June 9, 2013

Upon my return after 45 miles!

   I finally broke 40 miles again and then some by a bit!  I actually made it basically to 45, which was quite an undertaking!  I began with breaking the pin inside my Presta valve!  Thankfully, it stayed in place and held air through the ride.  I've discvered the wonders of using MapMyRide.com to track my mileage and calories.  I've enjoyed using the mapping tool, so I planned the ride ahead of time to make sure I had something that was about 40 miles.  It and my cyclocomputer are usually within .5 - 1 mile of each other, so I figure that's pretty good.  I know the cyclocomputer can be affected by how I corner and any side stops I make versus the online tool, that's using stalite imagery and average mileage input.
   So, once I decided to try the ride, I started out the ride with my old ride out into the country and back then out to the greenway as I made my way to the highway.  The road I take up to the Foothills Highway is definitely hilly.  It's amazing what a hill looks like compared to a bike, and by the time I got there, I'd already truly gone 20 miles, so it kicked my butt to get up some of those hills, but no snakes or flats this time, so that was a bonus!
   I did get passed a few times on the climb up then on the ride back down.  I'd say only about 50% of people announce themselves as they come up on you, which I find surprising and rude.  On the greenway, people mostly do, but it's so much more dangerous out on the road going much faster in much more dangerous conditions with cars and cliffs...
   The only other downside is that I forgot my protein bar, so I was pretty much starving by the time I got home.  I need to make sure that a bar begins being part of my regular equipment when I leave.  I've also gotten very good at changing the tubes on the bikes.  Unfortunately.
   Now if the scale would start reflecting all my hard work....