Saturday

[ksmith]

Up earlier than usual this morning to get my bike ride in--the nice dip into cooler temps is on the upswing again, and I'd rather ride in the morning/70s than afternoon/80s. 8.4 miles, although I don't think I went that much farther than I did the last time I rode. I think the gear setting affects the odometer reading, but I could be wrong.

I'm trying to avoid straining my knees, but even though I'm not putting much pressure on them, they're still starting to bug me. Insides of both knees, the left more so than the right, which is strange because the right knee is the one I torqued the hell out of 5 months ago. Guess I'll play it safe by icing them and taking ibuprofen. What a complete pain in the neck.

Errands run. Bought a clip-on desk lamp and power strip for the day job cubicle This is my new cubicle, which is right across the aisle from my old one--they're building additional offices, and part of the plan involves removing some of the cubicles and moving the occupants about like one of those puzzle games. You know the kind--a square containing tiles that you move about one at a time until you form the picture of the tiger? Anyway, we packed up Thursday and moved Friday, at which time they moved phones and computers. Got hooked up and unpacked, muttering softly all the while as I realized that I had moved to a mirror-image cube, which meant everything was backwards.

Oh well, these are the kinds of things that are supposed to keep your brain cells firing.

Lunch--ham on sourdough with tomato-mozzarella salad. Fresh coffee. Good stuff. Now I think I'll ice my knees and write.

Comments

[pbray.livejournal.com]

A small bit of bike advice-- if your knees are bothering you, check the height of your bike seat. Your leg is supposed to be nearly completely straight (but not hyper-extended) on the bottom of the down stroke-- if there's too much bend in your knee at that point, then your knee is working harder than it has to and may get cranky.

I had problems with this when I first started riding because I liked a lower bike seat which made it easier for me to put my foot on the ground when I needed to make a quick stop. Eventually I got used to the higher seat and it helped my knees.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I think that's my problem, and for exactly the reason you state. I ride in residential areas--stop signs and cars. I really prefer being able to stop easily. But if it's a choice between that and achy knees...

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I used to get lectured by experienced bike riders that I was killing my knees :-) and when I finally tried raising my seat I found out they were right.

I've gotten pretty good at stopping by leaning a bit and putting the toe of that foot down on the ground. But I can't ever see myself riding with those clip-in pedals that most serious cyclists prefer.

Try a compromise-- adjust the seat a little higher, see if your knees are a little better. When you're comfortable riding at that height, raise it a little more till you're riding in the correct position.

Hope this helps!