborhood trail before heading home. My shifting was nearly flawless, so I'm very happy with that. One thing that is great with having Kessa with me, is that she'll check any roads for cars before I am quite there to give me the go ahead. I still slow down and prepare to stop, but in many places there's no way to look both way until you're right at the road's edge, so stopping would normally be required.

We stopped both on the way and back at the pull-up bars off the path behind the rec center. Kessa's a beast and cranked out her personal best of 8. Bring it!

7.8 miles, average speed 7.6 mph

Muni Season

rest at the end of Whiting green

This has been a very hot summer, but the temperatures have finally dropped and it's feeling more and more like muni season.

My weekend obligations got in the way so I took a few hours off from work on Monday afternoon to ride muni at Webster Park and Whiting. Nothing too crazy to mention. Good weather, good exercise, good to get out and ride.

I rode my 24" KH muni, as it's my go-to ride for dry challenging trails.

7.14 miles

4th of July Ride

I rode at Webster Park and Whiting Road Nature Preserve today just like the good old days.

It was a good ride. Everything is mostly the same but I saw some changes.

One thing I noticed were the "Grand Tour" signs in Webster Park. I'm pretty sure they're new to me, though the signs looked weathered, so I assume they've been there for years now. It seemed to be just the main trail. The trail itself isn't new.

There were also a few places where erosion over time had changes the trail a bit. Usually there was just more of a gully in the trail.

On one trail I know to be rooty, it was still rooty, but just different than I remembered. I think between erosion and roots growing, it just changed.

The last section of it had an incredibly difficult surface I wouldn't even try to attempt. It was practically a ladder of roots.

In Whiting I rode the Green trail out to the end where there is a bench, and then back.

I rode 6 miles.

Going For Speed

For whatever reason I had the thought of riding the neighboring neighborhood trail loop and doing laps to see if I could improve my speed. I wear my phone on my Camelbak strap and use MapMyRide to report my times and split speed at each mile.

Since I started on the road to get there, I would only consider miles that started and ended on the trail.

And even then, the miles would span different sections of the trail, which does have some elevation changes, so some miles probably would be inherently faster. But who cares, this is just for fun. 

Here are the results:

Mile	26er	Geared 27.5	% Increase
2	7.74	9.14	+18.1%
3	7.90	9.12	+15.4%
4	7.95	9.12	+14.7%
5	8.30	9.86	+18.8%

I think I have potential to increase my speed on the geared uni, but it's harder to control and feel confident on.

16th Unicycle Anniversary

 Kessa joined the tradition!

Kessa Learns to Ride

For the past month I have continued to ride here and there, but not any solo muni rides. I've been riding while Kessa runs, and we've biked together as well.

But the more exciting news is that Kessa got the itch to learn to ride a unicycle! After several evenings of practicing, she is now able to ride around the neighborhood! I've ridden a number of times side by side with her. Usually that's just under a mile and half. Pretty good for a new rider!

She needs to learn to free mount though, so she likes having me or Amy with her, for a shoulder to lean on.

Sydney also took a ride around the block. She hadn't ridden in years, but I guess it's like riding a bike!

High Speed Hojack

 With my newfound shifting skills, and finally some dry weather, I rode the Hojack again. Kessa joined me on her bike. This time I was hoping to be able to shift successfully whenever I needed. And for the most part, I did!  Very nice.

However, I had an incident at one point, about 1

/3 into the round trip. If I recall the circumstances, at a road crossing I had dismounted and when I went to remount, I was in the middle of the road and I failed and fell. It was a very quiet road and no cars were in sight. I dinged my knee on the road, but it wasn't too bad. When I went to try again, I found my Schlumpf hub was in a freewheeling mode. Turning the cranks just turned the cranks, not the wheel! That's not normal and not good. Shifting the button up and down did nothing. I tried like a dozen times, and bounced the tire and kicked the cranks hoping to dislodge whatever mechanism was getting hung up inside the hub. It made no difference. There was a wooden post nearby and I bumped the unicycle into it with some additional force, hitting the crank. It didn't seem to immediately help, but after pushing the buttons a few more times, the cranks were now engaging the hub. Although then as I turned it by hand it seemed to me it wasn't shifting out of high gear. After another dozen button pushes and questioning what to do, I realized it was in fact shifting properly again.

Although I was a bit on edge from that point on, I was able to ride and shift without incident. I'll have to check with people on the forums and see if there are any thoughts on this.

Overall, my ability to shift with near 100% success made the ride a lot more enjoyable.

My lower back muscles got fatigued and I need to keep working on my posture, I guess.

Over 12 miles.

Shifting Level Up!

Following some advice from a fellow geared unicyclist, I moved my pedals from the 150 holes to 127 on my Spirit cranks. This makes it easy to hit the shift buttons on the Schlumpf hub for some riders.

WOW!  My shifting improved incredibly! I instantly went up to 90%+ for both upshifts and downshifts!

I rode this evening in the neighboring trail path and street while Kessa jogged and ran. So I was generally going slower and less serious, and had the opportunity to practice my shifting.

I even did a few intentional upshift-downshifts in a single rotation! Which does nothing, but is still an accomplishment for me!

3 miles

Sick Unicycle!

I have been sick for about 5 days but was feeling like I was probably ok for a small ride. And it was sunny and warm after work. Kessa and I went around the neighborhood trail path a few times, and around a few neighborhoods. Shifting still needs much improvement. And my lower back muscles fatigue. I need to keep working on these.

4.7 miles

Eggcellent Hojack Ride

Kessa and I rode to the end of the Hojack and back on this Easter day. She rode her bike and I did my best to keep up with my geared 27.5 uni. It was my first real adventure on this uni outside of a few neighborhood rides.

While Kessa certainly would have gone faster and had to wait for me to catch up periodically, I am overall happy with my performance, especially for a first ride.

I need to get better at shifting. Dismounting due to inability to shift were the most costly when trying to keep up with Kessa.

My lower back muscles got pretty fatigued. And I'm saddle sore.

12.25 miles. Average speed was only 7.5 mph. I'm sure I can get that closer to 10 in time.

We stopped a few times to let me stretch my back and for a snack.

mouth full of snack

27.5 Test Ride

I rode my new 27.5 geared uni on a test ride this afternoon. It was 50F+ out and felt like Spring.

My new unicycle works! I like the tire for the road. It's smooth despite the knobs, as was advertised.

I need to get used to shifting. I'm not sure why but I can't seem to click the downshift button with my left foot. I just need to practice.

Looking at my GPS, I think I was comfortable going about 10 mph, but almost got to 12. I'll have to work on it over time.

I also need to try the brake. It wasn't really needed for the flat road today.

The trail path in the neighboring neighborhood was wet and muddy and I didn't want to deal with it today, so I stayed on the road. But it was a good indication of trail conditions right now.

I'll likely stick the road and try the Hojack trail soon.

27.5" Flansberrium Geared Unicycle

Over the past months I've been ordering parts to build a custom 27.5" geared unicycle. Today I put it together!

Flansberrium aluminum frame, 27.5"

Schlumpf geared hub, 100mm bearing spacing, 203mm rotor

Light Bicycle AM733 carbon rim

Sapim CX-Ray spokes

Schwalbe Wicked Will 2.4" tire, tubeless

Wellgo MG-1 pedals

Shimano ZT M8100 brake

KH Fusion One saddle

KH T-bar

I still need to figure out a brake position to lock in, and adjust the brake tube.

I've Got to Bring It

As part of my muni comeback I have been doing P90X like I did in the past. Actually, I finished it yesterday! I'm proud to say I only skipped one Ab Ripper due to being sick, and I substituted the dreadfully long 90 minute yoga for the 30 minute yoga from P90X3. I always did the Stretch X on rest day instead of nothing. My 14 year old daughter Kessa joined me for most of it and helped motivate me to not skip any days.

I'm definitely stronger and more fit than when I started, and I feel it's the required base fitness I need to now get into shape specifically for muni. To me that means more cardio and leg strength.
Today Kessa and I started Insanity, again like I did in the past. Day 1 is the first fit test. Holy cow I forgot how intense it is. I did well but my lungs got worked out so much I'm coughing and sneezing like I have a cold and I want to expel the crap in my lungs. I'm hoping that it's a good thing, and that it passes soon.

One Wheel, Too Icy

Yesterday was a day of thawing that got to over 40°F but we're back to cold, low 20's. Today I thought I'd duplicate my last neighborhood ride and maybe do the walking trail loop a twice this time.

Unfortunately the trail was a bit too icy and wet for my liking. It almost looks ok on the sides but it's inconsistent and drifting onto the wet ice just yanks the wheel out from under me. No good.

Maybe it would have gotten better further on, or if I started on the other side of the loop. But I also noticed my saddle was loose and so, all signs pointed to just being done and I headed back home.

2.8 miles

Rebooting Again

I've been working on making a muni comeback! More about that later, but for today, I did a short ride in my neighborhood. I rode my Oregon fat tire on the road and on the nearby snow-covered walking trail.

There was enough snow and boot-prints on the trail that make it a challenge but still rideable with a fat tire. I had one UPD in a place where the snow got deeper. I kept the ride short as I'm easing back into it.

3.4 miles

Not Too Tired But Currently 2 Tired

I've been feeling too out of shape lately, so over the past few weeks I've been dieting and lost a few pounds. Of course I also need exercise and muni always comes to mind for that. At the same time my youngest daughter has been wanting to ride her bike farther so we've done a few rides from our house to some easier trails. Specifically down the street to the Chiyoda Trail, Bird Sanctuary Trail, and Hojack Trail.
So no muni, but I hope to build up my endurance and get back into it as the weather gets cooler.

I don't see how to embed maps from MapMyRide anymore, but here are the links to our bike rides:

11 miles
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/6839789188

12 miles
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/6854685220

It was interesting to see some changes on the Hojack. About midway through there has "always" been a set of stairs that lead down to the John Ungar Trail. It's a small loop, less than 0.5 miles, with some boardwalks, if I recall. I've only been there a few times, long ago. I never felt the trail was worth the effort of dismounting and walking down stairs. But on our recent rides I saw there's now a path leading down there, a few hundred feet before the stairs. I just dug into the spring Friends of Webster Trails newsletter and it does mention:

The Town received a donation to acquire land adjacent to the John Ungar trail. We will build a trail on this land in memory of Michael Johnson.

So that's something I can explore on my muni soon.

Also at the end of the Hojack the old railroad bridge that crosses Lake Rd has been removed. The land had been reshaped to instead slope down from the Hojack to the road. Googling reminds me there has been construction on Lake Rd over the past few years, to do things like widen it, and removing the bridge was part of that. Too bad there wasn't a destination right there. Like a park or ice cream shop. It's still a dead end.

We counted animals we saw on the trail today. 😀
1 ground hog
3 squirrels
7 bunnies
8 chipmunks

Beat the Heat

 I guess I'm supposed to ride more often. It is supposed to get up to 86F today and it was in the 70's this morning so I decided to ride. Again, I went to Webster Park and Whiting, and modified my route a bit. I incorporated more trails that were tougher to push myself more. I did well and again felt like I had a little more endurance than last time.

It is still a little discouraging to not be able to climb some of the hills I used to. I truly believe some have gotten steeper from erosion. I'm also remembering my performance on my 24", not this 26" with a fat tire. But also, there's no doubt I am not doing the workouts I used to do. I might get back into those.

I rode 7.8 miles.

Cool Ride

What a great temperature for riding today! It was something like 57F and a slight breeze. I was chilly at first and wore a long sleeve over my short sleeve shirt, but removed it, as anticipated, near the end of my first mile.

I should have checked my tire pressure before leaving the house. I guess I have a small leak because my tire was way softer than at the end of my last ride. Maybe the temperature change was enough to lower the pressure though. It was my fat tire and thankfully I always bring a mini pump in my CamelBak. And thankfully the pump worked very well. The presta valve stem on my tube unscrews way too easily and when I removed the plastic cap on it, the whole stem came out and I lost most of the air. It's no big deal to put it back, but with the small pump and a fat tire I was worried it was going to take forever to fill but it was only a minute.

I took a similar path as last time, through Webster Park and into Whiting, but added green trail down and back. On that trail I felt my leg muscles bordering on cramping and had to easy up on hill climbing, but overall I felt a little more in shape than the last ride. I haven't been working out though, so it might just be the cooler temperature helping me.

6.5 miles