Before today, the last time I rode my bicycle was last Wednesday. I wasn't feeling great on Monday OR Wednesday, but I figured I could be miserable ON my bike or miserable OFF it. (There was a time I would have looked for any excuse NOT to ride my bike. Maybe I really AM a cyclist.)
Anyway, on to where I was really going with this post...
I rode the same exact route today that I rode last Wednesday. It's what I've started calling my "medium" route, about 15 miles long. The "long" route is 18 miles, and the "short" one is 12 miles. I've been riding the "medium" one without the extra little three-mile loop because the sun sets so much earlier now, and the shadows start creeping in before I can get home.
Last Wednesday I averaged 14.0 mph, which is my new standard. I try not to obsess about my average, but I have to admit I'm a little disappointed if it dips below 14.
Today when I left school, it felt like I was pedaling through mud. Or wet cement. I even looked down at my tires to see if they were so low on air that it was making it more difficult to pedal. It was uncharacteristically warm this afternoon, and I felt better than I have in days.
And I averaged 14.5 mph.
I'm not sure what to make of that.
Showing posts with label average speed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label average speed. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
So Close but So Far.....
Today Rozmo and I did a bike ride down in central Georgia that we've done a few times before. I don't get to do it every year because sometimes there is a conflict with the gymnastics schedule. This year Katydid couldn't go, so it was just Rozmo and me.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Perfect day for riding. It was a little chilly at the beginning, but it warmed up to somewhere around 71 degrees by the time it was over. I was able to wear only a short-sleeved jersey and knickers, no jacket or arm warmers, and I was fine. I got a little sunburned on my arms and face (Sweet Girl calls it my "raccoon look" where I get sun around my sunglasses).
At the first rest stop I had averaged 16.5 mph. GET OUT OF HERE! If you read my post from last Saturday, you may remember that I was thrilled with a 14.5 average. I knew the 16.5 wouldn't hold up over the whole ride, but I was hoping for 15 mph. I even used my 11:11 wish on it.
Toward the end of the ride, though, it got windy. It's nearly impossible to combat the wind on a bike. And it's always a headwind, no matter which way you turn. I was also quite tired, because I was riding HARD trying to maintain that average speed. And watching it drop like a rock. At about 6 miles from the end, I changed the display on the bike's GPS so I couldn't see the average anymore. It was making me crazy(er).
As you can see by the graphic below, I almost succeeded. I had a 14.9 average over the whole day, which isn't 15 mph or 16.5, but it's not too shabby for this (almost) 50-year-old.
My knees are sore, along with my sitting-down-place, and I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight. Particularly with the help of some pain PM tablets.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Perfect day for riding. It was a little chilly at the beginning, but it warmed up to somewhere around 71 degrees by the time it was over. I was able to wear only a short-sleeved jersey and knickers, no jacket or arm warmers, and I was fine. I got a little sunburned on my arms and face (Sweet Girl calls it my "raccoon look" where I get sun around my sunglasses).
At the first rest stop I had averaged 16.5 mph. GET OUT OF HERE! If you read my post from last Saturday, you may remember that I was thrilled with a 14.5 average. I knew the 16.5 wouldn't hold up over the whole ride, but I was hoping for 15 mph. I even used my 11:11 wish on it.
Toward the end of the ride, though, it got windy. It's nearly impossible to combat the wind on a bike. And it's always a headwind, no matter which way you turn. I was also quite tired, because I was riding HARD trying to maintain that average speed. And watching it drop like a rock. At about 6 miles from the end, I changed the display on the bike's GPS so I couldn't see the average anymore. It was making me crazy(er).
As you can see by the graphic below, I almost succeeded. I had a 14.9 average over the whole day, which isn't 15 mph or 16.5, but it's not too shabby for this (almost) 50-year-old.
My knees are sore, along with my sitting-down-place, and I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight. Particularly with the help of some pain PM tablets.
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