tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 19.67mi, time: 01:15:09, speed: 15.71mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/373427865
Extended the commute home today.
Did consider this route before the big holiday but either rushed good and grabbed the race bike, of rode further west. Its a good route though. I was surprised by how quiet some of those roads were not long after rush-hour.
CK:Distance: 32.73mi, time: 02:01:37, pace: 3:43min/mi, speed: 16.15mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/36823944
I hoped to get weight down this summer so I can enjoy cycling more. 200lbs seemed a good number to aim for.
Well, here I am, 198lbs. It won’t last though. Normally, I gain half a stone in the winter. That itself is not such a problem, it’s good to have some resources in case you get ill.
As an aside–
This is the tree stump where I have cooked supper in Glen Coe over the last three years. Nostalgic moment.
Today’s ride: CR-Distance: 55.32mi, time: 03:31:23, pace: 3:49min/mi, speed: 15.70mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/366243771
last week of the holiday and a mountain of marking looms. England’s weather did a grand job of welcoming us back from the med. Temperatures reached 24C, even higher out of the shade.
As always, I ride better the further I go. The first ten miles were stiff and un-natural in feel. But after twenty miles, and numerous short bursts out of the saddle, the good feeling came back.
A problem next week will be sitting at work when I am used to long periods of exercise. I can sympathise with the restless kids though.
Saturday ride- MapMyRide! Distance: 67.47mi, time: 04:21:03, speed: 15.51mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/345366821
The last few days I have had the fizzy legs syndrome. At last it’s good after this ride.
The ride was long enough to test the phone’s battery booster. Tracking with my little smart phone really drains the battery, some days down to 25%, or less. Today, I got home with 96% charge. A result that bodes well for highland hiking this coming week.
22C, heavy showers,
CR- Distance: 35.98mi, time: 02:11:23, speed: 16.43mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/340593693
Hill walking builds up different muscles, most noticeably quads. You can feel the extra push forward over the top of the pedal stroke. Sprinting and hill climbing show the effect the most, or is it because I an lighter now?
Rode back home down a single-track lane with a couple of pedestrians blocking the lane. I called out “excuse me”.
Then I got told off! ” you need to say left or right” she said. “No, you need to stop walking down the middle of the road!”.
Really though, they need to walk on the right so they are facing traffic.
21°C, thunderstorms,
Woke early to the sound of thunder, later came the downpour to beat all.
Arrow ride tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 42.79mi, time: 02:42:39, pace: 3:48min/mi, speed: 15.78mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/335549677
I went out on the Arrow after the rain fearing that more was to come. None did, but the bike handles well enough for a summer ride.
19°C, grey, some drizzle, e wind.
Long Ride! Distance: 101.72mi, time: 06:36:19, pace: 3:54min/mi, speed: 15.40mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/333764455
Finally done a 100 mile bicycle ride. I took a steady pace right from the start and had two cafe stops. There was some rain, some light wind from the east but it brightened up later.
The best thing is that I was comfortable right to the end and felt alert too. I could have kept going, maybe another 20 – 30miles with a snack stop. Perhaps the moderate weather meant that there was no dehydration to cope with
The bike was faultless, and comfortable too. All that maintenance work in the spring was to avail.
And a hill profile-
That profile looks like the Alps, but the app stretches the vertical scale. Staffordshire does not look anything like that.
27°C, more perfect weather. CA+CR 55miles.
On a fine evening like this, what better way to use it than ride for hours, basking in the amber light. This 35miles, plus the usual 20 mile commute makes an impressive total for a work day.
Wouldn’t it be fine to get a metric century this coming Sunday?
I blogged about these structures last year, they were a puzzle at the time. These solar panels follow the sun, here reaching over their right shoulder for the setting sun. This time of year, that’s almost in the north. Quite a stretch.
27°C, clear but muggy.
I’d enjoy cycling more if I were to loose some weight. Currently 14st 9lbs but I feel a bit squidgy round the waist. If I take off 5lbs that makes a round 200lbs, a good figure to aim for.
With that I could hill-climb with confidence, perhaps ride with a club more often.
Rosie cooling off on the slabs.
22°C, clearing. Perfect.
MapMyRide! Distance: 39.40mi, time: 02:21:42, pace: 3:36min/mi, speed: 16.6mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/327169155
Yesterday- broke my best time up Bannister Hill, today, broke it again. The strategy today was to keep up the pace after pud summit to High Moor which is the end of the Mapmyride climb. All this was done on the 42×16 Fixed Gear.
A fixed would make an excellent hill-climb bike for those end-of-season hill races. That is when you have carefully chosen the gear for if specific climb. This ride needs a gear that is not too low to take advantage of some false flats where you can build up speed.
Overall, the conditions were perfect and my fitness- much improved.
I have only just found how to take a screen-capture from this phone; so here, at last is a hill profile.
Micycle 