MRT Training Ride

The church group rides to prepare us for the MRT tour have started! We did our first one today. Here's the data:

Time: 1:34:58

Distance: 20.610 miles

Average Speed: 12.9 mph

Max Speed: 50.0 mph

Calories Burned: 698.4

Fat Burned: 74.8 g

First of all, when did I go 50 mph on my bike?!?!?! Holy cow!

We headed north from the church up towards Lake Lemon on Mt Gilead Church Rd, then Tunnel Rd and past Butler Winery on Robinson. We headed back past Griffy Lake via Bethel, Hinkle, and Headley. Here is a link to the gmap pedometer.

We stopped at a fire station which had its doors open (for cyclists?) to refill water and use the restroom. That was cool because we got to go inside the station where they keep the firetrucks. It was neat to see that. And when we passed the fire station, some people sitting on their front porch cheered at us for making it up Fire House Hill. :) It was also nice to see the lakes full of water compared to last summer when it was so dry and they looked so pitiful. Although the rain can definitely stop now.

Tuesdays with Brett

but on Friday... :)

Finally a day without rain! We've had insane thunderstorms everyday for almost two weeks. Complete with hail, tornadoes, and flooding! Today was just about perfect in the upper 60s, sunny, light breeze so we finally got out for a ride!

Time: 1:30:09

Distance: 20.178 miles

Average Speed: 13.4 mph

Max Speed: 31.3 mph

Calories Burned: 686.4

Fat Burned: 77.2 g

We headed south from campus out towards Lake Monroe. We initially planned to shoot for close to 30 miles by including the route in the triathlon I want to do in July, but we decided to cut that off and head back a different way. (I'm sort of glad because that is a crazy hill on Ramp Creek Road! I didn't really want to do it again!) It was an awesome ride though and I was SO HAPPY to be OUT!

Here's a picture I took at an old timey gas station in Smithville.

CycleFit

Today was my last class of CycleFit for the spring semester. I was really hungry when class started (my stomach was growling!) which I was sure could not be a good thing and that I would be pitiful for this class. However, I beat Monday's record of 407 kJ burned with a new PR of 422 kJ! Nice way to end the semester!

CycleFit

The rain is really driving me crazy! Nonstop for a week, flood warnings, hail, and THREE MORE DAYS predicted until a reprieve on Friday. Only to start back up on Saturday. All I can say is

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Anyway, I totally kicked butt in CycleFit today. We did a lot of speed work, hard intervals, some climbing, and then an awful jogging exercise (up for 8, down for 8 for five minutes). Remember a few weeks ago when I said I was hoping to get up to 400 kJ burned? Well...

I DID IT!

I burned 407 kJ in CycleFit today! I'm so proud. Also, I asked Judy how much she normally burns, and she said that today she burned 360-something. So that's awesome that I've been working about as hard as the instructor. I can only hope that one day when I'm done I look as good when it's over!

Cycling Events

So I'm thinking about doing this triathlon and figured I should do a 5k beforehand to prepare, but then realized I've never even done a cycling event! I really want to do the Hilly Hundred in October, but just realized I should do some other cycling events before the triathlon to help prepare. So now I'm eyeballing these two events which are close to home:

The Goat Ride
July 9th
http://www.energy2action.com/goatinformation2011.html

I really want to do this one and try to do all four routes to be one of the first women to do so. That's some serious bragging rights!

The Popcorn Road Ride
September 3rd
http://www.energy2action.com/popcorninformation.html

I'm 99% certain I'm going to do this ride. The routes are really close to routes I ride already and proceeds benefit a local community kitchen. Plus this is the most awesome jersey ever and I have to have it.

CycleFit

According to Brandon, today was the hardest workout he has for the class. I thought it was pretty good. First we did some cadence and sprint workouts. Then the second half of the class we did some climbing. I feel like I did really well, even though I only burned 354 kJ, which seems low for the hardest workout he has!

I also rode my bike to the gym and then to church for a Bike Trip meeting. However, it was about 15 degrees cooler than predicted, so I didn't ride home and had my husband pick me up instead. I used my new Novara trunk bag today for the first time. It worked out really well, fixed the imbalance problem of using one pannier, but my tail light doesn't stay on it very well. I think I should just buckle down and get a permanent light for my rack.

CycleFit

I was running late to CycleFit today and had to jump right into cadence work! I was able to keep up with most of it today though. Only one cadence exercise towards the end was too much for me to spin at 110 so I did it at 95. We also did some interval training (which I like) and some climbing (which I wasn't really feeling today). Overall, I burned 354 kJ, not too bad since I missed the first few minutes.

Then I went and walked/ran a mile and a half. I wanted to start the Couch to 5K program, but my ipod froze up. However...

I think I'm going to try to do a triathlon.

I can easily bike 10 miles, but don't really like to swim or run. But I'd like to be able to say I did it. I'm looking at the sprint distance HoosierWoman triathlon here in Bloomington on July 31st. Swim 500 meters (~1/4 mile), bike 16.1 km (~10 miles), run 5 km (~3.1 miles). I think I can do it. If I practice. :)

BBC Breaking Away Ride

Time: 3:05:57

Distance: 35.603 miles

Average Speed: 11.4 mph

Max Speed: 32.3 mph

Calories Burned: 1155.9

Fat Burned: 107.9 g

The BBC's Breaking Away ride was awesome! We saw all the main characters' houses, visited the quarries seen in the movie, and saw all the sites downtown and on campus. We even rode on the Little 500 track! It was a really fun ride full of Breaking Away factoids and trivia. The leader of the ride even wore a Cinzano jersey!

Other funny things from today's ride include an older gentleman complimenting me on my rack. He of course, meant my tubus rack, but when I giggled he realized that what he'd said was a double entendre. Also, some frat boys yelled at us "Little 500 was yesterday! But Eric Young says training never stops!" That was mildly entertaining to me. And for those of you not in the know, Eric Young is the "star" of the current Cutters team, who won their fourth consecutive Little 500 race yesterday.

I'm still learning to ride in a group, but I feel that I did pretty well today. And I was mostly not in the slow group. There was one area where I rode with some slower guys because I got separated at a stop light and didn't want to get lost. It's awesome to be able to tell that your riding is improving.

Overall, it was a fun, somewhat leisurely tourist type ride. I'm looking forward to riding with this group some more.

CycleFit

I kicked some booty in CycleFit today. We did tons of climbing. I definitely handled it well. And I burned 354 kJ.

My Wednesday class is led by a really nice guy named Brandon. I like his taste in music. And he's funny which makes me feel better when I'm working hard. Makes it seem easier somehow.

Tuesdays with Brett

Better than "Training" Ride?

Time: 1:24:46

Distance: 16.424 miles

Average Speed: 11.6 mph

Max Speed: 30.5 mph

Calories Burned: 543.4

Fat Burned: 52.9 g

We rode a really nice route today out by Cascade Park and Golf Course. Really nice (and smooth!) roads, not terribly trafficked, and nice scenery that follows a creek and playgrounds and the golf course. There is also a cool Buddhist house, apparently run by the Dalai Lama's brother (who lives here in Bloomington). However, that hill by the Buddhist house is sort of insane. I will have to come up with a better strategy of gear changing than I did today. I didn't get low enough fast enough and had to walk it. Next time though... Otherwise it was a pretty slow, mellow ride. I was actually a little cold and wish I had thought to take long sleeves. Spring in the Midwest... so fickle.

CycleFit

Had a pretty good mix of stuff in CycleFit today. Did some speed work, did some climbing, and did some intervals. I liked it. And I think I more or less did everything like I was supposed to. And I was dripping sweat (which I think is a good thing when you're working out :D). Burned 354 kJ. And it was yucky out today so I didn't miss out on any real riding. :)

BBC Nice and Easy Ride

Time: 1:28:49

Distance: 18.136 miles

Average Speed: 12.2 mph

Max Speed: 31.8 mph

Calories Burned: 596.5

Fat Burned: 62.6 g

Did my first ride with the Bloomington Bicycle Club today. The Sunday Nice and Easy ride called Tramway. Here is a link to the map. These numbers are just from Bryan Park and then to my house (I left along the route, since it was so close and I didn't feel like doubling back). So add another 4.5 miles or so from my house to Bryan Park for total distance ridden today.

It's pretty toasty today (80*F) and windy (SSW at 25 to 30 mph). It made for a difficult ride out, but an easy ride back in. That hill on Victor Pike was certainly easier than the last time I did it!

The BBC is a nice group of riders and I think I'll do some more rides with them. I find it a little difficult to ride in a group right now, having never done it before, but I'm sure I will learn a lot from them and spend less time being lost. So I'm excited about that. I will definitely be sticking to the Nice and Easy rides for now though!

Not so awesome things to note... I have some awesome (note the sarcasm) tan lines from the 50ish miles I've done since Friday. I think I have to invest in some shorter shorts (with better chamois!) and some tank top or sleeveless jerseys. Also, my hands are killing me. I don't know if it's strictly from such bumpy roads yesterday or because my hands got sweaty and rubbed my brake hoods or a combination of those and other effects, but I'm not sure how to remedy that.

However, I still feel awesome and am excited about attempting to become a cyclist.

"Training" Ride

Time: 2:02:02

Distance: 26.259 miles

Average Speed: 12.8 mph

Max Speed: 32.1 mph

Calories Burned: 888.9

Fat Burned: 94.2 g

I need to come up with a better title than "Training" Ride. They're way more fun than they are training. I mean, I'm working up to a tour, not a race. Everything about this is fun!

Anyway, here is the link to the ride I did today. Of course, I got a little lost and ended up taking some roads I don't really want to take again. Vernal Pike has lots of awesome cows that hang out right beside the road next to this nice little creek. However, it also is super rough with terrible potholes and pothole patch jobs. My hands took a serious beating. Also, I think I'll stick with wearing my sunglasses even if it's not going to be a serious sun-in-the-face ride. We had some crazy thunderstorms this morning and I got sprayed a bit from the wet roads. I think my eyes will thank me for that little bit of protection. Or I should just get fenders as my legs didn't really appreciate the muddy spray either.

Actually... I think I practically went mountain biking today with all the mud and bumps and stuff! I even had a hill that resembled a mountain (which, I'm only barely ashamed to admit, I had to walk up part of).

I'm glad I ended up buying a cyclocross bike. I'm not sure I'm ready for a dedicated road bike, especially with these types of road conditions. Speaking of... I bought my cross check three weeks ago today and it rolled over 100 miles on this ride. :)

Also, I totally think I can do the Breaking Away ride next week. If I do that and the Hilly Hundred, I'll be like a bona fide Hoosier!

Daily Commute

Time: 48:16

Distance: 10.947 miles

Average Speed: 13.6 mph

Max Speed: 32.6 mph

Calories Burned: 371.5

Fat Burned: 41.8 g

Took a long way home. Not included in this is my side trip to Bikesmiths to buy a new water bottle. Also, I think I had moved my little computer reader thing so it was reading a little weird at first, reading 0 mph even though my wheel was spinning or jumping between 7-10 to 18-21 mph. I also went through Bryan Park today. Lots of baseball games going on and tons of kids on the playgrounds and cookouts at the shelters getting started. It's a really nice day to be out.

I tried to go the Community Orchard route, but had to make a couple of U turns, including one terrible "scenic route" on Walnut Street Pike. I turned right when I should have turned left, which made me ride on one of the more trafficky roads on the route for way longer than I wanted to. Plus it's sort of hilly. Bad combination. I generally feel much better riding in traffic with someone else. But I think I managed pretty well. Although I wish I had a better sense of direction.

CycleFit

We did interval training again in CycleFit. I like interval training. We did speed intervals and climbing intervals. I chose speed work on the "rider's choice" intervals. I really need to get better at spinning faster now that I feel I've gotten stronger on hills. And I burned 364 kJ today. I'm hoping to push that closer to 400 when I can breathe again.

"Training" Ride

Time: 1:14:32

Distance: 15.800 miles

Average Speed: 12.7 mph

Max Speed: 30.5 mph

Calories Burned: 517.3

Fat Burned: 54.4 g

Nice Tuesday ride with Brett. We've decided we're going to try to do these every Tuesday when the weather is nice, which should be more and more often. I'm excited about these longer rides.

We followed a similar route to the one we did Saturday. By the orchard and then took the Clear Creek Trail. The rain yesterday made the creek nice to ride by as it's a bit fuller than it will be later in the summer. Here's a map and elevation profile of the loop, which I then did in reverse to get to my house around mile marker 7.



I'm so glad I decided to do CycleFit. It has made me way stronger. I would never be able to do these rides without that headstart.

CycleFit

No commute today... thunderstorms. :(

CycleFit almost killed me today. We did a lot of speed/cadence work, but I'm having some sort of terrible allergy thing this year, which progressed from completely stopped up face to can't stop coughing today. So breathing is not my forte. However, I did manage to go sort of fast (but not as fast as I was supposed to).

I forgot the exact number, but I think I burned in the 330 kJ range today. So not terrible considering I can't breathe. But I can certainly do better.

"Training" Ride

Time: 1:20:18

Distance: 16.104 miles

Average Speed: 12.0 mph

Max Speed: 33.6 mph

Calories Burned: 518.0

Fat Burned: 50.9 g

Went on an amazing ride with my friend Brett on the south side of town. It's really windy out (55*F with winds WNW at 20 to 25 mph), but there's nice farmland out there. It was really awesome to ride with another person. We have a little different styles of riding, so it was motivating to go fast in places I may not have gone so fast and to take it easy in places I may have beat myself up to try to do "better".

We got a little lost (in fact my cycloputer turned itself off at one point when we were trying to figure out where we were... so I may have missed a section of our ride, most likely a small one), but we saw some cool stuff. We saw the Bloomington Community Orchard, lots of farms with horses and cows, some really nice neighborhoods we'd never seen. It was really great to be out.

Also, Brett says he's impressed at how I attack the hills. That made me feel pretty good. :) Although I'm impressed at the slow and steady method he takes. I feel like I wouldn't make it without that burst of momentum before the hill really starts. I'm looking forward to trying some group rides and learning more about different riding styles and bettering mine.

Also, I got my haircut really short yesterday. It stood up to the helmet test. Woot!