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You might have noticed I haven’t written about riding lately. There’s a reason for that.

Saturday I went out for a long ride, 3 hours. I split it up as two by 1.5 hour rides. I managed 40.66 miles in 3:14 moving and 3:33 total time. 12.5 isn’t a bad average at all (I did worse my first ride going only 8 miles). The ride was rough on me as I ran out of fuel at the end (likely hitting that mystical 2000 calorie mark) and ended up feeling the burn the last half hour or so.

Then came the fun. When I got home i noticed my pinky and ring finger on my right hand was tingly and numb. Not a good sign. It went away by morning and I didn’t think much more ’till Monday. Feeling good by then I went out for a quick 35 minute ride (8.25 miles). The finger problems came right back. I called the Doctor and scheduled an appointment where she referred me to a specialist to get an MRI and some X-rays done (which I had done today). The feeling has mostly persisted since then and gotten worse at times. What to do with this time not riding. I’ve been walking about 3.5 miles a day (and discovering my hams and calfs in the process).

In the mean time my bike needed a tune up. I had broken it in riding over 175 miles in two and a half weeks and it was time to get it tightened up. After going by the place I bought it a few times I had 0 confidence in them. Despite their promise to do a free tune up I decided to take it to Chainwheel Drive in Palm Harbor and have them do it. I’m glad I did. It took a while to get it back (three days) but man it rides smooth. They also did a quick look and noticed that it really wasn’t setup right for me at all and had me get on the bike to adjust the handle bars and seat height. It made a ton of difference in the few moments I had on the bike in the parking lot (I’ll write more when I take it for a longer ride). Everyone there was helpful, knowledgeable and very friendly. I highly recommend Chainwheel Drive if you’re in the Clearwater Florida area for your cycling needs.

The bike I have is a good bike for what it is, but it’s not a road bike. Once I get my endurance up a bit more I’d like to start going on group rides and that will require a road bike (to be able to keep up the pace). The sales guy (I believe his name is Doug… …I’m horrible with names) showed me some models and explained why he thinks they are right for me. I look forward to taking some for a spin in the future.

I’m taking off for a few days, I will see my doctor again after I get back and see what’s up with my neck, then I should be on the bike again.