STATS (AM): None
STATS (PM)
DISTANCE: 5 mi.
TIME: 28:59
AVG. SPD: 10.4 mph
My very first “two-a-day” training, morning and evening rides around the Miramar Reservoir.
The AM ride
AM conditions were custom-made. Sunny, light breeze. No cars on the loop around the lake. And nary a pop, a click or a grind out of place from Big Lizard. Perfect.
Well, almost perfect. I do wish the bees would cut me some slack.
I understand the importance of bees in our food chain. Without them, we might well starve, for real. I love bees, I do.
Just not when they’re trying to fly up my nose at 14 mph.
If you’re trying to get in shape by riding a bike, San Diego is a great place to be. Great weather almost all year ’round. Long stretches of straightaway along the coast, and lots of hills to make you work. Is it any wonder that world-class cyclists have been seen training here?
Tried to focus on my pedaling stroke. It’s not just ragged. It’s raggedy! It’s supposed to be nice and round, a perfect circle, so that all your energy gets applied to propelling the bike forward. No wasted motion.
My pedal stroke right now is all over the place. One pedal trying to go faster than the other, the other pedal trying to go straight up and down instead of making that nice, perfect circle. In other words, it’s a mess! If it weren’t for the toeclips, my feet probably would’ve been off the pedals as much as on. I wasted enough motion to roll back the ocean.
If Big Lizard had facial expressions, he would’ve been shooting me annoyed looks all morning. I’ve got work to do.
Did something on the reservoir loop that I would never do on the street. Rode with earphones in my ears, plugged into my iPod.
I definitely can understand why folks like to ride with their earphones on. You definitely can ride faster, work harder, with the music to spur you on. And while I didn’t time today’s loop, I’m pretty sure I averaged well over 10 mph, which would be a sign of progress for me.
And felt good afterward!
So why not ride with them in the street? Two reasons:
- It isn’t safe.
When it comes to staying safe in traffic while on your bike, your ears are as important as your eyes. And - It’s illegal.
In many states — including California, where I live — it’s against the law to operate a vehicle, any vehicle, while wearing headphones or earbuds. Why? See 1.
Few cops ever write citations for this; most don’t want to bother with cyclists unless they’ve been in an accident. But they could, at any time.
Word to the wise.
The PM Ride
Doing this 5-mile loop in the afternoon definitely has a different vibe. For one thing, a lot more joggers, dogs, rollerbladers and baby strollers out, which makes if harder to try to do any speed work.
Not that I let that stop me…even managed it is a shade under 28 minutes for an average speed of 10.4 mph. I really wasn’t expecting to break the 10 mph barrier this soon, so that feels good. Progress!
Actually, I didn’t really “break” the barrier. “Scratched the paint on it” probably would be closer to the truth. But you have to start somewhere, right?
The other thing that’s different in the afternoon: the winds. That means stronger headwinds coming out of those east-west hairpin turns.
There was a time, back in the day, when I really hated headwinds. I mean really hated them. I cursed them, talked about their mothers. if headwinds had an address, I might have been tempted to do a drive-by on it.
I still have no love for headwinds, but now I realize that, like the bees, they too have a purpose. They make me work. They force me to become a stronger, more disciplined rider.
So I guess I need to cut Mother Nature some slack, huh?