Patrick, I walk all winter once/if the snow and ice arrive and it's too cold for riding for myself. That's mid 20's. I'm fortunate to have a wondrous variety of places to venture, either on the local rods or off. It's also totally hilly, not at all like where you are.
Once the leaves have fallen the woods become like a playground to me, there's always somewhere to go I have not been. You know what's nice too ? Walking I don't work up a sweat, I don't have to come home and clean up and wash underlayers, it's just so "normal"! I walk an hour or two, whatever I feel like. With all the hills and dales I go up and down by the time spring rolls around I can get back into the rhythm of riding pretty easily. I abhor "working out" also, I can do some push-ups for a few days in a row but get rather bored with it. The only thing I regularly have been doing is "bridges", where you get on your back, scoot your legs up and back, and raise/lower your butt. It feels wonderful to stretch, whatever they are. I do maybe 50-80 a day like that, and also do one legged ones, lifting up the other leg as high as I can go, holding each leg for 20-30 seconds. I also have a folding mat that's about 8 inches tall that I place under my feet to make it a little harder. I just do as many as I feel like, so I feel refreshed. Unbeknownst to me, this really seemed to help my trunk/hips/etc move more freely both in walking and in cycling, climbing in particular. So yeah, this is the only "exercise" I do most days, and I can continue it because as I said, it feels wonderful whatever is happening. Other than that, like "maintenance" of the bike, it's all "on demand" and "local" so to speak. If I feel like making big circles with my arms in the morning, I just do it. If I feel like lifting something heavy-ish, I do it. Last week I bought 7 40 pound bags of softener salt, that was fun in the store pulling a 280 pound grocery cart around ! It felt good, but it's not something I'm going to do regularly. Life is really fun when you let go of all the notions of pre-scribed activity and go with the inherent spontaneity of Life itself. That's what I love about walking too, I can go out at 4AM if I feel like it. Sometimes there's just "something in the air" so to speak that draws me out at a certain hour of the morning. I get up at 2AM or so anyways and sometimes the way the moon shines, or the wind blows, or the scent of the air ... it's an irresistible invitation. On Monday, November 16, 2020 at 3:11:29 PM UTC-5 Ian A wrote: > The first thing that comes to mind is the fit of the new bike. If this > issue doesn't manifest on your other bikes, a look at adjusting fit would > be valuable. > > In terms of overall strength and flexibility, I have found Ashtanga based > yoga very beneficial. Deacon Patrick's floor living seems to yield similar > and probably better results. Back pain could be caused by lower body lack > of flexiblilty like tight hamstrings even. Walking is superb for the back, > as long as posture is good and released. I drive for a living and often get > a tight upper back and neck which can be really painful. Walking or running > allows those muscles to release. But, I have found posture (form) > important. > > In terms of the servicemen carrying massive loads, many of those chaps > experience life-long back problems. I've hitchhiked around Australia and > Southern Africa and a number of people who picked me up were ex-military > (during their service days they would hitchhike home for leave apparently). > A number of those chaps commented on my light pack (~14kg) and told me of > the loads they carried and the damage their backs sustained. Bricklayers > are similarly cursed. Too much weight eventually leaves its mark. > > IanA Alberta Canada > > On Monday, November 16, 2020 at 10:56:12 AM UTC-7 Patrick Moore wrote: > >> I should be doing more of other sorts of exercise besides cycling anyway, >> but what brings this to mind is that my lower back -- center, just above >> hips -- has been moderately painful off and on for the last 7-10 days; I >> think that the cause or occasion was insufficient muscle tone while >> spending too much time all at once bent over working on the Monocog and >> other things; this exacerbated by bending over too forcefully a couple of >> times afterward to reach things on the ground (dog shit, if you must know). >> It's not more than mild, and for a long time I've been stiff down there >> after sitting (I do try to sit straight) or bending, and it has been worse >> in the past; generally my back is fine, thank God; but I'd like to nip it >> in the bud. >> >> Besides cycling, I do pushups, but that aside, I despise "exercise." I've >> heard, read, and felt when I do it that simple walking is a good all-over >> exercise and that, in particular, it strengthens your core -- of course, it >> will do this only moderately but moderately is all I want. >> >> Can anyone comment on walking for general health and, in particular, to >> keep your core in basic tone? I have noticed that, when I walk more, my >> trunk and legs feel less "tight." >> >> Once again, I am not likely to do stretching or any methodical program of >> exercise, so advice in regimens is likely wasted effort. (That's why God >> invented bikes, fer heaven's sake!! To make "exercise" -- and "saving the >> planet" -- fun.) >> >> If anyone has general useful information on lower back pain, I'll be >> grateful to hear it. >> >> Next question: Can anyone recommend an inexpensive large backpack for >> grocery runs? It should hold, and hold with reasonable comfort to the >> wearer, at least a full paper grocery sack's worth of groceries, including >> the weight of cans and bottles. Longest distance loaded will be 1 mile -- I >> have 1 grocery store 1/4 mile away, another 7/10 mile away, even though I >> live in a bosque enclave. >> >> I just walked to and from the further one -- Sprout's -- and carried home >> 36 lb of groceries, 29 lb in a very large Timbuktu courier bag; not the >> best method. Carrying 36 lb of groceries on a bike is a lot easier! But the >> wheels of my grocery bike are waiting at the bike shop for the rim tape >> needed to make the Naches Pass tires tubeless. >> >> Patrick "18.53 minutes per mile outbound empty, 23.04 minutes per mile >> return under load" Moore >> >> -- >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Patrick Moore >> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3633b1c1-9698-4bb8-8c98-147303df949dn%40googlegroups.com.
