Frosty!

I’ve had a cold all week, and I’ve scraped frost off my windshield all week, too. If I didn’t have a cold, and had been getting enough sleep and hydration…. I would still be in bed at 6am. It’s dark and cold and 40 minutes and bleh. I never have time to ride anymore. Too much commuting. Really, an hour a day? Gah.

Maybe it’s just that I’m exhausted from the cold. Or exhausted from lack of sleep. Or exhausted from lack of free time. Which leads to another thought:

I live for karate, really enjoy cello, and need to work. If I’m going to bike at all, it’s got to be the commute. I can barely find time for my cello.

The big question is: can I afford the extra time commuting by bike?  The only day I can bike in is Tuesday.

Today it snowed.  Though it was beautiful, I’m still fighting this cold.  Let’s see  how Tuesday works out.

Quickie

No idea how I managed to make a 10 mile ride into a 40 minute ordeal, or maybe my Odo is flunking again.  It was all hills, at any rate.  The return trip, 6 miles, felt much faster but still took 24 min.

It is so nice to be out on the bike again!

New Route

I’m still alive!  Really this time!

OK maybe not.  But I did bike in on Tuesday.  Now I’m on vacation!  If the rain stops I’ll bike again on Wednesday.  We’ll see.

Chic Cyclist: Repair Station at MIT

Chic Cyclist: Repair Station at MIT.

For my Boston Bike Buddies.

–

I had been hoping to bike in today, but I knew last night there was no chance of me waking up at 5am this morning.  I did manage to wake up by 5:45, so I’m getting there.  Alternatively, if I could manage to get my stuff together at night, I could get up later.

Right.

Long commute

My new, long, commute was a bit of a workout, I’ll admit.  I started feeling tired about 10 miles in.

It was nice to wake up so much later than normal (8am as opposed to 6) but leaving at twilight is going to stink.  I managed to stick my tail-light to one of my jersey pockets.  I never understood how awesome those pockets were.  For some reason, I imagined they would catch wind and create lots of drag.  Today I carried two sandwiches, my phone, and keys/ID, and all without a backpack.

As soon as I got to work I dropped my Odo.  Ugh!  Here’s what I remember of the numbers:

48min, 14.9mi
avg 18.4mph, max 32mph
78ºF, Odo 1000mi!
Cadence: 85

Yay!

Dark ages

I’ve moved. I’m no longer only 6 miles from work. Now it’s around 15 miles. I know what you’re thinking. (OK, I’m pretending to know what you’re thinking)  You’re thinking I’ll have to leave the house at 5:30am.  It’s true, but I’ll be testing my ride on Saturday.  I only have to be there at 11 so I can leave whenever.

Fortunately my shift will be changing next month: 8-5!

It’s been a while since I’ve ridden any distance on the bike.  Due to the sensitivity issue, knee issue, rain, and moving,  I’ve been driving.  And since I’ve passed my big test at the karate studio I haven’t been working out every Saturday morning.

This all leads up to a feeling of lazyness.  I miss the thrill of speed, I miss the focus, the pain, the monster leg strength.  I miss the independence.  I miss not needing to worry about the price of gas, about traffic.  I miss biking.

I’d have biked last night, to warm myself up to it, except the front derailleur is catching the chainring.  It sounds like a chainsaw.  I brought it down to the shop and they’re replacing it.

I miss my bike.

Bike to Work, day 37

First day back.  I usually don’t expect much when I’ve been off the bike this long.  In spite of this, I pushed for speed:

0:20′41, 6.75mi
avg 19.6mph, max 29.5mph
68ºF, Odo 982.2mi
Cadence: 90

Beautiful results!

–

I made a new friend on the ride home: Ian.  He thought I was someone else, heh.  We raced about and drafted eachother.  Fun!

0:21′05, 6.75mi
avg 19.2mph, max 33.0mph
87ºF, Odo 989.0mi
Cadence: 90

Too bad about that stop at the intersection, and that I bonked myself racing Ian.  Good day!

I likely won’t be biking next week, since I’m moving.

Bike to Work, day 36: Monsoon Season?

I’m hoping the monsoon season is over.

0:22′18, 6.67mi
avg 18.0mph, max 27.2mph
55ºF, Odo 968.5mi
Cadence: 90

It was nice to bike in, but keeping cadence at 90rpm is just not fun. Beats knee pain, sure, but it feels like needless work!

–

0:21′47, 6.98mi
avg 19.2mph, max 33.2mph
82ºF, Odo 975.4mi
Cadence: 90

So nice out!

Bike to Work, day 35

Zzz.

0:22′12, 6.45mi
avg 17.4mph, max 28.1mph
50ºF, Odo 951.0mi
Cadence: meh
*humid and cold

As you can probably tell, I didn’t have much gusto for sweating today. I was tired and didn’t feel like showering twice in one morning. When I arrived I realized I’d forgotten my towel again. Oh well.

Today will be a good day.

–

0:21′56, 6.67mi
avg 18.3mph, max 31.2mph
75ºF, Odo 957.7mi
Cadence: 90rpm

Much improvement, actually.  Maybe I am getting used to pushing at 90rpm.  Or maybe I don’t care.

Took abnormal routes today, less knee pain.

Bike to Work, day 34: Back!

This morning I hit my snooze button but didn’t go back to sleep; I couldn’t.  Today’s the day I get off my butt and bike to work!

It would have been yesterday, but I forgot to set the alarm back.  I woke up eager to ride, but it was already too late to leave.  Still, this allowed me to carry a larger quantity of clothes into the office.

I still forgot some essentials, for example: a towel, and some clothing I’d rather not mention.  Oh well.

0:21′40, 6.94mi
avg 19.2mph, max 28.6mph
54ºF, Odo 933.2mi
Cadence: 90rpm!
*Damp conditions, very humid

By ‘very humid’ I mean some of the time it felt like it was raining, except no water was falling, it just hung there in the air.

I took the bridge over the big intersection.  It took more time but I didn’t have to worry about traffic.

I keept my cadence at 85-100rpm the whole time.  A couple times I dropped below 80 but shifted right away.  Knee problems be gone!

It feels great to be back.

–

Biked lunch, too.

0:19′46, 6.76mi
avg 20.5mph, max 31.1mph
71ºF, Odo 944.6mi
Cadence: 90rpm!

Phew!