Rev Rider

This Ride: 24.9 mi
Kona Miles: 1307.4 mi
Month to date: 584.8 mi  <– Personal Monthly Distance Record
2010 Total: 1773.9 mi

When I started riding with the Severna Park Peloton, the Friday breakfast ride to Annapolis was called “Fixie Friday”, encouraging people to ride their “fixies” (that is bikes with one gear linked directly to the pedals … there is no coasting on a fixie).  Recently, the rides have been called by some “Friendly Fridays” (in contrast to some of the more demanding 5:45 am weekday rides). Fixie took on a different meaning this morning … the peloton suffered 3 flats, all on “fixies”.

Clint flatted (rear) near Riggs, another rider flatted on Old Country Road (rear), and Clint discovered his front tire flat before launching off on the return.  That put us home about 30 minutes later than usual after breakfast.

Heavy thunderstorms ran through in the middle of the night, drenching everything.  Quite a bit had dried up before the ride … enough that even without fenders it wasn’t too bad.  I think we had 8 in the group at one point, people being added and leaving at various places along the way.  Six rolled into Annapolis.  There was more traffic than usual because today is the the Naval Academy Graduation.  I hope the weather holds.

Most of us ate at Hard Bean, in Annapolis, sitting outside talking with Sebastian and watching Clint recruit participants in the upcoming Ironman competition.  He is a great ambassador for the group.

All in all, a nice morning.

This Ride: 29.1 mi
Kona Miles: 1282.5 mi
Month to date: 559.8 mi  <– Personal Monthly Distance Record
2010 Total: 1748.9 mi

Today marks my 32nd wedding anniversary and the 20th anniversary of my Ordination.  I’ve started vacation today because of these two dates, and rode this morning after my spouse went off to work.

It was a warm morning, 75 degrees when I took off at about 8:15.  I really didn’t have much of a goal in mind when I left, allowing the whims of the day to lead me.  I first encountered heavy traffic, suggesting I take a quick right turn and do my B&A loop to the trail.  On the trail I turned south, and soon decided to go through Round Bay for the hills.  That meant that if I wanted to do the hills on St. Margaret’s, I needed to come up from the Naval Academy Bridge.  On the flats paralleling Hwy 50 I tried to maintain a fast pace.  It wasn’t record setting, but it was a good consistent pace (not counting the one missed turn).  Sweat pouring down my face, I simply motored home, contemplating adding another loop to put me at around 32 miles, but the lure cooling down won out and I settled for 29 miles.

I’ve got a couple of maintenance issues to attend to.  My rear brake cables have stretched and I need to adjust them.  My front shifter is not working at all.  This is a replacement shifter and I’ve probably used it a dozen times.  I may take it in to the shop next week during the whole week (plus) that I’ll be unable to ride.  That will kill June’s mileage.

Tomorrow, breakfast ride with SPP!  Looking forward to it.

This Ride: 14.6 mi
Kona Miles: 1253.4 mi
Month to date: 530.8 mi  <– Personal Monthly Distance Record
2010 Total: 1687.4 mi

Aching to ride, but not wanting to push it due to relatively high temperatures and wanting to ride out most of the rest of the week/month, I decided to try an experiment to test my fitness level.  As it turned out, it was also an exercise in patience.

The goal was to keep my heart rate at 120 or below, but not to move so slowly that kids on 12 inch wheels were passing me.  I do have some pride.  They call these recovery rides.

It went well.  I moved fast enough to keep a cooling breeze blowing over my face, and the heart rate peaked above 120 a few times, but I caught it early and adjusted.  Part of that adjustment was to increase my cadence, and surprisingly that worked well.  I’d reach a cadence of between 88 and 92 and my heart rate would begin to decline.  If my cadence dropped to 82 – 85, I noticed that often my heart rate began to increase.

The fitness level test?  In January, shortly after purchasing the Kona, I went out for an 8.4 mile ride with an average speed of 15.3 mph and a temperature of 60 degrees.  My average heart rate was 152 for that ride.  Today’s ride was 14.6 miles, average speed of 15.4 mph and a temperature of 82 degrees.  My average heart rate was 113.

One month ago on a similar recovery ride with a goal of MHR of 130, I covered 7.9 miles at 14.8 mph average with an average heart rate of 127.  Again, today’s ride was 14.6 miles, average speed of 15.4 mph with an average heart rate of 113.

Those are obvious positive results.

This Ride: 41.4 mi
Kona Miles: 1238.8 mi
Month to date: 516.2 mi  <– This is a first!  First month over 500 miles.
2010 Total: 1672.8 mi

I was looking forward to riding with the Tuesday evening ride.  The weather was on the warm side, but bright skies with no real threat of any rain.  It was the perfect day.  I got to the Rusty Bridge a little early, so I went up the trail to the wash out.  They put a gate up!  I guess we are not going to see a fix any time soon.  Back to the bridge, and with each approaching cyclist, I look to see if I recognized the rider.  At about 5:05 the peloton was ready to go … that is, I started out solo, and was solo the entire ride.  Hey SPP folks, you missed a great evening to ride!

I had planned to take whatever route the experienced people in the group suggested, but since I was it, I decided on the Sandy Point – St. Margaret’s Route.  I was a little frustrated getting on to College Parkway.  The sensor in the road didn’t recognize that a bike was waiting and the car behind me was giving too much room to trip the sensor.  I finally blew through a red light and invoked the ire of the first of many drivers tonight.  They were not very accommodating.  At least there were no outright hostilities.

Paralleling Hwy 50 toward Sandy Point, I was able to average 19.4 mph for a 5 mile stretch.  That felt pretty good.  I went into the park, and stopped for just a few minutes to take in the view.  On to St. Margaret’s and at the end, instead of closing the loop and returning via Hwy 2 to the south end of the trail, I decided to head back the way I came.  On St. Margaret’s I thought I made a wrong turn because suddenly I saw a church and a graveyard I’d never seen before.  I was now on a downhill leg, and every other time had been struggling up the hill.  I had to laugh.  Back to the park, and tried my first Hammer Gel.  I think I like the fig newtons better, but this did go down easy.  Apple/Cinnamon.

My rear derailleur cable was stretching some, and I had trouble adjusting it.  I’ll work on it tomorrow.  The remainder of the ride was uneventful, although I was very conscious of the fact that  the sun was low in the sky and in the eyes of the drivers behind me.  I made sure I was both visible and careful.

All in all, a nice ride, a nice steady pace, and again, members of the SPP missed a great time.

This Ride: 16 mi
Kona Miles: 1197.5 mi
Month to date: 474.8 mi
2010 Total: 1631.4 mi

I had to get out to ride.  I don’t know why other than I was longing for another ride today.  So I jumped on, circled around to B&A Blvd, then to the south end of the trail and back.  My intent was to ride easy.  After a few miles, I dropped that idea and simply rode.  It was very humid and soon I was sweating hard.  I averaged 17.3 mph for the ride.  I’m glad I went. This was a solo ride.

And yes, I de-greased and lubed the chain before riding.  I’m still amazed at how much quieter the chain is when it is lubricated, not that it was noisy.  I had about 250 miles on the last lube job, I think I’ll start shooting for 200 miles between each of these maintenance tasks.

This Ride: 18.7 mi
Kona Miles: 1181.5 mi
Month to date: 458.9 mi
2010 Total: 1615.5 mi

The SPP “Mosey Monday” rides are described as a “recovery ride” so I decided to add it this week as a way to move into the 5:45 rides gradually.  Mosey isn’t how I’d describe it.

There were two of us at the Rusty Bridge at 5:45.  There were dry spots on the trail, but most of it was damp.  By the end of the ride, it was misting.  I let Dave set the pace (but I’m sure I held him back).  Soon, he was chatting away and I was gasping between 3 word phrases.  He was riding an old steel frame he had set up while his main bike was being repaired, and it was good to hear his stories and description of some of the components.  I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know my critical components yet.  Time to get that down.

I’ve only ridden the first half of the 5:45 route, so the return trip was new to me.  Clearly the plan is to integrate as many hills in the 20 mile route as possible while staying close to the trail.  I’d describe the return route as “rolling” hills though, nothing terribly demanding.  I’m noticing that the gears are not synced right in the highest 2 gears, so I’ll need to check that when I degrease and lube the chain later today.

Dave gave me a few lessons along the way … and I appreciate that.  I put one into instant practice.  I wore the riding gear into the shower and rinsed it off.  There was plenty of road grime from a fenderless ride in pretty damp conditions.  Most noticeable were the mulberry stains on my legs.

He also suggests I increase my cadence.  I don’t know if my 18.8 mph 5 mile segment was related to that advice or not, but the advice came about the start of that segment.  I felt like the novice I am today.  If I keep riding these early morning rides, I’ll certainly be challenged.

It was a nice way to start the week.

Members of the Severna Park Peloton were on the front page of The Capital this morning.

Identifiable left to right are Clif, Earl, Brian, and Clint.

It looks like I need cool shades!

The photo was taken just as we were getting ready to leave. The photographer asked, “Are you guys a team? You are all wearing matching clothes.”

This Ride:  30.5 mi
Kona Miles:  1162.8 mi
Month to date: 440.1 mi
2010 Total:  1596.7 mi

Today was the Bike to Work Day Rally in Annapolis.  Free food, t-shirt, bag, and other goodies.  Sign-ups for cycling advocacy.  Bike Doctor was there doing safety checks and tune ups.  Whole Foods had great bagels, fruit, and spreads.  Hard Bean had coffee.

Thirteen of us started at the Rusty Bridge and took a longer than usual route into Annapolis.  The peloton stretched out a bit more than usual, taking a route unfamiliar to many of us, eventually heading to St. Margarets Road, then crossing the Naval Academy Bridge into Annapolis. This was the third Friday in a row when we’ve seen deer, this time a pair and a yearling.

I estimate about 100 cyclists milling around between 7-7:45 am while most of us were there.  Festivities were scheduled to start at 8, with a group ride around the Capitol at 8:30.  Many had to get back to work before that.

The return was relatively uneventful.  I was in front for part of the ride back on the trail, and was struggling again.  Once I ducked back and hung on to Fran’s wheel, I noticed my heart rate dropping and speed coming up.  Drafting sure makes a difference.

Early in the ride the conversation was on Landis’ allegations, the Tour of California, Lance’s crash, and the crash caused by tacks in the road during a race in Leonardstown.

Milestones reached:  This ride put me over 100 hours in the saddle (bike & trainer combined) for the year.  It put me to my longest distance within a month (440 miles) with 10 days remaining.  It also accomplished my longest 3 day stretch (105 miles).

I snapped a photo or two at the rally, or so I thought.  None turned out.

We missed a few regular riders.  It was a gorgeous morning for a ride.

These Rides:  41.4 mi
Kona Miles:  1132.3 mi
Month to date: 409.6 mi
2010 Total:  1566.2 mi

I rode the long way into work this morning, and back home at noon.  Uneventful ride.  7.25 miles

I then decided to try my weekly longer ride this afternoon.  That ride tore me up and spit me out.  I first went to Sandy Point State Park, and it was a pleasant enough ride.  By the time I got to St. Margarets, I was feeling quite weary and was having a little trouble with a stretched cable for my front derailleur.  After 2-3 quick stops, I got that working fine, and proceeded into Annapolis.  Traffic slowed me down considerably.  Back across the bride to the trail and I had nothing left.  My last 14 miles were terribly slow.  I was embarrassed to be seen.

I hydrated.  I ate.  I did everything I know to do.  I’ll try some rest next.

I just hope I’ll have enough to keep up with the little extra longer ride into Annapolis tomorrow morning with the Severna Park Peloton for Bike to Work Day in Annapolis.

These Rides:  33.0 mi
Kona Miles:  1090.9 mi
Month to date: 368.2 mi
2010 Total:  1524.8 mi

Three different rides today (or 5, depending on how you count them).

The first ride was the commute to and from work this morning.  I took a different route than usual, adding a couple of miles to the short commute that I have.  It was a pretty morning, and dry!  Note: If any teenager ever describes me as “perky”, they are part of the gym class I meet on the B&A trail on my way into work.  I intentionally smile and nod a greeting to these bleary-eyed reluctant walkers.

The second ride was a 20 mile mid-day ride to get some miles in.  It was here I noticed the lingering effects of the blood donation last Saturday.  The route was the trail to the top of the Naval Academy bridge and return.  It was quite an effort.  I stopped once to photograph a turtle that was making its way across the trail.  (Actually, I needed the breather.) [After uploading the Garmin info, I was surprised to note that I averaged 17 mph.]

The final ride was the shorter commute to work for the afternoon and evening obligations I had.

I’m posting the Garmin Connect Log for the main ride only.