Jul 212012
 

I have acquired a video by Tacx, set in the Pyrenees, and I really enjoy this one. I am not sure if that helped me or not bit it seems that I actually set a record for time in the saddle and distance and average speed. I rode an hour for the first time ever and also rode 21.3 miles and 21.3 mph. I am not sure how this will translate to actual road time, but I do know that on my trainer I am constantly pedaling and not getting off of the bike during that time, so I think it is harder to ride on my trainer. Guess that will be something to try soon when I actually take my bike on the road.
Thanks for reading,
Later

 Posted by at 8:16 PM
Jul 212012
 

I only had a single brazed on area for a water bottle holder and I am planning on riding some longer rides soon and wanted to see how I could add a water bottle holder to my bike. I found M-Wave plastic water bottle which clamps on to just about anywhere. I found it at http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/M-Wave-Plastic-Cage-for-Water-Bottle/11065150?adid=bzv_fb_revshr_001 and ordered it. I put it on my handlebar and have loved it there ever since, now I do have to admit it has not seen the road yet, but it feels tight enough that it shouldn’t be a problem. I have heard the seat bottle holders like to jettison bottles, I just hope this is not the case with this one.
Thanks for reading,
Later

 Posted by at 8:00 PM
Jul 192012
 

Well, just rode again, and since I had just ridden the other night for longer than any other time, I thought I would just ride 30 minutes. Now the farthest I have ever ridden in 30 minutes was just under 10 miles, tonight I made it 10.4 miles which gave me the fastest average speed so far of 20.8 mph. Minor accomplishment, but one nonetheless. I think I may drag my bike outside this weekend!
Thanks for reading.
Later

 Posted by at 9:53 PM
Jul 182012
 

Well my working out on the trainer seems to be paying off, I set a few different marks that I feel are impressive as well as achieving a goal I set almost a month ago. First the goal that I set, which is what caused me to work so hard last night, on mapmyride.com/tdf  you set a goal to achieve a subset of the Tour de France, any where from 100% of the tour to 4.6% or 100 miles of the tour, which is what I chose. I had achieved 84 miles as of yesterday morning, so in order to complete it I would have needed to log another 16 miles, which I have never ridden that far before. So that was my mini goal last night to hit 16 miles in one session, and thought I would bike an hour to achieve it, well I made it with some time to spare. I actually completed 16.5 miles and it took me 50 minutes to do it, and in 45 minutes I had completed 14.7 miles, completely blowing out my old distance and time max from before.  I also set a record for myself by making it 9.5 miles in 30 minutes, and I actually was feeling quite good at 30 minutes. I actually blew my old average speed out of the water too, the fastest average I had before was 17.6 mph, last night I actually made it 19.8 mph over the course of my ride. I am starting to feel very confident in my fitness level as far as starting to join a biking group and being able to keep up with them. On a side note, all of this riding has also had a side effect which is also making me happy, I have dropped from 214 on 6/25 to 208 as of 7/18, that was not just from biking, it is from biking and watching my intake of food and snacks and I also have been weighing myself everyday, which I think really helps me, it forces me to consider what I am eating the previous day or two.

Thanks for reading,

Later

 Posted by at 11:57 AM
Jul 162012
 

I have been riding the trainer now for almost a month, during that time I have learned a lot about myself and about using a trainer, and I am still ramping up my distances and average speeds. I have hit an all time high miles of 13.2 miles in 45 minutes, which works out to 17.6 mph (which is the fastest average speed I have maintained). I have also achieved 138 miles total logged in this time. I have started to feel like it is paying off to keep on working out, I would also like to say that the videos are very helpful as well at keeping me motivated, even if I just pedal away at a steady pace while someone just keeps trying to get me to go faster and faster on the video. I am getting closer to being able to start riding outside where I will feel I can keep up. Hopefully it will be soon.

Thanks for reading,

Later

 Posted by at 3:47 PM
Jul 042012
 

Well, biked on the trainer again, trying to follow a spinning video. Holy crap, they could kill a person, and it is a bad idea to try and stand and pedal on an indoor trainer, very hard, there is not enough resistance to make it work, no matter the gear. Also, you wouldn’t think that changing gears would do anything, but you can really get a good workout if you go up in gears! I also set the longest distance I have ever biked record again, covering 11.3 miles in 45 minutes. Glad it is starting to get better, getting close to being comfortable enough to join a local club.
Thanks for reading,
Later

 Posted by at 11:18 PM
Jul 022012
 

Well, took a couple of days off of riding, had some time issues that made it so I could not ride. I put in 30 minutes and covered 8.25 miles and used my smaller cogs in the back for only the second time. It is surprising how much harder it really is to turn that gear over, after like 5 minutes you are really feeling it, your legs really start burning. I intermingled the small cog with the larger ones and just kept going switching to different gears as I rode. I also started to use some virtual rides, these are videos that you are taken on a ride in a different location, they are really quite neat, although the one brand seems to spend a lot of time showing the bikers instead of the actual ride environment itself. I prefer those videos because I like the power output they show and cadence and speed, lets you know what you could expect to be doing on your ride, I just do not like the emphasis on the riders. Oh well, enough for now.

 

Thanks for reading,

Later

 Posted by at 9:56 AM
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