I am a bit behind the locals when it comes to cranking out the miles this year. Psimet recently opined about reaching 2000 miles, while Mr Arron is charging hard to top the 700 mile mark for the month of July. Checking my odometer, it only has 1452 miles. The lack of centuries and skipping out on RAIN this year seems to have taken it's toll on racking up the distance.
This is not all bad, though.
A lot of my miles have come on the weekly 28.4 mile Penny Road Pub ride, which is usually done in a brisk 20-21 mph average, or my miles have come from a half dozen hilly Wisconsin rides. There haven't been a lot of junk miles (not that those other guys are junk miling it).
Yesterday morning I went out early for what ended up being a 42.8 mile ride. Despite the low 70s temps, the air was hazy and humid. I was dripping with sweat. Despite the moisture, the ride was really zippy at 20.3 mph average. A few years ago the same route would have been somewhere between 16 and 17 mph.
I attribute much of this faster riding to the Tuesday night rides. The Tuesday night ride has pushed me to keep up with guys I couldn't keep up with when I started joining in last summer. This year I'm still not their equal, but I can hang much longer in the pack.
The other part of yesterday's higher speed was the fresh pavement on the roads near my place. It's a revelation when a flat road goes from pitted and potholed to smooth asphalt. Worth several mph over a few miles. Wonderful. All roads should be so smooth.
Alright. Going to get out there in a little while to rack up a few more miles. I'm falling behind...
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2 comments:
That new pavement was like butter. Good riding with you today. Need to bump into each other more often.
behind. with a normal pace of 20 mph for july you cleary are ahead or OTF. for sure. later.
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