3 is the new 2, 20 is the new 10

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I am really pleased with how my riding strength has improved this past couple of weeks. I've only been biking for 3 1/2 months.

Up until now, I must confess that I almost never went into my 3rd (high) gear up front, because every time I did, it seemed like way too much pedaling resistance to me, even on flat ground. So, I've stayed mostly in the 1 & 2 (low and med) gear rings up front. A couple of days ago, on my usual ride, I started feeling like I was spinning my legs too much on the level parts. As a test, I went into 3rd gear and suddenly it seemed so easy! Well, since then I've been using the 3rd gear as much as I used to use the 2nd gear. I even have been able to go up some of the small inclines without getting out of 3rd. It amazes me. I am definitely upping my overall speed now by using 3rd a great deal. I can't believe it used to be so hard to pedal in 3rd! 3 is the new 2.

The other improvement I can clearly see is my ride distance. My "maintenance" route used to be a lovely 11 mile ride I tried to do 4 or 5 times a week. There is another nice route of about 10 miles that I would sometimes take instead for variety. They happen to meet up at one point that makes them form a sort of figure eight if you put them together.
My first route of 11 miles has lately begun to seem way too short, so I've recently started doing the whole figure eight, which has made my "usual" ride now 21 miles instead of 11. Now the 21 route feels more like the 11 mile route USED to feel. 20 is the new 10.

I remember the first time I did a 40 mile ride about 6 weeks ago, it really was hard. We did another 40 mile ride about 2 weeks ago (with actually more hills than the first one) and it didn't tire me out nearly as much!

I keeps amazing me how biking gets me into better shape when it seems more like I'm just simply having fun.
I want to ride as much as I can before the snow and ice take over!