Variations on a commute

(I actually wrote this entry last Monday, but somehow never posted…so here it is at the other end of the week)

I have the day off from work today so I took the opportunity to get out for a ride on the fixie.

I wanted to test out a new route for commuting to the office that Marcella and I discovered yesterday. It seems that some new construction has connected one neighborhood road through to the next where before it simply ended. The new route allows me to bypass Mackay Road, which I consider to be the most dangerous stretch of road I have to ride going to work. It also shortens the distance I have to ride on Guilford College Road too.

So, the test went well. All in all I think the new route actually trims a tenth of a mile or so off the overall distance to the office. The one thing there seems to be no way around is that it is simply a hilly ride no matter which route I take. It’s been a while since I’ve done the ride over to the office and I was shocked at how demanding I found it. If I start riding that route again regularly, which I really should do, then I’ll get back into shape pretty quickly.

At the end of things the round trip was a little over nine miles and a little over 42 minutes. Divide those numbers in half and you’ve got the one way leg of a commute to work. Not too bad, I think. And of course, with a regular schedule I believe I can trim a little bit of time from the ride, although I’m not necessarily looking to have an intense workout ride on the way into the office in the morning. It would be nice to be able to get there without needing a shower upon arrival.

wobbly kneed fixie cruise

Well, it’s been nearly two months since I’ve turned a pedal in anger, as Paul Sherwin might say while covering cycling on the television. Or, you might say it’s been that long since I’ve planted ass on saddle. That one is just me. But, I finally got out for a ride on the bike this morning.

I didn’t ride far, and I didn’t ride fast, but at least I rode. I took the fixie and cruised around and out of the neighborhood. It quickly became clear to me that two months of non-riding definitely leads to atrophy of the leg muscles, and I expect that tomorrow I will feel some stiffness and soreness from today.

The temperature was in the low to mid-50’s. Not too bad. I wore a light jacket and some long-fingered but lightweight gloves. I was comfortable for the most part.

I managed 7.57 miles with an unimpressive average speed of 13.4 mph. But that’s okay. The point of this ride was just to do it and to jump-start the desire again for getting out there. I expect I’ll start trying to ride the bike more frequently very soon, and hopefully even commuting to work again at least occasionally.

Lazy ass

I passed on the ride this morning in favor of staying in bed. I think I’ll take the fixie out this afternoon. I’ve been wanting to try a rider longer than my commute on that bike. Maybe I’ll ride over to the greenway and give that a try.

Right now I’m watching the latest Tekzilla and drinking coffee and goofing on the interwebs.

Officially Fixie

I just finished my first ride on my now officially “fixie” singlespeed. The gear came in last week and was installed on Friday. I just got out and rode around the neighborhood for a little over five miles to test things out and to get comfortable before I did the ride to work tomorrow morning.

Everything seemed fine and I didn’t throw myself off the bike yet, but we’ll see what happens when I panic at an intersection or get in a weird situation and forget. I’m sure I’ll get thrown at some point or another.

I haven’t figured out the skid-stop yet, but maybe I haven’t had the balls yet to try it at a fast enough speed. There is definitely some kick in the pedals when you try to stand up and stop turning.

I’ll keep you posted on whether I eat any pavement tomorrow. My plan is to ride to work in the morning.