Epic Bicycle Trip

Today my wife and I visited the Allegheny River Trail today. My wife is not as "speedy" as I am (ha ha) so we rode 5 miles down the trail together, and then she rested while I did a 2.5 mile "power ride." So, by the time we rode 5 miles together, and I rode 2.5 miles and back solo, and then we did the 5 mile return trip, I got my 15 miles in, and got a little bit of a workout at least. Thanks to my wife for "indulging" me.

Part of my "training" is exploring the little country roads and lanes in my immediate vicinity, learning different routes I can take to extend my ride, where the hills are, etc. Today I took yet another slightly different route. The distance ended up being 14.3 miles: This route had some hills, and it felt like I had a head wind all the way! My average speed only ended up at 10.6 MPH. Still, I managed to keep it above 10. I did have to go to 1:1 for two very long, steep hills, but I tried to make up some time on the downhills and more level areas. Of course, for every uphill there is a downhill; they never feel very long but my maximum speed on this ride was 42 MPH - which could be why the downhills feel so short. My strokes max out at about 35 MPH on my crossover bike, so the last 7 MPH is coasting with momentum LOL. My total time was 1:20:43. I'm OK with that. My current goals are: Increase average speed to 15 MPH (that might take

Took a different route today. Thought it would be longer, but interestingly, it wasn't - much. Distance:10.87 miles Average Speed: 12.3 miles Time: 52.53 minutes

Today's Ride: Same course as before Average speed 11.8 MPH Time 45:03 minutes So, I improved the time and the average speed. On the "big hill" I had to go to 2:1 (but at least I avoided 1:1) I was deliberately trying to improve speed, so the ride was a success in that respect. My quads are definitely my biggest problem - the burn is still getting so bad I am forced to slow down and ease up at certain points in the ride.

So, my ride a few days ago was just a "warm up." Today was my first "official" training ride. I rode the same course I did last time. I made it up the "big hill" on the second chain ring, second sprocket (so, went from 1:1 to 2:2) My average speed was   10 .5 MPH. (improved) My total distance was   8.755 miles (about the same, obviously.) My total time was   50 minutes 16 seconds (this time my chain didn't come off LOL) I'm on my way!

So, I have a new goal for biking. I'm going to ride the Erie to Pittsburgh trail, which passes through my hometown, to Pittsburgh; then I'm going to ride the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland; and finally, I'm going to ride the Cumberland Trail to Maryland. I have one year to prepare for this trip, and I'm starting now. Today I did a "test ride." The weather was fair (for March) and I was able to ride about 8.5 miles, including a few significant hills. My average speed was about 9 MPH but the entire trip still took me about 1.05 hours. There is a very large hill on this ride and I had to go all the way down to my #1 Chain Ring and my #1 sprocket for the entire distance of the hill. Goal #1: Ride this hill in something hire than 1:1. Goal #2: Increase average speed to 10 MPH (consistently.)