It took the better part of the week but I have managed to catch back up with my mileage goals, after spending most of week two out of commission between illness and maintenance issues. Though I am just now getting back to full health I am fairly confident that I will hit my objective of pedaling one hundred eighty miles this month.
This third week I discovered what I think is my new favorite route for my commute. It is three miles longer than my usual path but, quite a bit more level so I can really get a good turn of speed going, the added benefit is that the traffic lights seemed to be timed in my favor, at least based on when I have to leave the house for work. The overall result is being able to pick up a few extra miles by leaving the house an extra ten to twelve minutes earlier, something that I intend to do more often. I learned a bit about riding in the wet and drear as well recently and that if I want to stop in damp conditions I should probably try to give the bike as much notice as possible.
I know I mentioned a couple of times what a good idea it would be for me to get a helmet for my rides. I finally ordered one but an accidental click had it shipped timed with my wife’s Christmas present so it won’t get here until maybe this evening, probably after I’ve already left for work. Hopefully I will be able to bore everyone with pics of me sporting in an a very serious cyclist type of manner soon.
I did manage to add a frame pump to my standard gear as well as some tire patches for emergencies, though with any luck I won’t have to use them. Which leads me to the question of the week:
What kind of roadside repair equipment are you packing in your kit?
Feel free to leave a comment with your answer or any other feedback you’d like, if you feel so inclined.
Down to brass tacks; This week I managed to get in gear and stretch this weeks rides to a total 52.7 miles bringing me up to 124.8 after 21 days with 8 days left in November I need just over 55 miles to complete my goal distance wise. Speed has not been an issue I am currently running at an average pace of 5 mins and 32 seconds per mile, almost thirty seconds faster than my goal for this month.
I am finding that my endurance continues to improve and that the setbacks of the previous week have has little effect on how often I get winded going up hill during my ride, though my expedition on Thursday showed me that fighting a good head wind while traveling up an incline can be a bit of a pain in the ass. As a side note my fitness tracker thing-a-ma-jig tells me that I have set a new personal record for monthly elevation having climbed 2,239 ft and still counting, so I guess that’s cool.
Going forward from here I am looking for a strong finish for the month. My main obstacle is that my daughter, who is six, will be out of school for nearly the remainder of the month so fitting in rides other than basic commutes might be a bit rough, but I am determined to do it especially since there should be a very large turkey dinner in my near future, the preparation and cooking of which should also take up quite a large chunk of my time this coming week.
Also I am intrigued to find out if there really is such a thing as Risk Compensation involved with wearing a helmet when you ride. I am not normally the danger seeking type so it might be interesting to see what effect additional safety equipment has on my psychology. I’m betting on not much.
Happy biking.
Corned Beef Hashtag 