Year End Wrap Up 2011

Well, after going for a few weeks without a ride I’ve reluctantly decided to call it a season. Along with the weather and the shorter daylight hours, my family schedule during the school year got to the point where a consistent riding schedule just wasn’t feasible. So, now I have resigned to the occasional outdoor ride when weather cooperates and basement trainer rides as time allows.

This year ended up being better than I ever would have expected. My total mileage for the year was just over 2,000 miles. Organized ride highlights included TOSRV (Double Century), Ride to Montauk (1/2 Century), Land of Legend (1/2 Century),  Ride the Darby (1/2 Century), Westerville Dry Run (70 mi.) Along with many miscellaneous group rides such as the Dutch Kitchen Rides, Westerville Bike Club Wednesday nights, Dublin Thursday nights and the West Jeff Sunday morning rides.

I have to give a big shout out to my riding buddy Larry for giving me some extra motivation here and there when I probably would have rather just slept in.

The Dutch Kitchen Ride

There is a local ride that I had heard about for years, but just in the last couple of months have had the chance to do. A small Amish restaurant in Plain City called the Dutch Kitchen is a gathering spot for cyclists on Saturday mornings, and I suppose other times as well. It seems like anyone around here who has been into cycling knows about this ride or has done it at some point. On any given Saturday there are bikes lined up around the building as you arrive. In the back rooms, cyclists from all over the area gather for breakfast and a chance to hang out and catch up on the weeks events.

For me, it ends up being close to a 40-mile round trip with the group that I’ve been riding with. We leave at 7:10 a.m. and usually are back before the real heat of the summer days starts to kick in. It’s a nice group with a good portion of experienced riders that I’ve had the chance to learn from as well as increase my speed and skill with. Having a good hearty breakfast too is just a plus and something I’ve welcomed after eating tons of Cliff Bars all summer while riding.

Lot’s of riding, not much posting

Been so busy riding lately that I haven’t had much time to post anything so I thought I would give a quick update. Been riding with a buddy of mine on a pretty regular basis recently. Mostly group rides out of different locations around the city (Westerville, Dublin, Plain City). Some after work and some on weekend mornings. I’ve definitely noticed my average speeds jumping up when riding in these groups with most of them between 16 and 17 mph. As summer starts to wind down and it starts getting dark earlier, we’ll enjoy the afterwork rides as there days are numbered.

Marking a milestone

It occurred to me the other day, that I had reached one of those moments where you look around you and think, Wow, look how far I’ve come.

In the last month or so since TOSRV I’ve really been stepping up my riding in terms of speed and distance. I’m rarely riding the bike trail these days because of the group riding that my buddy and I have been doing regularly exceeds the 15 mph limit. In fact, we’ve been riding consistently in the B groups that average rolling speeds of 18-22 mph. This brings me back to the former point.

Less than a year ago (last September) I participated in my first organized ride. I had been training all summer for it and did the 35 mile ride. My average speed for the ride was 14 mph. Last Wednesday I rode an after work group ride covering much of the same area as my organized ride did. This time I rode 42 miles at an average speed of 18 mph. It was definitely a milestone.

A Change of Scenery – Part II

Rode the Land of Legend tour this past weekend. Was definitely was under prepared for the hills that were long and steep. Ended up riding just over 50 miles at a 15 mph average, but felt like a lot more after doing all the hills! It was a bit of a wake up call on that front as most of my rides are relatively flat. Going to have to start adding in a lot more hill work if I decide to ride something like this again! Otherwise it was a nice ride and once again a nice change of scenery.

A Change of Scenery

If you’re like me, you probably have a route that you ride regularly. You know every twist, turn, stop sign and intersection. So, when you have a chance to ride somewhere completely new, you really enjoy it. That is exactly what happened recently as we visited friends on Long Island. It was the first time that I had taken my bike along on vacation in order to do a ride out into the Hamptons. We put in approximately 58 miles riding at a 16 mph average through quiet neighborhoods and ocean front properties on a beautiful sunny day.

The Next Step

I’ve accomplished my goal of riding a century. So, what’s next? As you read in my TOSRV post, riding with a group near the end of my back-to-back centuries had a big effect on me. Much of my century training and riding had been done solo. This was mostly deliberate as I wanted to prove to myself that I could accomplish this goal on my own, but due to the bad weather and indoor training (riding on my trainer) it was also a necessity. Now that I’ve accomplished my goal and the weather has improved, I’ve really begun to explore group riding. I enjoy the camaraderie, but mostly I’ve seen a huge boost to my performance when riding with a group. Obviously, when you are drafting off of others you can achieve higher speeds, but even when the group is riding loosely there still seems to be a mental edge achieved by pacing with a group that I seem to have a tough time doing while riding solo.

Still, there is a down-side to this group riding thing. Scheduling to ride with others can be a challenge. Most times it is a set time and you ride with whoever shows up. Other times there are numerous inter-communications between riders to set up a ride. Either way, I now understand even more why my solo training for TOSRV was a necessity. There were just too many times that I would do my training rides at whatever times best fit my schedule without having to worry about coordinating with someone else. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the group rides and will continue them, but I also see the value of continued solo riding.