Another Record Month

Sweet. My gradual increase of miles has been working out. For April I logged 429.93 miles, giving me 59th place in my little group (#1 had 1,437, bastard) of 261. This bested my previous best of 305 miles, 75th place. I only got 26 miles today, because of the looming storm on the horizon, but my legs felt great. I could have given it another 26 miles even with the wind gusts, which seemed to only work against me periodically.

More importantly, average speeds for my rides are now in the 16 mph range (I started in the 13/14 mph range), with some sections of 1 to 4 miles sustained in the 20s. Short climbs no longer result in vast drops in velocity as I'm able to average 14 mph up hills now. Hey, I'm no racer, but for a guy who decided last September to ride his bike, and still needs to drop at least 10 pounds, I think I'm doing pretty well.

In that respect, since I started riding (and thanks to a mild winter) I've logged nearly 2,000 miles and 122 hours in the saddle. 1,100 miles and 76 hours of that has been in this year alone and roughly 475 is on the new bike, which just turned a month old. My highest maximum speed, not including one really stupid downhill stunt I pulled, was 30.2 mph.

The good news is that I've finally found a hobby that I not only enjoy, but is in no way self-destructive. It's expensive (clothes, hydration, nutrition, more clothes, that cool jersey you need . . . and then the sudden need for upgrades because, really, doesn't everyone need a second set of wheels for days when you feel zippy and less rugged than your regular wheels, or a new set of cranks?) and addictive, but what're you gonna do? I think I'll stick with it. Riding is more medatative an activity that anything else I've ever engaged in. More importantly, my mood is better, I'm in better shape than I've ever been and I have more energy than I used to. Plus, I'm kind of proud of myself. I don't normally stick with things like this.

There's also a weird dynamic among the other cyclists that I've fallen into. It's a mostly silent dynamic where you hang on each other's wheels to get a little rest, or help each other up the climbs, and the little nuggest of advice. Or, more importantly, when you encounter someone coming back from where you're heading and they say, "The wind really turns against you around the curve. Don't fight it or you'll just waste all your energy.")

Anyway, I promise not to mention cycling for at least a week. I say a week because I plunked down my $20 to watch the daily stream of the Giro d'Italia. I know it won't be nearly as exciting as last year's, but at least this time I'll get to see it. Some of the mountain stages look downright cruel. I can't wait. Looks like I'll be plugging in the laptop so I can have it on full screen while I work. Sweet.