Ride Journal: 7/16/2008

The Route

Today I wanted to go for a longer ride. I also wanted to finally get this bike onto the Greenway, Minneapolis’ premier bike path. Eight miles seemed like a good amount — farther than I’d gone so far, but not so far that I’d use more than my allotted hour.

Another nice thing about this route is that I got to try two more inclines, the ascents on the Martin Olav Sabo Bridge — both of which are more challenging than the hills I tried yesterday.

The ride out was smooth. Getting over the bridge was a cinch and once I hit the clear path west of Hiawatha, I really got the bike moving. If I can keep up a really quick pedaling cadence, I can get the bike to sail. Unfortunately, I can’t keep up that cadence for long. I completed the first four miles in a little under twenty minutes (roughly. I didn’t keep very close track), which would mean an average speed of about 12 miles an hour.

And on the way back I found out exactly why the first leg of the ride was so nice, I had been pushed by a strong tail wind. And now I had to pedal back home into that wind making the ride a misery. I hate headwinds. Hate. Hate them more than anything else. By the time I hit the Sabo bridge I was already exhausted. I just barely made the top of the bridge, where I had to stop and gather my breath before riding down.

I think tomorrow may be a rest day!

Ride totals: 8.2 miles in about 44 minutes (11 mph average)