I’m fond of saying Getting into cycling shape takes 3 Months; falling out of cycling shape takes 3 days. Yes, I was bundled against the mild cold & yes there was some wind & yes I chose 3 laps of hill-repeats — but I’m very out of shape.

Feels good to have begun tho.

Squats in the basement are fine to improve climbing but nothing prepares you for climbing better than climbing.

Looking forward to a fine season.

I rode 3,300 miles this year which, although more than last year, is way short of the 5,000 I planned for & even farther short of the 10,000 I had grown used to riding. Good Seasons need Good Starts and since today it rained I elected to start on Aurora.

I’m trying to find the right rhythm on the AirBike — not entirely Sprinting, not entirely Muscling, not entirely Pushing The Pedals. I clearly have much more to learn. Looking forward to it..

I spike straight up to 100% & stay there — entirely Cardio Training — which is not and cannot be my aim for every ride.

My iPad app has a non-publishing glitch. Trying from the website

Took advantage of a blown weather threat to join the heat – our first palpable humidity of 2020 – & exploit the lack of car traffic again. So naturally I got redirected twice on the bike-path by motorists ignoring the Right-Of-Way standards; I was continuing straight while they were engaged in turning, yet they cut me off completely. Irks me.

About 84° with more than Moderate humidity so the small park near the river called more than a few [an inverse Vocat Aestus In Umbram] out into the day.

I9

I’m willing to call the year done but want to develop some kind of pattern for next year. I’d like 3 different kinds of indoor riding on Aurora & figure 12 miles will be mid-range.

A good enough start

Folks at our Public Works department invariably pave roads & cover trenches with a hard eye on making cyclists’s lives more difficult. Today was the second time in 4 weeks that a road-razor flattened my rear tube. They fill the trenches in the center of the road (where the cars travel) completely but in the bike lanes they leave a valley & a sharp edge. Concentration is crucial but today I was eager to pass someone for a tiny bit of glory.

It was a good ride. My first in over 10 days. 60 isn’t the mew 40. 60 is 60 & things which formerly were less difficult are now very difficult. I’m ironing out the details of what will probably be the standard Tuesday Thursday Saturday (non Bank) route & so far I’m liking it. About 1300 feet of climbing with some flat places for some sprinting. I left in the mid 40 degrees & rode into the low 50s – my legs had 45 miles in them easily but I settled for 32.

I’m now expecting to have to dodge day-dreaming pedestrians.

I’m pretty sure they are setting up Me Sad Field for a Titans game tomorrow.

You can see just where my tube blew.

Ever since my first 100 mile ride I’ve wanted to ride a century on my birthday. Alas the weather always intruded so I contented myself with shorter rides. These past 3 years have been filled with deaths funerals & new obligations so my riding suffered. Today gave me perfect weather for a century but alas I had not the legs. Still I rode well, climbed well, & avoided numerous difficulties – dogs joggers birders Selfie-takers right there on the path gesticulators and the confused. A good birthday ride.

Light wind today & little traffic. For some reason most cyclists were headed in the opposite direction from me all day, tho I managed to pass 12 or so – 4 in a sprint on my final half-mile. Nearly 1300 feet of climbing along Rosebank & onto Eastland – a route I used to call the Spine.

I probably won’t get 5000 miles this year but high 4000 & 60 years old sits well enough. This year just training for a better next year.

They finished re-paving Frisbee Golf Hill, making the route much more enjoyable.

Hello to Official Winter

Winds in the high teens & gusts in the high twenties so I took out the heavy bike lest I get blown disastrously into traffic. Oddly enough it’s the same bike I was badly injured on & today I saw the passenger of the offending car walking her dog. I’m hoping she didn’t recognize me; quite an awkward meeting.

So windy today that there were barely 15 of us out there & almost no joggers at all. I didn’t go to the airport but with no tree-line for cover it must have been brutal there but nice for kite flying.

The legs felt good the whole ride including the dismount, but I’ve been avoiding the bikes for a week. I really must get California squared away; constantly distracting & depressing me.

1300 feet climbed sets a good 31 mile tone.

Slowly learning how to pedal correctly uphill.

Pretty aggressive wind today but since the golfers weren’t complaining I figured I could handle it too. The heavy bike is less prone to gust-displacement anyway. My pedaling has not vastly improved but I got to pass someone uphill even before he shifted to a lower gear against the wind. I always wonder what goes through their heads as they see my one gear pass them.

The repaving at the top has begun in earnest so I may have to find an alternate route for a few days.

I’m starting to think more in terms of Elevation Gain than Miles.

50s & 60s today. The cold tho is coming.