4/24/06

Tom and I rode 13 miles in Preble County (PC as Kierstan likes to call it...). The first 7 miles was the easiest 7 miles so far. A nice decent down into Camden, reaching 35 mph at one point on a hill. Then pretty easy going into Sommerville. Then, after Sommerville, turn and head back towards Tom's house, which...let me tell you is nothing but uphill for about 2 miles. And those 2 miles were the TOUGHEST 2 miles so far. The great with the bad. But I did make it alllllll the way up that hill (those hills? There were many, I guess, all making one looong hill) without stopping and walking. I also rode my bike at about 8 mph for the next 2 or so miles trying to catch my breath and not die. I averaged 15.4 mph.

M: 13
MTD: 203
ML: 797

4/22/06

Tom and I drove over to the Loveland Bike Trail. We connected with it in Loveland near the bike rental place. We then rode 15.5 miles north to Morrow and just past, then back. We stopped in Morrow and went to the BP there - two 32 oz gatorades for 3 bucks!. So we drank those and ate some PowerBars, then rode back to the car. It was a good ride, and we averaged over 16mph on the ride. Tom and I worked pretty good together, with each of us pulling for about 4 miles and then drafting for about 4 miles. I got some sun on my shoulders too, a nice side benefit. My only problems were my right calf started tightening up around mile 20, and for the last 5 or so miles my neck was KILLING me. Overall, though, I could probably do 50 or so now (on the bike path...on the road with hills is a different story).

M: 31
MTD: 190
ML: 810

4/18/06

I tried to tackle the hill behind my apartment today. I made it up further than I did the first time, but still not all the way up. That hill definitely ticks me off.

M: 1
MTD: 159
ML: 841

4/13/06

Rode the bike path today by myself. I was supposed to meet Dave and Jim, but was running late, so we saw each other in passing. I averaged 17 mph, but started and finished at a different point on the path. That might have something to do with me flying through the thing. Good, typical ride.

M: 11
MTD: 158
ML: 842

4/10/06

Nothing exciting today. Dave, Jim, and I rode the bike path. Initially Dave and Jim broke out, but I caught up to Dave. He pulled for a bit, then I pulled for about 4 miles to the turn. I averaged 18.7 to the turn. But...I was exhausted. After a rest, Dave and Jim pulled away from me for about 3 miles, and then I caught up with them. I drafted off both of them at about 20mph for about 1.5 miles, but couldn't keep up the last 1 mile or so. Averaged 16.3 for the whole ride, so that was bookin it, I suppose.

M: 12
MTD: 147
ML: 853

4/9/06

Dave, Tom, and I rode for about 4 miles on the path, turned around and picked up Katie (who was running a little late...). We then rode the entire path at a somewhat leisurely pace: 14.3 mph. Katie wrecked superman style, but was ok. That was pretty sweet. We ended up doing 19 miles total in the most gorgeous, wind-free weather ever. I could've stayed on my bike forever, except Golden Coral was calling for Tom and I.

M: 19
MTD: 135
ML: 865

4/7/06

Today was a day of 3 firsts: The first first was Tom and I rode together, both on road-worthy bikes. The second first was I rode on the open road (not the bike path, and not neighborhoods) for the first time since I bought my bike. And the last first was it was the first time I rode in the rain. Our area was experiencing severe thundstorms, scattered about everywhere. Tom and I waited until it was just raining and left his house on our bikes. (He finally has his in riding order, and it seems to work just fine.) We rode 9 miles in the rolling hill terrain of Preble County and hit two decent hills. With the rain and the terrain and the wind we still managed to average 14 mph. The rain wasn't bad, I suppose, just a little cold. And a wet butt is never any fun, also.

M: 9
MTD: 116
ML: 884

4/5/06

Break through today: I rode the entire loop without stopping (all 12 miles of it...wow...I'm practically Greg LeMond). In all seriousness, it did feel good to ride 12 miles without stopping. That will be the most I'll ever have to do on the MS 150, and to be honest, most any other ride. The best part was that I felt great afterwards. I decided to do more "spinning" than "pounding" today. I backed off my highest gear for ride and rode about 3-4 gears lower, but at a higher cadence (RPM). It was the case previously that I was riding in my hardest gear the whole time, but methinks that I'm better off spinning more, pounding less, as today, the first time I tried that, I felt great. Even in the dreaded headwind (which of course hit us). I stayed with Jim for most of the way, although I must be quick to admit he was lolly-gagging for the entire ride. But, hey...at least I can say I beat him back home at least once, right?

M: 12
MTD: 107
ML: 893

4/1/06

Today was chilly, but we went riding anyways. For once I was able to meet my goal for miles for the week: a whopping 25. I figure if you set your goals low, you can't help but acheive them. Anyways, Jim and Dave were very far ahead of me to the turn, but we stayed close and took turns drafting/pulling for about the last 3ish miles of the loop. Then Dave and I were going to ride a bit more, but ran into some people he knew, which took 15 minutes, then went to his parents house to help his dad for a minute, which took about 20, and so with the chilly weather and no activity, our muscles started to lock up a bit. So we went home. But, I did manage to get 15 miles in today, at 15.3 mph.

M: 15
MTD: 95
ML: 905