A Day of small Firsts for me

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My ride today was a little bit special for me, as several "firsts" or thresholds were passed.

DH and I mapped out a 41 mile rather hilly ride through various towns in our area. (This in "training" for me for the 60 mile trip we hope to do into MA and back soon.)

Today's "firsts" or "mosts":

LONGEST single ride ever: 42 miles.
SLOWEST ride average ever: only 8.6 mph (!!!!) ....DAMNED HILLS!!!!!
FASTEST ever speed going downhill: 38.9 mph
FIRST flat tire ever. Rear tire, DH watched while I changed the flat ALL BY MYSELF with no assistance or coaching. I found the tiny brown glass sliver that was the culprit, and even patched the damaged tube when we got home. Sure isn't easy getting the rear wheel back on without turning the bike upside down- next time I will do that. I am proud of myself- I didn't forget any of the steps!
Oh....PLUS, I put the tire bead back on with just my bare hands! DH was pretty impressed by that. Next time I will attempt to take it off with just my hands as well...I just didn't think of trying it this time until halfway through the procedure.

I am rather beat and my thighs are plenty sore- so many hills. Tomorrow morning I have a small group ride I am looking forward to- only 20 miles so that should be ok if I get a decent night's sleep. The amazing thing is that my sitbones are not that sore, despite my brand new Brooks saddle not being broken in yet. I'm lucky there, as this was not the case with my first Brooks saddle 10 months ago.

[teigyr]

That downhill speed...incredible! Was it scary?

And flats, it's always the rear. Bikes are so rude that way! Impressive though, getting those tires on can be daunting!!

The hills must have been ugly. Do you have any idea what grade they were?

Excellent ride though! I don't know if I would have had the patience what with the hills and the flat and the fact I only go about 10mph downhill

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That downhill speed...incredible! Was it scary?

Not as scary as last year when I went 36mph for the first time. I think I have a little more bike control now, so it is not quite as scary as when I was less sure of my skills.
Oh, and having a helmet mirror really was essential for me at high speed. At those speeds I really don't want to turn my head and take my eyes off the road, and glancing at my mirror every few seconds tells me there is no one behind us for a LONG ways so I can then safely stay slightly to the left of the righthand white line, on the good pavement -instead of flying along on the risky shoulder of the road, with it's cracks, crumbles, glass, roadkill, etc.- I would not want to do that.

The hills must have been ugly. Do you have any idea what grade they were?

No, but since we started and ended at "Point A" which was home, those screamingly fast hills going DOWN all had to be tortuously crawled back UP again!

SouthernBelle- Yes I actually DO believe my butt is tougher than it was last year! I remember the same effect with horseback riding long ago.

[Mr. Bloom]

Wow! All those firsts in one ride!!!!

[mimitabby]

sounds like a great ride, Lisa! and tomorrow you might be a little stiff at first
when you start your ride but in no time at all your muscles will relax
and you will have another great ride.

[teigyr]

really? I didn't know how that worked, I just assumed it was total time divided by total miles.

hmmmm.

ok, my brain hurts again. I do know that I can feel like I'm riding well and my average is up then I slow down for about 10 feet and it drops WAY down. At least that's how it seems

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

What the bike computer does is not "simply" average all the various speeds you did on that ride. It averages the time you spend in various speeds. For example, if you spend 15 minutes grinding up a long difficult incline at 6mph, and then turn around and it takes you 3 minutes flying back down the same hill at 30 mph, the computer averages 6mph x 15 and 30mph x 3. In other words, it gives 5 times the weight to the 6mph in the final average. Hence, in really hilly rides, my average goes WAY down despite those fast quick descents.

Mr Silver- yes, the flat tire was a totally unexpected addition thrown into the mix, but perfect timing really, since my DH was there if I needed him (which I really didn't in the end). I usually ride alone, and have been somewhat nervous about my inevitable first flat.

[DarcyInOregon]

Oh, and having a helmet mirror really was essential for me at high speed. At those speeds I really don't want to turn my head and take my eyes off the road, and glancing at my mirror every few seconds tells me there is no one behind us for a LONG ways so I can then safely stay slightly to the left of the righthand white line, on the good pavement -instead of flying along on the risky shoulder of the road, with it's cracks, crumbles, glass, roadkill, etc.- I would not want to do that.

Lisa, your "firsts" are not small, but gigantic. Good for you.

Also, when going fast on a descent, I put my bike out into the road where the cars can see me for certain, quite a bit to the left of the white line. Of course, it depends upon the road and the circumstances, but I think you are a rural cyclist like I am and so there isn't too much traffic. My reasoning is that by putting myself out into the traffic lane, vehicles will need to give me a real wide clearance to go around me, or wait until I reach the bottom of the descent, which makes my fast ride down the hill that much safer. I learned this trick from the guys at the LBS, and some older riders I've encountered say to do the same thing.

Regarding the average, Susan (the administrator of this forum) told me in another thread that many bike computers calculate the sit time into the average, even though the trip time is at a halt. I mean for the times we stop to eat, drink, look at the view, get our sit bones off the saddle, and so on, when the bike is just sitting there and not moving, yet the ride isn't over yet - and so, there goes the average. The next time my bike is in the LBS I am going to ask about it because I am a cyclist who stops to drink and munch, since I am not racing or anything, so I figure I should enjoy myself, and I stop at all the rest stops on the event rides. And as my distances increase this summer, I imagine the number of stops will increase, and thus the number of minutes devoted to no movement at all will increase. I will ask the LBS if my bike computer is configured that way.

Darcy

[lauraelmore1033]

At those speeds I really don't want to turn my head and take my eyes off the road, and glancing at my mirror every few seconds tells me there is no one behind us for a LONG ways so I can then safely stay slightly to the left of the righthand white line, on the good pavement -instead of flying along on the risky shoulder of the road, with it's cracks, crumbles, glass, roadkill, etc.- I would not want to do that.

That's a good idea to stay off the shoulder when you're going that fast. My husband has pointed out that when you're tearing down a hill like that, it is likely that you are at or above the speed limit and might as well take the lane. I think my top speed down hill was 34 mph (even with a death grip on my brakes) and it was terrifying because I knew that I couldn't stop if a car passed me and did something squirrely like make a sudden turn in front of me. Since the speed limit was 35, I could have taken the lane and prevented any of the above.

An impressive list of firsts, nonetheless!

I think I'm about to have my first tire change as well; I've got a bump about the size of a lentil above the rim of my rear tire. I think I'll be sticking close to home until she blows, though....

[margo49]

Well done, Lisa!

[oxysback]

Impressive list, Lisa. Good job!!

I think I'm about to have my first tire change as well; I've got a bump about the size of a lentil above the rim of my rear tire. I think I'll be sticking close to home until she blows, though....

Lauraelmore, why not fix it now so you don't have to worry about it later?

[lauraelmore1033]

Impressive list, Lisa. Good job!!




Lauraelmore, why not fix it now so you don't have to worry about it later?

now that would be the smart thing to do wouldn't it?

[SouthernBelle]

Good job, Lisa. When I'm struggling up a big ole hill, I always try to tell myself how it will pay off in the future. Of course, I'm still waiting.

Really, it will maked a stronger rider of you for every purpose.

Does play havoc with your speed and cadence averages though.

[SouthernBelle]

Hey, your butt is tougher too!

[Jenn]

Wow 38.9 that's fast!