Mike's Bike Blog

Jeff's not the only one that got a Personal Record today. I got 2 on today's ride. For my lunch ride I left my house and went down Limecreek Road to Volente Beach for a 20 mile out and back. Today's goal was form sprints, 6-8 x 8-12 second sprints at 516 watts and NOT to do them all out.

When I got to the turnaround point in Volente I was close to my fastest time, this was good news since I was into the wind on the way out. I knew I wouldn't be able to do the 20 miles in 1 hour which is my overall goal, but I thought it would be close. I continued back doing my sprints, but not really concentrating on speed, but just riding.

As I approached the 3 Sisters I had a decision to make, I could either try to go for a record time up it but then not have enough in the tank to finish the overall ride strong. (After going all out on the 3 Sisters it takes a minute or two to recover). Or I could go up it at a steady pace, albeit slower but at the top be able to get back up to speed. Looking at the time as I hit the Sisters I decided to give a go at a fast time up it. I calculated that I would be 2 minutes off my 60 min goal.

At the base I was in my large ring, I usually spin 1/3 of the way up or around the Fisher Hollow road and then I shift down to the smaller ring and continue up. This time I wanted to try a different strategy. This time I didn't shift to the small ring at all till I hit the 2nd sister. When it was all said and done I finished the climb in 3'11",  5 seconds faster than my previous best.

Surprisingly I was able to get back up to speed relatively fast. Like I suspected I finished in 1:02. A bit faster than my previous best time for the Volente Down and Back. So I got 2 PRs for the price of one today. I like that math! Plus I didn't have to endure any pesticides.

Ride Statistics and Power Data