The good news is that I actually bike faster than I thought.
Audrey bought me a bike computer, and, assuming I calibrated it correctly (true, a bit of a big assumption--I'm not a mechanical genius) then there is that bit of good news.
I had been estimating my time based on distance traveled over a period of time, and the answer kept coming up around or under 10 mph. But the computer showed that much of time I'm actually biking much faster than that--my cruising on the flat speed is more likely to be 13 or 14 mph. It's just that I slow way up (sometimes to 5 mph) on hills, and, of course, when I stop, my speed is a goose egg.
Still, I averaged over 11 mph on a bike ride of a bit more than than 2 hours, and that 25 mile ride, plus some miles to and from the gym this morning, make it a legit 30 mile day.
The bad news? An 11 mph average still means old ladies were passing me on the trail. Oh well, as the RAGBRAI guide says, it's a tour, not a race.
By the way, one factor in today's ride is that I inflated my tires more. Don't know if that made a real difference, but it felt like I was biking faster.
Anyway, picture shows the computer (and my new backpack water bottle in my front basket with my helmet) during my mid-ride stop at Tait Cummins Park. A lot of people were out on the trails today, which is nice. I had to mow earlier, or I would have taken an even longer ride.
Still, 30 miles is OK, and I topped my weekly goal by 55 miles. Still in the hole, but I've ridden more than 900 miles total since mid April, and the RAGBRAI participant guide emphasizes "ride at least 900 miles." Well, I'm not at 1,500, which is the goal, but I'm over 900!
Thanks, Audrey, for the cool computer.
No comments:
Post a Comment