despite the wind (it wasn’t windy when i departed), i took my road bike out today and i remember why i bought it. the easy shifting, the quick response, the acceleration, the sheer lack of weight…like a breath of fresh air. the weather has got multiple personalities today. it was windy at dawn, calm and mild when i walked anna, hot when i was biking, and now it’s back to blowing our wind chimes around. i’ve opened up all the doors and windows…ahhh…like a breath of fresh air. wait, it is a breath of fresh air.

11.91 miles / 55.06 minutes / 12.9 mph average speed (this number was higher before i took a detour to whole paycheque). it appears that i’ve put 500 miles on this bike as of today. and i hit 25.5 mph as a max speed even with a headwind. i was going so fast my eyes watered. so much for taking it easy.

i averaged 13.6 mph today. zoom zoom…

10.62 miles / 46.46 minutes / you already know about the 13.6…

with the president in brentwood and the 405 expansion, i decided to bike to westwood to meet up w/ HRJ and m last thursday. according to google maps bike recommendation, i should start out going east on arizona which becomes texas, then turn south on westgate, then turn east on ohio, and turn north on veteran. after that, it’s anyone’s guess because westwood is always a cluster****. arizona was relatively deserted and a bit hilly but nothing insurmountable. in fact, the whole route was relatively deserted. ohio was a breeze with both bike lanes and delineations as a bike route and only a couple lights between westgate and veteran. soooo easy to ride under the 405.

i had grand plans of taking some photos in westwood park at the corner of veteran and wilshire, but instead spent 15 minutes discussing the finer points of wordpress. and then it got chilly as the sun started to really set. i resumed my journey north on veteran and turned right on kinross then left on gayley. i headed north and safely dismounted at the corner of the parking garage nearest to the car. success!

4.51 miles / 29.35 minutes / 9.1 mph average speed

10.62 miles / 49.29 minutes / 12.8 mph average speed / felt like i was going faster but oh, well

10.63 miles / 48.49 minutes / 13 mph average speed / biked to bundy instead of 26th

8.61 miles / 41.52 minutes / 12.3 mph avg speed

8.62 miles / 41.25 minutes / 12.4 mph avg speed

I can’t remember what day this was but it was sometime before the end of March…

8.58 miles / 39.32 minutes / 12.9 mph avgerage speed

9.16 mi / 46.19 mins / 11.8 mph average speed

This post should actually be titled “from hip to heart.” now that i’m a bit more confident and comfortable on my bike, i’ve decided i should push myself a bit harder. You know, burning legs, heart throbbing, heavy breathing, sweating. I’m still talking about biking, what were you thinking about? Today, I biked 8.61 miles for 41.5 minutes and maintained an average speed of 12.3 mph. Then i came home and did my strength exercises. Tomorrow will tell me how i feel. Btw, i mistook my gearing in a previous post. I wasn’t in the third easiest gear. I was in the third easiest gear with the chain on the smallest front cog. I have never quite understood gearing (granted, i’ve never really taken the time to understand it), but i can assure you, this is about middle of the road for difficulty. Not that it really matters, my body went the speed it wanted to; it just so happens it was harder than i thought. Last but not least, i wore my new helmet liner on my ride today coupled with a long-sleeve jersey and bike shorts. I was a bit hot in the sun and a bit chilly in the shade/ wind but the liner was perfect. My ears stayed warm and i think it kept me from getting too cold. Remind me not to give these away the next time we move…