Overcast mornings with a pinch of dew on the ground, just enough to soak through sliver thin running shorts, withstand the test of time.
Small talk typically recounting the previous evening’s television schedule usually prompted more than a few laughs as our cross country team spread out on the grass to stretch.
I’m not sure why the cloudy days linger in my memory more than bright sunny ones, but then again cold rain and mud create the backdrop for high school cross country in Wisconsin and thus memories of the good ol’ days.
I didn’t last long in cross country, sidelined by painful knees the doctor said I’d grow out of — grow out of the pain, that is, not the knees.
So after college when I hung up my Veggies jersey leaving intramural football, basketball and softball behind, I tried to take up running again.
I still stretched a bit before, but without the gang retelling sitcom jokes, well, it just didn’t have the same appeal. Besides that doc was full of crap. My knees never got better for running.
That’s how I ended up on my bike. For the life of me, I can’t remember stretching before a bike ride and nary a moment or two after one. For decades.
Hey, I rode 150 miles or more a week. I was in great shape. Who needs stretching?
That’s a loaded question. The answer, of course, is me, right now, today and everyday.
I took up yoga years ago, yet never considered it stretching, really. Yoga sessions were far removed from bike time.
About 10 years ago I had a thought about my core. Hmm. Wonder what that’s like these days? Around 18 or so painful situps later I had my answer.
So I kicked into gear with situps. Added pushups, too. Thought everything was swell.
Then my back started getting tight in the morning. Then tighter and tighter. Then downright sore.
It has literally taken years for me to discover the perfect set of stretching exercises for me. In the past six months, I nailed down the final aspect and now, after months of implementation, my back is coming around.
This week’s question with a dose of advice: Do you stretch before a ride, and if you don’t then why the hell not?
*Read more on Kirsty’s 3 Essential Yoga Poses for Cyclists.
I have a similar story. Did yoga for years, then fell out of the habit. Now I stretch in front of the television in the evening, mostly aimed at unfudging my tight lower back. Injuries have not helped the situation very much. I probably just need to get back to yoga.
Yes, but I really only focus on my hamstrings. Being the key to keeping my lower back happy, I incorporate leg stretches into everyday life- tying my shoes, picking up a lucky penny(heads up), flipping one over(tails up) and at the trailhead while my buddy gets that extra 0.1psi into every air chamber that is found on a modern MTB.