Monday, June 29, 2009

Today's pic of the day


A shot from the beach head at La Jolla, south of the cove. Rode from home to Pacific Beach, then up to La Jolla and over to Miramar and then back home via Kearney Villa Road. All in all a nice day with a 34 mile workout.

Observation for the day: Wealthy areas have as bad of roads or worse than the lesser areas... La Jolla, I'm talkin' to you!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

A year's worth of cycling...

So it's been a year since I started riding as a consistent habit, granted at times it hasn't been very consistent. But let's see what I've achieved in the last year...

>I could hardly make it up Clairemont Mesa Bl, in either direction. Now it's nothing (provided
I'm warmed up...).

>I rode up Torrey Pines once on the Kona SS and thought I was going to kill myself doing so,
now I do it regularly on the LeMond. It still kicks my butt somewhat, but I'm huffing and
puffing less and gaining perseverance.

>I used to think that 15 mph and a 80 or 90 rpm cadence were impressive. OK I'm still not the
fastest thing on 2 wheels, but I can crank out 100 rpms and 25 mph for a bit without much
effort.

>10 miles was a major undertaking, but after I inadvertently rode a metric century (67 miles)
because I rode 15 plus miles to and from the 26 mile sponsored ride, 10 miles is nothing.

>I still haven't cracked 40 mph, but then I'm not in any hurry so 37 is the top measured speed so
far and I can average 30-33 down Torrey Pines without cinching up my butt too much.

>I have improved my pedal stroke, now I can feel a more consistent, smooth circular motion
when I keep focused on my job.

>I can fix a lot of the parts on the bike (except threaded head sets...) and feel comfortable tearing
into anything on it, tho I've yet to work on the derailleurs.

> My blood pressure is normal and my weight is down, I can also slip into a size 29!

Well that about sums it up on accomplishments over the past year. Now to the next year:

> I had planned on trying a full century (100 miles) this past year and several nice rides came
and went because of lack of planning and decent training for the ride. So I plan on doing one
this year, if not a full 100 miler, than a 67 metric on a moderately difficult course.

> Another bike, or maybe make over the LeMond with new paint and some new bars and stem. I
might even spring for a new chain...

> Keep on working on my pedaling to get smooth and powerful, not so much for racing or such,
but for endurance and efficiency.

So to the next 12 months! Cheers!