Bicycling in Bloomington

My big toe still hurts but I am a little more confident that I can do the “Big Ride” with my daughter on Saturday. Here’s why:

• I learned that a little slower speeds, a bit more spin, and pointing my toes up on the downstroke seem to reduce the discomfort.
• I took ibuprofen before starting. About 45 minutes into the ride, the pain was reduced. However, it might be the endorphins rather than the meds. I say so because during the ride, a driver pulled out in front of me and I chased her to the next stop sign. I rode up to her window and reminded her of good driving behavior and described my feelings regarding bad drivers. While chasing her, my toe didn’t hurt.
• I also learned that I shouldn’t take ibuprofen on an empty stomach.

 The ride was pleasant. I repeated a hill in a local neighborhood (Sherwood Oaks) to determine the best way to climb. I rode for about an hour. I had to stay local because I don’t have spare tube. I’ll get one later today when I visit my LBS (Bicycle Garage) to get a hitch rack and some needed supplies.

Wednesday May 23, 2007 

I hate to start this post with a whine but my big toe hurts and it’s affecting my cycling. 

Why my toe hurts – because I hurt it 10 days ago as part of an off-road crash in Rum Village near South Bend Indiana. I was turning a 90 degree plus blind turn and saw a relatively small log (first time on the course). I chose a path that like would have been successful except I saw a root with an acute angle about 6 inches beyond the log. At the last second, I made a dumb decision to turn away from the root before I crossed the log. Down I went. I jammed the fingertips on both hands and the big toe on my right foot. The toe had amazing colors last week. 

I was traveling last week, so my only ride was a commute on Monday. I walked a few times as exercise last week and my toe remained uncomfortable.

Yesterday, I did a short ride on my commuting bike and it hurt some. This morning, I tried my first ride in biking shoes on my road bike. It was uncomfortable at best and painful at times. I stayed out for awhile hoping to beat the pain into submission. It sorta worked. I’ll ice the toe today and try some ibuprofen before riding tomorrow to see if it helps. 

Why it matters – because my daughter is coming this weekend and she wants me to accompany her on a 4 hour ride. Since I have not been on the road bike 10 times this year, the distance alone would be a challenge. With a painful big toe, it will be a death march.  

However – it was pleasant to be out on the bike again. I haven’t been on the road bike since Little 5 weekend and I missed it.