Yesterday was the start of the National Bike challenge for 2016. It runs from May 1 through September 30 and the goal is to ride as much as you can, either recreationally or to commute, during that time period. You earn points which can earn you prizes from national and local sponsors of the event. I got my first ride for this year's challenge in yesterday morning. It wasn't very long but I enjoyed it and to be honest, it didn't wipe me out as I had feared it would with my lack of riding.
I chose to ride a bit challenging of a route as it was uphill all the way to the turn around. I spent most of the ride out in one of my lowest gears and just grinding away, but I made it and I enjoyed the downhill on the way back, if I was a bit timid. I did max out at 24.4 mph but with a stop sign at the bottom of the hill, I wanted to make sure the brakes were going to work well so I used them a few times on the way down. :)
My plan is to get in a ride every day that I can and to do that some days I will be riding before work and some days after. Today will be an after day as I will be helping my grandson get his tube fixed so he can accompany me on my ride this evening.
Showing posts with label Strava. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strava. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Starting is the hardest part
Finally got my butt back on the bike today and 3 things were immediately obvious to me:
1. Not riding a bike for 8 months greatly reduces one's capacity to participate in this activity.
2. There are no flat roads in my neighborhood.
3. Riding my bike is fun and I need to do more of it.
Now the first point was actually something I knew intellectually. It was the wheezing, lung burning, struggle to move that brought the true reality of this statement home. I survived the ride but it was more work than it should have been.
The second point I sort of knew from driving through the area, but when experienced from the seat of a bike it is much more readily apparent. Now Strava and Garmin say I only experienced 71 and 72 feet of elevation gain respectively over the ride, but it certainly felt like a whole lot more!
The last point is one I know and one I am reminded of every time I swing my leg over the bike and propel myself along. I've said it before and I will certainly say it again - I would rather bike 5 times a distance than walk any day.
One other thing I noted on the ride, as I was huffing and puffing my way uphill on Gowan, was that there are other cyclists in the area. I call them cyclists because they were decked out in matching jersey and riding not inexpensive bikes. 2 of the 3 riders, however were just. Not a 'hello' or 'on you left' as they rode by me. Sure I was on my hybrid, in jersey shorts and a t-shirt and I even went heltmetless, but I said hi to them between gasps as they passed.
Anyway this was my first ride of many to come and I enjoyed it.
1. Not riding a bike for 8 months greatly reduces one's capacity to participate in this activity.
2. There are no flat roads in my neighborhood.
3. Riding my bike is fun and I need to do more of it.
Now the first point was actually something I knew intellectually. It was the wheezing, lung burning, struggle to move that brought the true reality of this statement home. I survived the ride but it was more work than it should have been.
The second point I sort of knew from driving through the area, but when experienced from the seat of a bike it is much more readily apparent. Now Strava and Garmin say I only experienced 71 and 72 feet of elevation gain respectively over the ride, but it certainly felt like a whole lot more!
The last point is one I know and one I am reminded of every time I swing my leg over the bike and propel myself along. I've said it before and I will certainly say it again - I would rather bike 5 times a distance than walk any day.
One other thing I noted on the ride, as I was huffing and puffing my way uphill on Gowan, was that there are other cyclists in the area. I call them cyclists because they were decked out in matching jersey and riding not inexpensive bikes. 2 of the 3 riders, however were just. Not a 'hello' or 'on you left' as they rode by me. Sure I was on my hybrid, in jersey shorts and a t-shirt and I even went heltmetless, but I said hi to them between gasps as they passed.
Anyway this was my first ride of many to come and I enjoyed it.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
The wonders of technology
Technology is a wonderful thing. We have so many devices around us that work, essentially, flawlessly that we take them for granted. Case in point. I have a Garmin Forerunner 305 that I purchased when I was training for my first ever triathlon back in 2010. It is almost 5 years old at this point. Except for the one or two times I've screwed up hitting buttons incorrectly, it has performed essentially flawlessly for me.
It dutifully records my time, distance and actual track that I take when I do my rides. I can then, through the wonders of that same technology we take for granted, upload and share that information with the world through sites like Daily Mile, Map My Ride and Strava. I can also participate in a monumental group ride of sorts like the National Bike Challenge.
Now, like I said, this is something that we take for granted. I put my Garmin in the cradle, plug it into my computer and magically it uploads the data for me.
This morning it has let me down. I uploaded the data from my ride and while it does show the time and distance of my ride, that real wonder, the actual track of the ride is blank. No matter what I do it appears that the track file on the device has been corrupted and therefore is unusable for any of the applications that I link it with.
Now, I never believe that something isn't going to work the first time it doesn't. I've tried deleting and re-importing the data from the device but to no avail. I've tried loading it directly to various sites, including Garmin Connect, but again no luck.
This leaves me with what feels like an emptiness, a hole in my training. Up to this point I had this nice, what I felt was essentially complete record of my rides and now it feels like its ruined.
OK, its not that bad. When put in perspective it means nothing that I don't have the actual track I rode for a training ride around essentially the same course that I've ridden hundreds of time previously.
I do hope that this is but a singular glitch and will reset and clear out the Garmin in preparation for my next ride.
Get on your bike and ride!!!!
It dutifully records my time, distance and actual track that I take when I do my rides. I can then, through the wonders of that same technology we take for granted, upload and share that information with the world through sites like Daily Mile, Map My Ride and Strava. I can also participate in a monumental group ride of sorts like the National Bike Challenge.
Now, like I said, this is something that we take for granted. I put my Garmin in the cradle, plug it into my computer and magically it uploads the data for me.
This morning it has let me down. I uploaded the data from my ride and while it does show the time and distance of my ride, that real wonder, the actual track of the ride is blank. No matter what I do it appears that the track file on the device has been corrupted and therefore is unusable for any of the applications that I link it with.
Now, I never believe that something isn't going to work the first time it doesn't. I've tried deleting and re-importing the data from the device but to no avail. I've tried loading it directly to various sites, including Garmin Connect, but again no luck.
This leaves me with what feels like an emptiness, a hole in my training. Up to this point I had this nice, what I felt was essentially complete record of my rides and now it feels like its ruined.
OK, its not that bad. When put in perspective it means nothing that I don't have the actual track I rode for a training ride around essentially the same course that I've ridden hundreds of time previously.
I do hope that this is but a singular glitch and will reset and clear out the Garmin in preparation for my next ride.
Get on your bike and ride!!!!
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Tires make a difference
Got my new tires in the other day and finally have the rear changed and it made a very noticeable difference. Gone was the very pronounced wobble with every rotation of my rear wheel. The ride was nice and smooth. One other difference was an increase in rolling resistance. For most cyclists the increase would be minimal, but since I am well above average in the stress on the bike department due to my size, it was definitely noticeable to me.
My normal training route takes me around the same roughly one mile loop several times, so I've gotten to know the route quite well and the amount of effort it takes to ride it. I can usually predict within a few seconds what my lap times will be based upon how it feels that morning. this morning, with the new tire installed I felt significantly slower and my times bear this out.
A week ago, I completed 3 loops of my "one block" segment with times ranging from 4:16 to 4:23. My top speed was 20.6 mph. This morning, on the same segment, in very similar conditions, my times were 4:45 to 4:54 and a top speed of 19.7 mph. I felt the increased work I had to do and my times proved me out.
The increased resistance is likely due to the fact that the new tires have a max. pressure of 75 PSI as opposed to the max of 84 PSI on the old Michelin tire. 9 PSI may not sound like a lot, but it definitely gives a smoother, softer ride. The trade off it it takes more work to get the tire rolling.
Now, it may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. I'm just noticing that I won't be setting any KOM's any time soon. I need to work harder, to get faster and lose some of this weight before the KOM's once again fall. :)
Get on your bikes and ride!
My normal training route takes me around the same roughly one mile loop several times, so I've gotten to know the route quite well and the amount of effort it takes to ride it. I can usually predict within a few seconds what my lap times will be based upon how it feels that morning. this morning, with the new tire installed I felt significantly slower and my times bear this out.
A week ago, I completed 3 loops of my "one block" segment with times ranging from 4:16 to 4:23. My top speed was 20.6 mph. This morning, on the same segment, in very similar conditions, my times were 4:45 to 4:54 and a top speed of 19.7 mph. I felt the increased work I had to do and my times proved me out.
The increased resistance is likely due to the fact that the new tires have a max. pressure of 75 PSI as opposed to the max of 84 PSI on the old Michelin tire. 9 PSI may not sound like a lot, but it definitely gives a smoother, softer ride. The trade off it it takes more work to get the tire rolling.
Now, it may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. I'm just noticing that I won't be setting any KOM's any time soon. I need to work harder, to get faster and lose some of this weight before the KOM's once again fall. :)
Get on your bikes and ride!
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Sometimes I amaze myself
OK, I have been riding my bike every day for the past 118 days. Sure the majority of the rides have been short, in the 1 to 2 mile range. I figured I haven't been doing much to help my cycling fitness by doing such short rides. To test myself, yesterday I decided to go all out on my one mile training loop just to see what I could do. My previous best was completing it in 3:46. Last week I had done it in 4:02 and that seemed like the best I could muster.
Well, I was flying last night. Looking at my results after the fact I hit 25.6 mph according to my Garmin before I had to make one turn. Overall, according to Strava, I completed the 1 mile loop in 3:37. That's a full 9 seconds faster than my previous best. My average speed was an astonishing 17.2 mph. Here's the Strava report:
It seems that even the little bit I've been doing every day has been helping to build a little bit of cycling muscle in my legs. Of course I was cooked after that short distance with my lungs burning as I tried to suck in oxygen, but it was a good effort. I was very happy!
Now to work on quickly increasing my distances so I will be ready for the extended climb for the ride on the 27th. Sure the climbs are only about 6 miles long, but they are a constant climb over that distance.
Get on your bikes and ride!
Well, I was flying last night. Looking at my results after the fact I hit 25.6 mph according to my Garmin before I had to make one turn. Overall, according to Strava, I completed the 1 mile loop in 3:37. That's a full 9 seconds faster than my previous best. My average speed was an astonishing 17.2 mph. Here's the Strava report:
It seems that even the little bit I've been doing every day has been helping to build a little bit of cycling muscle in my legs. Of course I was cooked after that short distance with my lungs burning as I tried to suck in oxygen, but it was a good effort. I was very happy!
Now to work on quickly increasing my distances so I will be ready for the extended climb for the ride on the 27th. Sure the climbs are only about 6 miles long, but they are a constant climb over that distance.
Get on your bikes and ride!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Of Time Zones and Application Interfaces
From the title you might think this post has something to do with my day job where I am frequently testing applications in various scenarios to make sure they perform as intended. That is not the case, though. This has to do with how my data is being displayed for a ride I did Monday evening.
You see, there were some family matters to attend to and since I was running short on sleep I didn't get up and get my ride in before work on Monday. In fact I didn't get in in right after work, either. I eventually got my ride in at 10:34 pm on Monday. Now I didn't go far, being so late. Nor was I out long - the ride was only about 9 minutes. I did get my ride in for the day, though.
I uploaded the data to Daily Mile, Plus 3 and Strava with no issues. I also uploaded it to Map My Ride which interfaces with the National Bike Challenge to track my progress. Everything looked good until I went back into the site on Tuesday and it showed that while the ride was on 6/23, it posted to 6/24. Looking at the National Bike Challenge as well, it showed I had missed the ride on 6/23.
I went back into Map My Ride and attempted to make a change to show the ride on the 23rd. Unfortunately when I made the change it moved the ride to the 22nd. I changed it a second time and now it displays correctly in Map My Ride, but from what I understand is that once the data from a ride is uploaded and synced to the National Bike Challenge site, it cannot be changed "for the integrity of the contest."
So I am now left with an empty day where I did in fact ride. I wrote to the support people at the National Bike Challenge but I know they are going to tell me the fault lies with Map My Ride. I also wrote the support people at Map My Ride, but don't have high hopes of a resolution.
Is this a big deal in the overall scheme of things - no, not at all, its just that one day stands out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the other days in a row that I've ridden, which at this point stands at 40 days in a row with just under 100 miles in my personal challenge.
Get On Your Bikes and RIDE!!!!!!!
You see, there were some family matters to attend to and since I was running short on sleep I didn't get up and get my ride in before work on Monday. In fact I didn't get in in right after work, either. I eventually got my ride in at 10:34 pm on Monday. Now I didn't go far, being so late. Nor was I out long - the ride was only about 9 minutes. I did get my ride in for the day, though.
I uploaded the data to Daily Mile, Plus 3 and Strava with no issues. I also uploaded it to Map My Ride which interfaces with the National Bike Challenge to track my progress. Everything looked good until I went back into the site on Tuesday and it showed that while the ride was on 6/23, it posted to 6/24. Looking at the National Bike Challenge as well, it showed I had missed the ride on 6/23.
I went back into Map My Ride and attempted to make a change to show the ride on the 23rd. Unfortunately when I made the change it moved the ride to the 22nd. I changed it a second time and now it displays correctly in Map My Ride, but from what I understand is that once the data from a ride is uploaded and synced to the National Bike Challenge site, it cannot be changed "for the integrity of the contest."
So I am now left with an empty day where I did in fact ride. I wrote to the support people at the National Bike Challenge but I know they are going to tell me the fault lies with Map My Ride. I also wrote the support people at Map My Ride, but don't have high hopes of a resolution.
Is this a big deal in the overall scheme of things - no, not at all, its just that one day stands out like a sore thumb in the midst of all the other days in a row that I've ridden, which at this point stands at 40 days in a row with just under 100 miles in my personal challenge.
Get On Your Bikes and RIDE!!!!!!!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Early morning ride
Got up at 3:35 this morning to get in a nice longer ride. In fact this was my longest ride so far this year. That's not saying a lot, except that I am starting to increase my mileage. I needed a longer ride to make sure I will be ready for Saturday's 20 mile Tour De Cure (Hey, if you haven't donated, how about slipping them $10 or more HERE?). Its too bad I couldn't start when I want to, which would be about 5:00 am to try and stay out of the heat.
OK, anyone familiar with the schedule for Saturday will say I could, in fact start early. As early as 5:30 am, but only if I'm doing one of the longer distances. I'm not, so my start time will be 8:30. That's still significantly earlier than last year.
This morning I knew i had to go at least 10 miles which represented half the stated distance for Saturday's ride. So I set the alarm to get up at 3:55 so I would have to ride, cool down and post the ride to my various websites (Daily Mile, Strava, Plus3, Map My Ride) and then get showered an to work at a reasonable time. Now, astute readers will note the difference between my alarm and the time I actually got up. I knew that if I tried to get that last 20 minutes of sleep, I was putting the morning's ride in jeopardy. So, when I woke up 20 minutes early, I just got up and started getting ready.
For some reason knowing that I was up early had me taking my time to get ready and out the door. I ended up on the bike about the same time as it would have been if I had gotten up at 3:55. Funny how that works. Anyway, by 4:08 according to my Garmin, I started pedaling. The temperature was in the low 60's with a NNE wind of 10 gusting to 18 mph. Not too bad, except the direction.
I felt good as I got into my rhythm and completed the first lap around my usual morning training loop. On the second lap I decided I needed to change things up a little and did my longer loop. I was still feeling good and looking at my Strava report of the ride I see I actually did my third fastest time on the long loop. Not too bad. I continued mixing it up between the 2 loops trying to take my mind off the fact that my arms and shoulders were feeling it this morning for some reason. By the 8 mile mark I was also starting to feel it in my saddle area. I know its from a lack of saddle time. I wanted to stop at this point, but knew I needed to keep going to put in the distance.
I did push through 3 more laps and ended with a total of 11.67 miles this morning and an average speed of 12.9 mph. Not too bad at all. Have I ridden faster and farther? Sure I have, but this tells me I can manage to get through the ride on Saturday.
Have any big rides planned for your weekend?
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!
OK, anyone familiar with the schedule for Saturday will say I could, in fact start early. As early as 5:30 am, but only if I'm doing one of the longer distances. I'm not, so my start time will be 8:30. That's still significantly earlier than last year.
This morning I knew i had to go at least 10 miles which represented half the stated distance for Saturday's ride. So I set the alarm to get up at 3:55 so I would have to ride, cool down and post the ride to my various websites (Daily Mile, Strava, Plus3, Map My Ride) and then get showered an to work at a reasonable time. Now, astute readers will note the difference between my alarm and the time I actually got up. I knew that if I tried to get that last 20 minutes of sleep, I was putting the morning's ride in jeopardy. So, when I woke up 20 minutes early, I just got up and started getting ready.
For some reason knowing that I was up early had me taking my time to get ready and out the door. I ended up on the bike about the same time as it would have been if I had gotten up at 3:55. Funny how that works. Anyway, by 4:08 according to my Garmin, I started pedaling. The temperature was in the low 60's with a NNE wind of 10 gusting to 18 mph. Not too bad, except the direction.
I felt good as I got into my rhythm and completed the first lap around my usual morning training loop. On the second lap I decided I needed to change things up a little and did my longer loop. I was still feeling good and looking at my Strava report of the ride I see I actually did my third fastest time on the long loop. Not too bad. I continued mixing it up between the 2 loops trying to take my mind off the fact that my arms and shoulders were feeling it this morning for some reason. By the 8 mile mark I was also starting to feel it in my saddle area. I know its from a lack of saddle time. I wanted to stop at this point, but knew I needed to keep going to put in the distance.
I did push through 3 more laps and ended with a total of 11.67 miles this morning and an average speed of 12.9 mph. Not too bad at all. Have I ridden faster and farther? Sure I have, but this tells me I can manage to get through the ride on Saturday.
Have any big rides planned for your weekend?
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Why We Ride
Doug, over at A Year of Living…humm…dangerous? published a post this morning with the same title (here) and it got me thinking about this topic. He was pointing out that it is too easy to get caught up in comparing our performance on the bike against those around us and in doing so, we may have a tendency to lose sight of our reasons for being on the bike to begin with. I totally agree.
I try not to compare myself to others in terms of speed and/or distance, but when I read of other's exploits on the bike, riding in races, completing epic tours or even earning KOM's I start to think about how slow I am or how little I've ridden or how I have yet to actually complete a century since I've started riding again. I start to focus on what I'm not, rather than what I am and what I am is having fun.
Sure I'm riding to better my health, to lose weight and to get in shape, but the real reason I ride is that I enjoy it. It's just plain fun to ride my bike! I have to constantly remind myself of this otherwise I lose motivation because I see the ride more as a chore rather than the enjoyable experience it truly is.
So, go, Have fun.
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!
I try not to compare myself to others in terms of speed and/or distance, but when I read of other's exploits on the bike, riding in races, completing epic tours or even earning KOM's I start to think about how slow I am or how little I've ridden or how I have yet to actually complete a century since I've started riding again. I start to focus on what I'm not, rather than what I am and what I am is having fun.
Sure I'm riding to better my health, to lose weight and to get in shape, but the real reason I ride is that I enjoy it. It's just plain fun to ride my bike! I have to constantly remind myself of this otherwise I lose motivation because I see the ride more as a chore rather than the enjoyable experience it truly is.
So, go, Have fun.
Get on your bikes and ride!!!!
Monday, April 21, 2014
Riding weather is here
Saturday was a sunny day, with highs around 82 degrees and almost no wind. Not a bad day at all to get out on the bike. So as I was sitting in the house thinking about riding, I got up, changed and headed out on my bike. I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. It wasn't far, only 8.3 miles, nor was it fast, but I got out there and I enjoyed it!
This morning I got out again before work. The weather was again wonderful - temperature around 70 degrees, almost no wind. I had my alarm set for 4:00 am as usual when I get out before work. It went off and I didn't even hesitate, I got right up and started getting ready. Shorts, jersey, socks and headed downstairs and grabbed my Garmin. I have a Forerunner 305 which I've had for 3 1/2 years now. I love it, but the last couple of times I've used it, I had to wait almost 5 minutes for it to acquire the satellites and be ready to go. I'm wondering if it might be time to start looking at a new device.
After getting a stick of gum, I headed out to the garage and put on my shoes. I then topped off my tires. It amazes me how the low volume of air, losses pressure so fast. They were up to 84 psi on Saturday. This morning I had to pump them up from about 72 psi. Once I had them up to pressure, I grabbed my helmet and gloves, hit the opener and headed out to get ready to ride. I started my Garmin, put on my gear, turned on my lights and waited for the Garmin to be ready.
And waited. And waited. It was almost 6 minutes before the Garmin finally showed that it was ready to go. I had debated just using my phone and Strava, DailyMile or MapMyRide to record the details of this morning's efforts, but decided to wait it out since i wanted to update all 3 sites with the data.
Yes, I am on all 3 sites, plus a fourth called Plus 3 where logging my rides earns money for charities.
Fortunately once it found the satellites, it performed flawlessly and recorded my ride.
The ride itself was uneventful. I was feeling it a bit after 5 laps and had to push through to make the 8 I completed. The interesting part was that it wasn't my legs so much that felt it, but my arms and hands. I guess I'm just not used to riding as much as I should be. That will change as I am riding the next 3 mornings as well as at least one day over the weekend. I plan to repeat the morning rides next week in preparation for the Tour De Cure on May 3rd.
I hope the weather is improving in your area and that you were able to get out and ride as well.
Remember, eat better and get on your bike and ride!
This morning I got out again before work. The weather was again wonderful - temperature around 70 degrees, almost no wind. I had my alarm set for 4:00 am as usual when I get out before work. It went off and I didn't even hesitate, I got right up and started getting ready. Shorts, jersey, socks and headed downstairs and grabbed my Garmin. I have a Forerunner 305 which I've had for 3 1/2 years now. I love it, but the last couple of times I've used it, I had to wait almost 5 minutes for it to acquire the satellites and be ready to go. I'm wondering if it might be time to start looking at a new device.
After getting a stick of gum, I headed out to the garage and put on my shoes. I then topped off my tires. It amazes me how the low volume of air, losses pressure so fast. They were up to 84 psi on Saturday. This morning I had to pump them up from about 72 psi. Once I had them up to pressure, I grabbed my helmet and gloves, hit the opener and headed out to get ready to ride. I started my Garmin, put on my gear, turned on my lights and waited for the Garmin to be ready.
And waited. And waited. It was almost 6 minutes before the Garmin finally showed that it was ready to go. I had debated just using my phone and Strava, DailyMile or MapMyRide to record the details of this morning's efforts, but decided to wait it out since i wanted to update all 3 sites with the data.
Yes, I am on all 3 sites, plus a fourth called Plus 3 where logging my rides earns money for charities.
Fortunately once it found the satellites, it performed flawlessly and recorded my ride.
The ride itself was uneventful. I was feeling it a bit after 5 laps and had to push through to make the 8 I completed. The interesting part was that it wasn't my legs so much that felt it, but my arms and hands. I guess I'm just not used to riding as much as I should be. That will change as I am riding the next 3 mornings as well as at least one day over the weekend. I plan to repeat the morning rides next week in preparation for the Tour De Cure on May 3rd.
I hope the weather is improving in your area and that you were able to get out and ride as well.
Remember, eat better and get on your bike and ride!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Strava and KOM's
Chris Chainring over at From the Pavement's Edge wrote a couple of posts recently that talk about Strava and King of the Mountain honors. Bike Noob has also recently become a Strava convert as he mentions here. Both of these got me thinking about the whole idea of an application that tracks various segments of roads and trails and allows riders to measure their riding of these segments not only against themselves but against others who have ridden and tracked their cycling along the same segments.
Previously I've mentioned looking for local segments and riding them just to see how I could do against other riders. In this post I talk about a quick ride and looking for local segments. I'm not obsessed with the segments, primarily because I know I am not fast, but it is fun to compare myself to others and watch my progress as I set new PRs (Personal Records) on the various segments as my cycling ability improves.
One thing that annoyed me, however, was that some other local cyclist seemed to be segment hunting to see if they could achieve KOMs (King Of The Mountain) on those segments. I had created a personal segment which I had unfortunately made public. My purpose for this was simply to measure my own progress by letting Strava tell me when I had improved on my previous best time. All was well and good until these faster cyclists saw it and decided to do their thing, completely destroying my time! Here is the current leaderboard from that segment:
Previously I've mentioned looking for local segments and riding them just to see how I could do against other riders. In this post I talk about a quick ride and looking for local segments. I'm not obsessed with the segments, primarily because I know I am not fast, but it is fun to compare myself to others and watch my progress as I set new PRs (Personal Records) on the various segments as my cycling ability improves.
One thing that annoyed me, however, was that some other local cyclist seemed to be segment hunting to see if they could achieve KOMs (King Of The Mountain) on those segments. I had created a personal segment which I had unfortunately made public. My purpose for this was simply to measure my own progress by letting Strava tell me when I had improved on my previous best time. All was well and good until these faster cyclists saw it and decided to do their thing, completely destroying my time! Here is the current leaderboard from that segment:
As you can see, Joe Lindner was the first to beat my time back in 2012, then a year ago Jason and Terra apparently rode the segment together cementing their KOM and QOM titles. Quite a difference between what they did and what I did, but the important thing is that my PR on 8/1/13 is over 2 mph faster than my first try after creating the segment back in April of 2012. Progress has been made. My goal is to increase my PR on this segment this year by at least 1 mph. We'll see if I can do it.
This is what Strava is for, measuring oneself against previous accomplishments and against others. The key is to not get obsessed with the numbers and comparisons to the point where the riding is work and no longer fun. Its the fun that keeps me riding and really nothing else.
Eat well and Get On Your Bike And Ride!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
No issues
What a difference a day makes. Also, how dependent can we be on technology?
As I detailed at the end of yesterday's post, I had some issues yesterday morning with gadgets that I usually depend on. It got me to thinking about how dependent we can become on gadgets and on measuring ourselves.
The one gadget that stopped me from riding yesterday was my headlight. Its not that I need it to see as I'm riding because admittedly it sheds very little usable light for that purpose. No, the real use of my headlight is safety. Namely to greatly increase my visibility to the bleary eyed motorists in the wee hours of the pre-dawn. Could I have ridden yesterday without my headlight? Sure I could have, but I feel that it would have decreased my safety to an unreasonable level. Now if I didn't have to share the streets with 2 ton vehicles, then I would have ridden without my headlight, no problem.
The other piece of equipment that failed me yesterday was my Garmin. I suspect the grand kids may have been playing with it and that is why the battery was dead. Regardless, the question becomes, if there is no Garmin data, and thus no Strava record, did the ride occur? I say yes, but it occurs differently. Now I don't obsess over my pace and split times, ma speed, etc. while I am riding. I normally just do what feels right at the moment with a thought to the distance I am riding, but I do depend on the Garmin record for "housekeeping" in terms of recording month to date and year to date progress, etc.
I sort of prided myself on having a complete record of my rides for the past 3+ years and now it is incomplete as I rode without my Garmin yesterday. Have I ridden before without it? Sure, but I wasn't under a self-imposed challenge to meet a mileage goal at the time. Did I worry about trying to record those non-Garmin recorded rides? Usually, no, but sometimes yes. What I'm getting at is that sometimes we can become too wrapped up in the details and the minutiae of a task and forget the important points - we are having fun and riding our bikes.
With that said - have fun and get on your bike and ride!!!!
As I detailed at the end of yesterday's post, I had some issues yesterday morning with gadgets that I usually depend on. It got me to thinking about how dependent we can become on gadgets and on measuring ourselves.
The one gadget that stopped me from riding yesterday was my headlight. Its not that I need it to see as I'm riding because admittedly it sheds very little usable light for that purpose. No, the real use of my headlight is safety. Namely to greatly increase my visibility to the bleary eyed motorists in the wee hours of the pre-dawn. Could I have ridden yesterday without my headlight? Sure I could have, but I feel that it would have decreased my safety to an unreasonable level. Now if I didn't have to share the streets with 2 ton vehicles, then I would have ridden without my headlight, no problem.
The other piece of equipment that failed me yesterday was my Garmin. I suspect the grand kids may have been playing with it and that is why the battery was dead. Regardless, the question becomes, if there is no Garmin data, and thus no Strava record, did the ride occur? I say yes, but it occurs differently. Now I don't obsess over my pace and split times, ma speed, etc. while I am riding. I normally just do what feels right at the moment with a thought to the distance I am riding, but I do depend on the Garmin record for "housekeeping" in terms of recording month to date and year to date progress, etc.
I sort of prided myself on having a complete record of my rides for the past 3+ years and now it is incomplete as I rode without my Garmin yesterday. Have I ridden before without it? Sure, but I wasn't under a self-imposed challenge to meet a mileage goal at the time. Did I worry about trying to record those non-Garmin recorded rides? Usually, no, but sometimes yes. What I'm getting at is that sometimes we can become too wrapped up in the details and the minutiae of a task and forget the important points - we are having fun and riding our bikes.
With that said - have fun and get on your bike and ride!!!!
Monday, September 9, 2013
A ride to Blue Diamond Nevada
Living in Southern Nevada, the riding season seems to be year round except for 2 things - the heat and the wind. SO far this summer the heat hasn't been as unbearable as it has been in previous years, provided you can get out and ride early enough in the day. The wind hasn't been a major factor this year either.
Saturday, was even more pleasant than usual for this time of year. We've been in the midst of some monsoonal flows for the past 4 weeks or so. This has introduced some humidity, which is unusual for us. That humidity has also been known to spawn some clouds and even a bit of rain. Saturday it was clouds which kept the heat of the day down.
Since the clouds were covering the blazing sun, my procrastination Saturday morning didn't have an adverse effect on my ride. When I rolled out about 11:30, it was only in the low 80's with a 5 to 10 mph NNW wind.
I had decided to depart my house and head out Blue Diamond road to the west. When I got to the intersection with Highway 159, I decided to follow that towards the town of Blue Diamond.
My objective for the day was to ride an hour away from home, then turn around and head back to home. Now the interesting thing about this ride is that I am climbing the whole way on the outbound leg. This has a great benefit in that once I reach the turnaround point, its all downhill back to my house.
I started off with an easy gear and decided to try something a bit different. Normally I try to crank away at a fairly low cadence and fairly high gear. This time I decided to start on my middle ring instead of my big ring, and try to keep my cadence up in easier gears just to see how well it went. The verdict is it went fairly well. I wasn't nearly as tired in my legs when I got to the turn around, but I was feeling it in the conditioning department as I'm not used to turning high cadence.
Of course the head wind, light as it was helped to keep me cool and slowed me a slight bit as well.
As I approached the one hour mark of the ride I noticed that I was a bit over 8 miles from the house. Now I was doing some quick math in my head and realized that if I could get past 8.6 miles or so, then I would be covering the distance for the upcoming Viva Bike Vegas ride. So I went just past the one hour mark to get the distance I wanted and turned around for the glorious downhill ride home.
I do truly appreciate the gravity assist I get on the declines, slight as they might be. Understand that I'm riding a hybrid with a fairly upright riding position. This is important because the wind resistance does tend to limit my speed. I tried to tuck down a bit on some of the steeper downhill sections and managed to get over 28 mph. It seemed that tucking in gained me 1 to 2 mph just rolling along. My hour long trip to the turnaround was only 27 minutes or so to get back home. I even did my second best time from Highway 159 to Fort Apache Rd. according to Strava.
It was a beautiful day to be on the bike and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Hope you are able to get out there and ride you bike!
Saturday, was even more pleasant than usual for this time of year. We've been in the midst of some monsoonal flows for the past 4 weeks or so. This has introduced some humidity, which is unusual for us. That humidity has also been known to spawn some clouds and even a bit of rain. Saturday it was clouds which kept the heat of the day down.
Since the clouds were covering the blazing sun, my procrastination Saturday morning didn't have an adverse effect on my ride. When I rolled out about 11:30, it was only in the low 80's with a 5 to 10 mph NNW wind.
I had decided to depart my house and head out Blue Diamond road to the west. When I got to the intersection with Highway 159, I decided to follow that towards the town of Blue Diamond.
My objective for the day was to ride an hour away from home, then turn around and head back to home. Now the interesting thing about this ride is that I am climbing the whole way on the outbound leg. This has a great benefit in that once I reach the turnaround point, its all downhill back to my house.
I started off with an easy gear and decided to try something a bit different. Normally I try to crank away at a fairly low cadence and fairly high gear. This time I decided to start on my middle ring instead of my big ring, and try to keep my cadence up in easier gears just to see how well it went. The verdict is it went fairly well. I wasn't nearly as tired in my legs when I got to the turn around, but I was feeling it in the conditioning department as I'm not used to turning high cadence.
Of course the head wind, light as it was helped to keep me cool and slowed me a slight bit as well.
As I approached the one hour mark of the ride I noticed that I was a bit over 8 miles from the house. Now I was doing some quick math in my head and realized that if I could get past 8.6 miles or so, then I would be covering the distance for the upcoming Viva Bike Vegas ride. So I went just past the one hour mark to get the distance I wanted and turned around for the glorious downhill ride home.
I do truly appreciate the gravity assist I get on the declines, slight as they might be. Understand that I'm riding a hybrid with a fairly upright riding position. This is important because the wind resistance does tend to limit my speed. I tried to tuck down a bit on some of the steeper downhill sections and managed to get over 28 mph. It seemed that tucking in gained me 1 to 2 mph just rolling along. My hour long trip to the turnaround was only 27 minutes or so to get back home. I even did my second best time from Highway 159 to Fort Apache Rd. according to Strava.
It was a beautiful day to be on the bike and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Hope you are able to get out there and ride you bike!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
September Challenge update #1
OK, so we are now 5 days into the month of September and I've ridden 3 of those 5 days for a total of 31 miles. Not bad, but I have a long ways to go to get to my monthly goal of 240 miles. Looks like its time for a longer ride or two this weekend.
I am happy with my rides so far. Both yesterday and today I got in a nice 12.5 mile ride. Yesterday it took 53:29. This morning I pushed it a bit more and did it in 52:06 with a 14.4 mph pace. I feel really good about that.
One other notable item from this morning is that I've passed the 700 mile mark for 2013. That is a pretty good total, but not nearly what I'm hoping for in 2013.
I am happy with my rides so far. Both yesterday and today I got in a nice 12.5 mile ride. Yesterday it took 53:29. This morning I pushed it a bit more and did it in 52:06 with a 14.4 mph pace. I feel really good about that.
One other notable item from this morning is that I've passed the 700 mile mark for 2013. That is a pretty good total, but not nearly what I'm hoping for in 2013.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
August Challenge Day 27 Ride 27
Cool but humid morning this morning. 69 degrees with 71% humidity. The original forecast last night said there might be showers this morning, but they were nowhere to be seen for which I am happy.
From my analysis this month, I've decided that Monday night must be a big party night here since Tuesday morning has the most traffic heading home between 4:00 and 5:00 am. There must have been 12 or 13 cars making a left into the subdivision this morning.
I was up just a bit early this morning so I decided to extend the ride to 12 laps. Felt good.
This morning's stats:
12.5 Miles
54:47 Elapsed Time
Month to date:
27/27 rides
195.9 Miles
15:39:31 Elapsed time
I hope you are able to Get On Your Bikes And Ride!!!!!
From my analysis this month, I've decided that Monday night must be a big party night here since Tuesday morning has the most traffic heading home between 4:00 and 5:00 am. There must have been 12 or 13 cars making a left into the subdivision this morning.
I was up just a bit early this morning so I decided to extend the ride to 12 laps. Felt good.
This morning's stats:
12.5 Miles
54:47 Elapsed Time
Month to date:
27/27 rides
195.9 Miles
15:39:31 Elapsed time
I hope you are able to Get On Your Bikes And Ride!!!!!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
August Challenge Day 21 Ride 21
Having been awake since 2:00 AM I wasn't feeling it when 4:00 rolled around and it was my normal time to get up and ride. I thought about putting it off, but decided that since I was up I might as well go and get in at least a short ride. When I went out, I had every intention of taking it easy and only doing a couple of miles.
That changed within the first few pedal strokes I felt good on the bike and decided I should just go ahead and push it a bit. So I did.
According to Strava I did my 3rd fastest loop at 4:01 for my first lap and the next was at 4:04. Not bad at all. My finishing time for the same 10 miles I rode yesterday was almost 5 minutes faster!
One interesting note was that where I saw several pedestrians yesterday - there was no one out there this morning.
This morning's stats:
10.4 Miles
43:44 Elapsed Time
Month to date:
21/21 Rides
157 Miles
12:27:53 Elapsed Time
Do something good for yourself - Get on your bike and ride!!!!
That changed within the first few pedal strokes I felt good on the bike and decided I should just go ahead and push it a bit. So I did.
According to Strava I did my 3rd fastest loop at 4:01 for my first lap and the next was at 4:04. Not bad at all. My finishing time for the same 10 miles I rode yesterday was almost 5 minutes faster!
One interesting note was that where I saw several pedestrians yesterday - there was no one out there this morning.
This morning's stats:
10.4 Miles
43:44 Elapsed Time
Month to date:
21/21 Rides
157 Miles
12:27:53 Elapsed Time
Do something good for yourself - Get on your bike and ride!!!!
Saturday, July 20, 2013
HOT HOT HOT!!!
OK, to set the record straight, my original intention was to get up early and do a nice long ride this morning. Staying up to 3:30 in the morning, really put a damper on those plans. The reason for wanting to get n early start is the heat. Let's face it, Las Vegas, in the middle of summer, is hot. At 12:00 today were were already at 99 degrees.
So, I decided instead of a long ride, I decided to try out a couple of segments I had found on Strava which are close to my house. Neither was very long - one was 1.3 miles and the other was .3 miles. Add to that my normal one mile loop and I had 3 segments I wanted to work into a quick ride.
I'm here to say that I made it and I didn't die, but it was very hot. The total ride was just under 6 miles in 26 minutes, but it was worth a ride 2 or 3 times that length on a cooler day.
It took close to an hour too cool off once I was back in the A/C.
It was a tough ride, but I'm glad I did it.
So, I decided instead of a long ride, I decided to try out a couple of segments I had found on Strava which are close to my house. Neither was very long - one was 1.3 miles and the other was .3 miles. Add to that my normal one mile loop and I had 3 segments I wanted to work into a quick ride.
I'm here to say that I made it and I didn't die, but it was very hot. The total ride was just under 6 miles in 26 minutes, but it was worth a ride 2 or 3 times that length on a cooler day.
It took close to an hour too cool off once I was back in the A/C.
It was a tough ride, but I'm glad I did it.
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