Square Wheels Posted May 18, 2014 Share #1 Posted May 18, 2014 First the whining. Seemed like a nice cool morning, was looking forward to the ride. I stopped at every stinkin red light out there, and where I am that's lots. There's even one by a high school that was red, both times past it. It's freaking Sunday, the school is closed! Along the river there were boat races and a cancer walk so it was a pain (slow) getting through there. Just after I cleared the boats there was a nice clean section of fairly new road long the river - no lights. No sidewalks so I knew there would be no people. You guessed it, I got a flat. I was hoping this would be one of my fastest rides. I took yesterday off, was feeling really good. It was really hard to keep a positive attitude. Anyhow 24 @ 17.8 (moving speed) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted May 18, 2014 Share #2 Posted May 18, 2014 I stopped at every stinkin red light out there, and where I am that's lots. There's even one by a high school that was red, both times past it. It's freaking Sunday, the school is closed! Coincidentally, my usual ride takes me past a high school where there is stoplight that is pure evil. On my ride, which is a bit convoluted, I pass through this light 4 times, once from each direction. Sounds strange, but not really if you saw it on a map. Anyway, this light has it out for me, I swear. Some days, most days maybe, I catch the red all four times through that intersection! How can this be unless the light is evil or there is some alien craft hovering over the planet just playing with me like in that old Twilight Zone episode? Those are the only explanations I can think of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted May 18, 2014 Share #3 Posted May 18, 2014 I was hoping this would be one of my fastest rides. I took yesterday off, was feeling really good. It was really hard to keep a positive attitude. I would like to speak a word of caution here. About six years ago, I crashed my bike and tore up my shoulder real bad just because I was trying to set a personal best average speed. That was really the only reason that my crash happened. If I hadn't been trying to take a turn way too fast, I would never have crashed. I guess what I am saying is, don't obsess over speed too much. ALWAYS put safety first. Maybe you don't ride like that, but I have many times pushed safety aside to some degree in order to make a light or get through an intersection as fast as possible. It is easy to get caught up in the speed thing, especially when you are relatively new to riding. Speed is fun and it works as a good motivator, but it isn't worth a possible trip to the hospital or even worse. Some days, you catch all the lights, traffic screws with you, the winds are kicking your ass... When that starts happening, I just ignore the computer and have a "fun ride" day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopped Liver Posted May 18, 2014 Share #4 Posted May 18, 2014 Pouring down rain here...so I did 90 minutes on the torture chamber at Z1/Z2 except for 1 1 minute interval where I ran it up to about 400 watts, which is about 23 mph on the trainer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted May 18, 2014 Share #5 Posted May 18, 2014 Rest Day ride. 11.9 miles and 1115 ft of climbing 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted May 18, 2014 Share #6 Posted May 18, 2014 54 miles at 15.7 mph avg. Great weather. I could have gone faster, but I'm recovering from a cold and still had a little congestion and sore throat. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/502153497 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former member Posted May 18, 2014 Share #7 Posted May 18, 2014 18.34 miles in 1:06. A short ride, but I'll do another on the way home from a friends BBQ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petitepedal ★ Posted May 18, 2014 Share #8 Posted May 18, 2014 Well...Dang it I forgot about the AIDS Walk....but I still managed to ride on Summit Ave in St. Paul...13 miles in 1 hour city riding and a couple of detours due to the Walk....Felt much better than yesterday...I am still out of shape..but hey at least the ride felt good. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted May 18, 2014 Share #9 Posted May 18, 2014 27.3 miles @ 17.2 avg. A bit on the cool side, but a beautiful clear afternoon. Courteous Sunday drivers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az_cyclist Posted May 19, 2014 Share #10 Posted May 19, 2014 48.4 miles @ 17.4 ave. Was intending to be a recovery ride, but turned into another training ride. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted May 19, 2014 az, how many miles you got in so far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az_cyclist Posted May 19, 2014 Share #12 Posted May 19, 2014 az, how many miles you got in so far? According to Strava, ytd 2565.3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former member Posted May 19, 2014 Share #13 Posted May 19, 2014 According to Strava, ytd 2565.3I'm catching back up(2206 YTD). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smudge ★ Posted May 19, 2014 Share #14 Posted May 19, 2014 I did 33 miles at 14.2 avg. Honestly, I was surprised to see it was that high! Seemed like just about every direction I went I was fighting wind. It was either in my face or at my side trying to knock me over. I started out really cold because of how the wind comes off Little Bay de Noc (Lake Michigan) to Gladstone, but then I got pretty warm as I moved away from being totally downwind. Took my thin jacket off, rode for a while as the clouds came in, rode through a little rain, decided it was time to put the jacket back on, hit a cold wall about 4 miles from home, started getting rained on again, stood at the stop light to cross the highway as the rain turned into a downpour, then fought my way home in the rain and wind. I was a drowned rat when I got home. A drowned, freezing rat with red legs. My knee-jerk reaction when I saw the 14.2 avg was a groan until I thought about it. Then I was amazed! Not one of my better rides, but at least I was on my bike! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted May 19, 2014 Share #15 Posted May 19, 2014 My knee-jerk reaction when I saw the 14.2 avg was a groan until I thought about it. Then I was amazed! Not one of my better rides, but at least I was on my bike! Way to go, Smudge! Personally, I would have wimped out and never even gone out in those conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted May 19, 2014 Share #16 Posted May 19, 2014 My average is pretty slow. I am riding over technical terrain, unlike most of you roadie freaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopped Liver Posted May 19, 2014 Share #17 Posted May 19, 2014 Unless you are racing, speed is unimporant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted May 19, 2014 Share #18 Posted May 19, 2014 Unless you are racing, speed is unimporant. To each his own. But even though I am relatively slow, I find that tracking my speed makes my rides more challenging and fun. At my age, I need anything I can come up with to help motivate me and keep me interested. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted May 19, 2014 Share #19 Posted May 19, 2014 We did a little over 18 miles, windy, chilly miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted May 19, 2014 Share #20 Posted May 19, 2014 Unless you are racing, speed is unimporant. Speed is always important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted May 19, 2014 Share #21 Posted May 19, 2014 48 miles, towing the BOB. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted May 19, 2014 Share #22 Posted May 19, 2014 48 miles, towing the BOB. I'd tell Bob that if he want to ride he's going to have to pedal himself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az_cyclist Posted May 19, 2014 Share #23 Posted May 19, 2014 good effort smudge! finishing a ride in difficult weather can be rewarding. Having said that, you hope the weather for the next ride is much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyBob Posted May 20, 2014 Share #24 Posted May 20, 2014 48 miles, towing the BOB. I'd tell Bob that if he want to ride he's going to have to pedal himself. Hey! I do my own peddling... all be it a little slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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