Rest Day #1 - All Systems Go

Rest days are of course for, well, rest. But that doesn't mean laying around the house all day. It means recharging the energy stores by eating the right foods in the right amounts and drinking on an almost continuous basis. It also means going for an easy spin on the bike. Active rest sounds like an oxymoron but read on. An easy ride makes for better 'rest' than sitting on the couch. The light spinning can remove acid and other wastes from your muscles, keeps your joints limber and helps keep the muscles supple. It can prevent stiffness and soreness. Read more about active rest HERE. Aren't all of those pretty good reasons to go for a ride with a good friend?

Russ has been battling a severe case of saddle sore. Severe means that he's had a surgical procedure to remove a cyst that was festering in his naughty regions. It began as a BB sized pain in the butt (literally) but then exploded into a golf ball sized, "Holy crap! Am I going to die?" appendage. A careful incision to remove the cyst and some sutures to close it back up by his physician was to get him back on his bike in no time. After a week of feeling better the area again began to swell and become sore. An apparent infection kept Russ off the bike longer than he had anticipated and by the time we met up at the coffee shop for an easy spin Russ had been off his bike for almost three weeks.

My sore legs and his sore...well, let's just say that the conversation centered on how to best maintain a human body. If you can talk comfortably while riding it means you're taking it easy and not over-stressing any of the systems. And talk we did. The Tour, the weather, families. Everything except religion and politics. Conversational pace. Now that makes for a good ride.

Russ powering up Gates Pass this past March

As we sipped our post-ride chai we were confident that the ride would benefit each of us physically and mentally. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Russ' condition continues to improve and that he can spend more and more time on his bike - where he belongs.


Many of you provided advice on how to get my gastrointestinal system up and running. Thanks for all of the input and I can happily tell you that it's, "All systems go!". The witches brew of muesli, bran and caffeine worked great. Now if I could just get a good night's sleep.

Today's Mileage Goal: 0. Miles ridden: 21.