We're back from family camp, and I'm fairly sure I am *not* ready to dive into school next week. The march of time does not slow for anyone (except Joshua), so next week Filia will be back to classes at college and I'll be wearing my Mom's Taxi hat while endeavouring not to waste Filius' sophmore year of high school. I have all sorts of plans. Scary plans. Fun scary plans.
The State Fair opens tomorrow. That means the State Fair will post an online list of ribbons in the knitting category tomorrow. I think I'll go bookmark that link right now.
My current projects are socks. One pair is a plain vanilla sock, something that I can work on in the semi-dark of an auditorium while listening to an excellent speaker. The other is Nancy Bush's Chalet Socks, from Folk Socks. Those are NOT things one can work on in the semi-dark. I've got some test knitting in the works, and will be knitting Filius a vest for Christmas. We got him a suit recently, and he thinks a vest and a fedora would be the perfect accompaniments. We can work on the shirt and shoes later, I suppose.
Since Filius is also working on a fitness merit badge, I've been getting out and about with him in his cardio training. I bike, he jogs. We only had one adult bicycle in the house, a nice old Schwinn, and I decided I would get another so that TWO people could go for bike rides at the same time. I got myself a Schwinn Admiral, and love the nice new shininess of it. What I'm not so sure about is the rest of the bike. I need a bike expert!!! My top speed is 10 mph, and that's in the top gear on the flat with no wind. It's depressing, entering my distance/time into SparkPeople, since there's no cycling category for that rate. True, I'm not bent double in an aerodynamic posture ... but really! The old bike is MUCH easier to pedal, for all that it is at least 40 years old. Wheel size is about the same, gearing is about the same (5 old, 7 new) ... what's up? Even if I am that out of shape, that doesn't account for the fact that I could go 6 miles on the old bike in top gear and feel it less in the legs than I do after a few blocks on a middle gear in the new one.
I'm torn between being seriously miffed and appreciating the extra workout. Got any advice?
2 comments:
I have a new-ish bike as well (also a Schwinn) and it has a similar problem. After two miles I feel like falling over and dying for a while, and while I am the first to admit that I am sorely out of shape... I can walk for miles and miles without really getting out of breath. Maybe something Schwinn has done with their newer models?
Maybe they have. But bikes are for GETTING places, not making you work as hard as you can while going the least distance. I've decided I'm seriously miffed :) and am in the market for a new bike. I did a speed test yesterday and don't like the 33% drop in speed I get with my new bike (15 mph to 10 mph, measured over 1 mile)
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