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Michael Rasmussen is now a dedicated bicycle commuter and says that 'biscuits and gravy simply don't have the same seductive appeal as a 50 mile route.'
The Anniversary of Michael Rasmussen From Futon Potato to PBP Hopeful in 1 year ...
If you've been following the Bike Friday Home Page stories you might have read about the "monthaversary" of Michael Rasmussen, who went from being completely sedentary (apart from jumping to conclusions, he says) to commuting 10 miles daily in Portland, Oregon, on his Bike Friday folding bike, Pocket Llama, doing bigger rides on weekends, and most importantly, sticking with the program. He lost over 40 pounds in the first year, while not changing his hearty eating habits [beer, solid food, beer, beer...]
A year and a quarter later, he's planning to do his first brevet this spring. A brevet is a time-constrained long distance ride - for example the 750 miles in 90 hours of Paris-Brest-Paris. While this sounds hyper-athletic he asserts "I am not a jock" and the purpose of these rides is to provide a sanity (insanity?) check on his desire to be able to ride "wherever I want, whenever I want. See RUSA for more on these rides and to find one near you.
Here's an update from his daily weblog entitled The Anniversary of Michael Rasmussen. Read it and swap your sofa for a folding bike (which one, I wonder) and nice, stiff saddle!
WHOA! Today is the last day of my first year bicycling. Yep, it's been a year since I first got on my bike, the green llama. How much things can change in a year!
As in...
A Year Ago: Sweated like three pigs on the five mile ride to work.
Today: May perspire some, if I push it.
A Year Ago: Thighs slap against huge gut.
Today: Only when I lean over to get the water bottle.
A Year Ago: Walk the last few blocks, catch my breath
Today: Walk? Downtown? Are you nuts?
A Year Ago: Commute time: 35 minutes
Today: 22 minutes
A Year Ago: Weight 260 Pounds (that I'd admit to)
Today: 227 (measured this morning)
A Year Ago: Longest 1 Day ride = 5 miles (8 km)
Today: Longest 1 Day ride: 107 miles (172 km)
See Michael's table for more accomplishments.
Accomplishments in the first year include:
* Solo ride of 50 miles (80 km), April 13
* Metric Century Ride in May, actually two back to back on a weekend, RACC and Monster Cookie, May 3 & 4
* Climb 3,400' on a single ride up Larch Mountain, May 26
* Full Century - complete with vicious headwinds - June 29
* Cycle Oregon - 340 miles (550 km) or so for me. The biggest mileage week of the year.
* Somewhere between 3,500 and 4,000 miles (5600 to 6400 km) riding
And best of all:
* Consistent riding. Many weeks with five days of commuting to work on the bike. At least one longer weekend ride a month.
It strikes me as odd that some of my accomplishments occurred so early in the year. The ride up Larch in May for my personal best climb, the 50 miles in April stands as the one day solo. Cycle Oregon was a motivator during the spring and summer. I audaciously signed up for it in January, right after the EKG to make sure there wasn't a health obstacle. At the time a 32 mile ride (51.5 km) was my personal best and left me aching.
What made it possible? Riding my bicycle is intrinsically enjoyable. Though I started for the sake of fitness, bicycling has grown to be more than just exercise to improve my health. Driving is nowhere near the good time of riding - except maybe when you're in a perfect groove with the radio music.
What's coming up in year two? Rain, wind, cold, heat, sunny days and miles and miles and miles of cruising the backroads of Oregon. My overall direction for bicycling is to be able to "go anywhere, anytime time allows." The better I am as a cyclist the easier it is to go someplace. One concrete measurement of this concept is randonneuring. Completing a series of brevets, being able to go those long distances (120 to 750 miles, 200 to 1200 km), will take bicycling skill and personal conditioning in excess of anything else I'd like to do. If I can complete a 300 or 400 km brevet everything else is easy.
Looking forward to the next year on a bike I've some ideas about what I'd like to accomplish as side effects of pursuing this goal.
* 200 and 300 km brevets in Spring 2004
* Be able to do a track stand for one minute
* Be able to ride no hands long enough to eat an energybar/banana/fruit pie while riding
* Close the gap between my navel waistline and belt waistline to one inch
* A long (currently defined as greater than 60 miles or 100 km) unsupported ride each quarter (month?) of the year
* An unsupported multiday trip (credit card tour?)
* Lower the commute time to under 20 minutes - both ways
* Be comfortable maintaining a 15mph pace for four hours
* Be comfortable maintaining 90 to 110 rpm cadence * Under 200 pounds (90 kg)
These fall into the categories of: better bike handling and balance, greater endurance and improved physical conditioning.
And to think a year ago today a five mile ride with 200 feet (60 m) of climbing had me catching a bus! Michael Rasmussen mikeraz@patch.com Follow Michael's progress here: http://meme.patch.com/memes/BicycleRiding
For more information, follow this link http://meme.patch.com/memes/BicycleRiding.