Pedal Commute

A long-time member of this site’s fan club (1 of like… 3) reminded me that an update was overdue… so here I am indulging. At the same time, I realized I haven’t posted anything Cycling related in months, mainly because I’m not devoted to the sport as heavily anymore. In the past, cycling was a fun hobby for me, especially since riding a bicycle was my only way of getting around college. I used to build bikes like I did cars and frequented group rides. Now I don’t even have a bike of my own and I ride by myself.

While I may not be as particular about bicycles as I once was, it will always be something I do. I don’t know exactly when my metabolism is going to slow down, or whatever, but when it does, this is my way of making sure I have a contingency in place. I don’t hit gym and don’t like running… hence why I ride a bike for exercise (although I would take up swimming if that was more feasible). As for what to actually ride, the arrangement I have now works out nicely. I just borrow my Dad’s road bike when I need it, usually to ride home from work. I aim for at least once a week… yet this target is realistically closer to once every 2 weeks.

On each of these rides, I try to reduce my times. This week, I discovered the effectiveness an impetus can have on pace. I was at work longer than planned, and with the already early-setting of the sun, it became a bid for light. When riding next to cars, I’m not too fond of riding at night, especially during this season when there can be a half hour to an hour gap of darkness before the street lamps come on. I didn’t push myself over the limit or anything, but was able to maintain a more consistent pace and covered the 20 mile Northbound trek in 50 minutes. I haven’t ridden Southbound yet, but it should be noticeably quicker in that direction since there’s little headwind and 2 major hill climbs become downhills.

Anyway, my goal is to keep my time around the 50 minutes to an hour range or better… and of course to ride more often.