Mountain biking Rancho San Vicente (Health Challenge)
Hello all, this is my Steemit Weekly Health Challenge entry that is hosted by @healthsquared. This weeks fitness challenge is bike or a run, so it is one challenge that suits the cyclists on Steemit.
The shot below is Calero reservoir in South San Jose, California. (All photos taken are from a Samsung Galaxy S8)
Most of my riding is within the Bay Area, California which is in the Northern part of the state.
Rancho San Vicente is in the South portion of the Bay Area shown below.
My ride was 24 miles and 1400 feet of climbing over 2 hours and 29 minutes.
I used a Garmin Vivoactive HR to track my route via GPS which is the red line on the map below.
Under the map is a profile of the ride, you can see the climbing sections very easily.
Under that, the blue line is your speed.
Estimated power
Heart rate is in Pink. I collect the Heart rate data from a Wahoo fitness chest strap.
On the way to the trail is the country side out in South San Jose. I passed a backyard with a few friendly horses.
At the start of the trail, I went through a cattle gate because the ranchers do not want their cows wandering around on the street.
The trail is about 4-5 feet wide and curves it's way around the mountainside. This park opened earlier this year and is a great addition to San Jose.
A landscape shot of the surrounding foothills and mountains.
One of the bridges you cross on your journey
I came around a corner and there was a group of wild turkeys and they scattered up the hill. They are not very social when cyclists come around...
Another shot of Calero reservoir. Today was just over 80*f and the shade in the late afternoon felt good.
Cycling is a sport that everyone can do and at any age. Once you have a bike, there is very little maintenance and cost. Just pump air into the tires and lube up the chain and your ready to go. An easy flat ride down to the park is a great way to burn a few calories, get some fresh air and strengthen those legs and lungs.
If you haven't seen the healthsquared page, check it out if you are into fitness as they have a new challenge every week.
This is probably the biggest advantage of cycling over other sports. A zero impact sport means you can do it irrespective of age, fitness level and weight.
The other big advantage is zero injury. Except if you fall off the bike! Unlike most sports, you won't be laid up waiting for an aching heel, elbow, shoulder etc to heal.
You should win this challenge considering your fitness level and age. Unfortunately I am traveling this week and will be unable to participate in this cool challenge.
@ultrabiker maybe something for you?
@glennolua, great post again! I agree, cycling is something you can do until you are very old... I just read this book: https://steemit.com/cycling/@ultrabiker/book-review-fast-after-50-how-to-race-strong-for-the-rest-of-your-life - interesting learning point is that as long as you keep on doing high intensity interval training, you can keep your fitness levels up for a really long time. Don't only do long and slow rides when you get older.
@twowheeledmonkey Yes for sure! Only issue is I'm also travelling, in Singapore now, on my way to Papua New Guinea.... Just did a bit on a treadmill, but am sure that is not going to win me the challenge. Also brought a skipping rope in case no running is possible.
I've heard of that book on the mtb forums. I think Ned Overend shows that you can still be fast over 50, but he may be an anomaly.
I used to do HIIT with hill repeats on the bike and running, even bleachers but I start to get knee pain on my left side, so I limit the intervals just so I 'save' my knee for the years to come.
Looking forward to your entry into the Health Challenge. The channel appears to be a great asset for those 'healthy' steemians.
Yeah, a lot of sports have specific injuries, some are pretty bad like in NFL football. Many of the contact sports have ACL and all sorts of joint injuries.
Even golf has injuries as the repetition is hard on the joints and back.
If people are cycling on a flat road and have a cadence of over 60, I'd say that is very safe. Just don't crash if your a senior citizen...lol (I'll be there) If a cyclist does hills, I'd say the knees will eventually take most of the stress and have a higher probability of injury.
Knees get effected even at a higher cadence? I thought hills can be done by spinning, without hurting oneself
When the hills get steeper, most cyclists will 'stand' on the pedals and the force on the knees is greater. This over years/decades will eventually wear down the knee.