10/31/2011 Why Louis Kim Shouldn’t Ride A Bike

A German inventor Baron Karl von Drais invented the bicycle in 1817, the original bicycle was made of wood, two metal wheels, and the rider pushed the vehicle along with his or her feet, using the handlebars to steer his/her way.

The first incarnation of the bicycle we know today which is mechanically propelled has been debated, it was either created by a man from Glasgow in the 1840’s or a Frenchy in the 1860’s, the Frenchy is credited with devising the first bicycle which used a crank drive with foot pedals attached to it, which the user pushed to move the vehicle forward.

What is not at debate is the fact that this device has been around for more than 200 years now, and has seen 1000’s of versions of itself, and seen millions of them on the road used in a safe manner, that is of course unless your name is Louis Kim.

I wrote about my trials of getting back onto a bicycle last week, after my initial wipe out, I road most of the week to Patriot Crossfit without much issue.  This morning I woke up a few minutes late, and left m building about 10 minutes later than I had the previous week. 

I felt a bit groggy, and unsure about my energy level, this weekend was uneventful but I didn’t get much sleep, all of this is just a justification for my near death this morning.  Riding down Washington Blvd, towards Patriot Crossfit, right in front of Yorktown High School I veered slightly off the sidewalk and ended up in that weird groove that exists in some yards, where the grass and sidewalk create a channel.  It was the perfect width for my tire to fit.  When it slipped into the groove I tried to pull it back up onto the sidewalk, when the channel got deeper and my tire was no longer rotating.

This caused me to lose my balance, as I lost my footing I started to lean over towards the street, the bike now pushing me towards the ground.  I looked straight ahead and saw a White Explorer coming right at me, I don’t know if it was fear or the desire not to end up on the news with the headline “Man gets hit by car after falling off his bike, what…what an asshole.” 

The white Ford screeched to a halt, and I closed my eyes as my face and handlebars were almost touching the side of the car.  It made me recall the words of the prophet Forest Gump “stupid is as stupid does”.

When I got to Crossfit, my adrenaline was pumping.  Almost killing yourself twice in the same month on a bicycle can do that to you.

Recap 10/31/2011

Squats today.  5 sets of 3 at a heavy weight, I warmed up with 135 lbs, then 185 lbs.  The 185 lbs felt heavy.  I normally don’t have much trouble with this weight, but I was having a hard time getting back up from the bottom.

I tried my first work set at 245 lbs, a weight I have managed in the past.  After the first rep I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, I had to dump on the second rep.  It turns out dumping the weight on a squat is a lot easier than I thought. 

I ended up doing all my work at 225 lbs, each set felt significantly harder than I remember this weight.  I have to stop being a lazy ass, and start to track my work.  Going off of gut feelings, and estimated weights is clearly a problem.

The Metcon today was a bitch.

The prescribed work:

• Kettle bell Swings with 70 lbs Kettle Bell
• Goblet Squat with 70 lbs Kettle Bell
• Box Jumps 24 “ Box

The above three movements done in order doing a descending number of reps 30, 20, 10, it sucked big time.  I did the two kettle bell movements with the 70 lbs bell, although I have to admit I did grab a 53 lbs bell as well, I kept near me as a safety net.  My box jumps were done with the 20” box.

After the first round of swings, and goblet squats, jumping 20” feels like leaping 100’ high.  Your legs have very little spring in them, I was able to maintain the 70 lbs bell for the entire Metcon, although I took more breaks than I wanted to, it made me question whether I should continue to try and push the weight, or take a step back, and push the speed. 

I’m sure I could have done this entire workout with the 53lbs bell without a break in the middle of the sets, but I would have finished sooner. 

The 70 lbs kettle bell is heavy, and in these longer metcons I think I should take a step back, in the last 10 reps I could feel my form deteriorating.   My final time was 12:12. 

Best way to start a Monday almost kill yourself on your bike, then do a workout that makes you want to cry on the bike ride home.