November 11 & 12th rides

[kimikaw]

The unseasonal but beautiful weather continues here in southeast Wisconsin.Two sunny days with temps in the mid to upper 50's. On W3ednesday I was working from home, messing with a bunch of data. Started early, so I could take a longish break at lunch. Threw the bike in the back of the car and headed off to a parking spot next to the New Berlin/Oak Leaf trail here outside of Milwaukee. Did a nice 18 mile loop. Still struggling with feeling weak an hour or so into the ride, despite plenty of water. Able to ride, but feeling like I need to be in a lower gear than I should be.

Today I was taking a vacation day (well, two if we count tomorrow). Figured I'd test my it muust be electrolytes theory and mixed up some cytomax rather than just bringing plain old water. Nice idea - but mixing it and leaving on counter, didn't help me test the theory. Realized it as I got close to the parking spot. Didn't feel like driving all the way home, so ran into Walgreens and grabbed a smart water (I hate gatorade, just couldn't go there - anyone know a good non-sweet electrolyte/carb mix?)

Today rode 20 miles on the same trail, just a bit further at one end. Really was trying to work on cadence (I'm a fairly new rider, and keeping at an avg 80rpm over distance has been a struggle). Felt a bit stronger today. Ended up with an avg cadence of 87rpm and a slightly better avg speed (13.8 vs 13.3 yesterday), so maybe I am getting stronger. Still frustrated with overall speed - I read otherpeople's speed and cannot imagine maintaining an average of 17 or 20 or whatever.

Oh, and to end the ride...a little reminder of how much of a newb I am. I'd parked on the opposite side of a divided four lane road. Got halfway across and was in the median (which is wide and designed for bikes crossing from the trail). Tons of cars going by on the final two lanes. I started scrolling through the stats on the bike computer while I was waiting. Somehow I knocked it off the mount. It landed on the ground on the side I was NOT clicked out. Yes, I leaned over to get it. OUCH. Scrapped knee, hurt pride. Someday, I'll remember. That's three falls since I got the clipless pedals. Two while standing stopped with one foot clicked in.

Anyone else still able to get these kind of unexpected rides in?

[redrhodie]

Still frustrated with overall speed - I read otherpeople's speed and cannot imagine maintaining an average of 17 or 20 or whatever.

There are so many reasons someone (even you) may be faster than someone else. Terrain varies, conditions vary, bikes weigh more or less, people ride in groups. It all has an effect.

Rather than focus on speed, why not look at your endurance? Or, are you able to get up a hill you couldn't previously? I think these are better gauges to determine how you're doing than whether you're faster than someone else. Best gauge of all, how do you feel after you ride? That's the most important thing.

[azfiddle]

We had great weather for a ride in southern Arizona Wednesday, and the day off for Veteran's Day. My DH and I rode from Amado to Arivaca, two small towns south of Tucson. The route is very rural, through a ranching area covered with mesquite and desert grassland. It climbs about 1000 feet, then drops into the valley where Arivaca is located. Lots of great views of close and distant mountains. Nice milestone for me: we tacked on a couple of miles at the end to get to 50 for the day- my longest ride so far. I tried to post it to ridewithgps.com, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly.