Mad Rantz

Ok, I’m going to talk about something other than game dev for a change of pace. It’s springtime, and there are lawn chores to do and now some biking for me to do.

I have a Fuji Silhouette that in some ways is similar to a cyclocross bike, but a little more for use on the road I think. I did opt for cyclocross style tires, however, as they have a width similar to a road bike, but nubbies on them like a mountain bike. I chose that because a lot of the riding I plan on doing is on the Katy Trail, which is made up primarily of small white gravel.

Quoting the Katy Trail website,

Katy Trail State Park is built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad (better known as the Katy)…a long-distance hiking and bicycling trail that runs almost 200 miles across the state.

The trail is fairly level in most spots, which is great for me because quite frankly I am not prepared for hardcore mountain biking anytime soon. The portions of it that I’ve ridden on to-date are pretty picturesque with old bridges crossing streams, nearby crop fields, and it closely following the Missouri river near my home. Just a great trail to ride.

I’m hoping to use biking to build up my heart and lungs at the very least, and in general just make myself more active. I have spent too many hours sitting in front of a damned computer these last 10 years and it shows. Of course, as with any new excercise routine that you start, there are some learning pains. In my case, it concerns my ass.

Remember when you were a kid, and you had this big old seat to sit on when riding a bike? Well, my bike doesn’t have a big old seat. It has an all-up-in-yer-ass seat. Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely some cushion on the seat. However, unless your ass is about the size of my hand you are going to feel some serious pain after riding it for a few miles straight through.

I made a trip to my local bike shop and picked up some bike shorts with my most favorite two words for the week: Ass Pads. Ah, the sweet comfort of cushy ass pads. And, no, I didn’t pick up those tight-fitting type of shorts, though if I did I’d be dead sexy. No, I picked up some Trico baggy shorts. I’ll leave the skintight stuff for another time and a few pounds from now.