100 MILES! Tuesday, February 28, 2006

That's a cumulative 100 miles. Over the course of this past month, I've logged over 100 miles on my bicycle -- 109, to be exact. So, on June 4th, I'll ride in one day the same mileage that it has taken the entire month of February for me to accomplish. I'm not worried. Things are actually getting better and I'm learning a lot. Did you know that it's easier to ride when it's above 40 degrees outside? This is truly a relief for me. This afternoon, I took a 10-mile spin over to Druid Hill Park for a few laps around the lake. It was about 42 degrees outside with a wind speed of 16 mph WNW bringing the temperature down to about 35 degrees. But it was sunny and Druid Hill Park is beautiful with downtown skyline vistas to the south, rolling green hills to the west and geese on the lake. There isn't much in the way of hills for climbing on that ride, but I rode some hills this past Sunday when I conquered 22 miles by taking on Baltimore's famous Hillside Ride. My average speed was up over 11 mph on Sunday and above 12 mph today. So, things are looking up. I'm not getting too comfortable, though. The rides get longer every Sunday. This week, the Team in Training is scheduled for 30 miles -- killer hills guaranteed. But I won't be starting from scratch, I'm in training.