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Chris Cowan
Chris Cowan

I'm just your average 30 something white geeky male who want's to be cool... but it's hard when you drive a minivan!

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My Thanksgiving Ride

This morning I woke up with a mission, a ride to the top of South Mountain and work up a huge appetite for Thanksgiving dinner. Last year I had already stopped riding by this time of year and I ended eating so much food that I eventually got sick, gluttony at it's finest. Here are a few crappy photos from my ride (via iPhone)...
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  • Distance: 42.11
  • Elevation: +2473 ft / -2457 ft
  • Calories: 3204
  • Moving Time: 02:48'30
  • View full rides stats

View Larger Map PS... Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Posted
 

40 Miles + Chocolate Croissant + Milk = Perfect!

I woke up this morning to go for my first ride in 5 days, my knees have been feeling especially good for the last couple of days. With everything going on at work (meetings, meetings and more meetings) I was jonesing to get a ride in this weekend. I decided to head out towards the Los Altos/Palo Alto area with no real plan in mind. About 7 miles into the ride I felt the need to go do a bit of climbing. Since it's been a while since I've done a real climb I was a bit apprehensive. But I told myself that I just need to go do it so I can see where things stand, fitness wise. I made the turn towards Moody Rd, one of the steeper climbs in the area. This climb is only 1/2 mile but the average grade from the bottom to the top is about 12%-18%, it's a real leg burner. Not to mention the road leading up to the steep part is an average of 3% which isn't too bad but it's not really flat either. This is a good climb to combine with sections of the Portola loop because you get some decent climbing combined with some of the nicest roads in NorCal (Moody Rd leading up to the climb is absolutely beautiful). Also this is the climb I used to get into shape earlier in the year because you pretty much redline it from the bottom of the steep part up to the top. The descent down Page Mill is fun too since it's not super technical but you get to practice some decent turns and get back into the swing of things. I guess I have to say combining this climb with Portola Loop is one of my favorite rides. It has just enough climbing that it's challenging and just enough scenic rolling hills which makes it fun and relaxing. Today's pace was what I would like to call meandering, I didn't hammer it but then again I didn't soft pedal the entire time either. It was just perfect. On the way home for my ride I decided that the exclamation point to this ride would be a delicious chocolate croissant. I stopped in to a donut shop on the way home that I've passed a million times to see if they had the fix I was looking for, I was in luck. I stuff my croissant in my jersey pocket and headed for home with only one thing on my mind. Yummy Chocolate Croissant with an ice cold glass of milk. A perfect ride with a post ride chocolate croissant and ice cold milk... I almost felt naughty! Ride Stats
  • Milage: 41.17
  • Elevation: 2460 ft / -2445 ft
  • Calories: 3071
  • Moving Time: 02:42'03
  • View full ride stats

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Posted
 

This DOES NOT suck!

Yesterday after I got done putting Catie down for the night I ran to Walgreens to pick up some Jumper's Knee straps to try and relieve some pain from my Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. A friend from work had suggested trying them when I was originally trying to self diagnose my knee pain but I held off to wait and see if my physical therapist would have suggest using it. They never really did. One day they did tape up my left knee to see if it help with that pain and I got quite a bit of relief from it but it ended there. This morning I decided to put my rest plan on hold and go for a ride with the knee straps. My plan was to turn around at the first sign of issues. I also decided that I wouldn't restrict myself with how hard I rode or hammered on the pedals. My goal was to really test the knee straps to see how well they worked.  It was amazing! After my warm up miles I stepped on the gas and hammer it. NO PAIN! So I kept on the pressure, I figured that eventually my knees would start hurting after a few minutes of pushing hard. It didn't, the only pain I felt was the burning of my thigh muscles. It was a good pain! I had a smile from ear to ear as my thighs where on fire and my knees had no pain. NO PAIN! NO PAIN!  I did a few short small climbs. NO PAIN! Well my lungs were on fire, I guess not doing 150 miles a week for a couple of months had it's toll on aerobic my conditioning. Once the ride was over I was concerned that my knees would continue to hurt after I took the straps off. I've been having issue with post ride knee pain and weakness in my IT bands. NONE OF THAT! My knees felt the same after the ride as they normally do when I sit around and do nothing all day. I didn't even need to ice them like usual.  The only concern I have now is if the knee straps will be come a crutch that prevent my full recovery. My friend at work said he used his knee strap for a year. I figure if I continue doing the strength conditioning from my physical therapy then I should be good. Regardless, if they become a crutch I'm sure the benefits of riding (weight control, cardio, stress relief, etc) out weight the risk of having to use the straps. Ride Stats
  • Mileage: 25.54 miles
  • Elevation: 1107 ft / -1126 ft
  • Calories: 1952
  • Moving Time: 01:34'22
  • View full ride stats

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Posted
 

This sucks!

Well... I'm hanging up the towel for the rest of the year, riding is officially not fun any more! For the last couple of rides I've been struggling to work back into riding. I was sticking to riding flat routes and not pushing it too hard, it really sucks when you have to soft pedal the entire time. I feel like I'm barely getting a workout. When i put the gas on I get sharp pains in my knee.  It's like my knees are too weak to handle the massive amounts of power in my thighs. Climbing is even worse. Since I haven't really climbed in two months my fitness has suffered a bit. But even worse is my knees hurt more then anything else on my body. I can't even push myself long enough to get an aerobic high because I'm in too much pain. I've yet to ride hard enough to get any burn in my thighs. I think my plan now is to go back on my diet and stop riding for a couple of months. I need to wait till I'm totall pain free. I also think I need to loose my fitness so that a 10 mile ride is actually fun because I'm so out of shape that it becomes a challenge. I might still go to the gym and do my exercises from physical therapy. As far as the bike, I think I'm done for a while...
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