MntnMan62
Forum GOD!
It's been quite a while since I've posted on this thread and thought I'd provide an update. In the beginning of May of this year I started to ride consistently. Meaning at least two to three rides per week. I've been recording my rides on Strava so I can track my progress. And I've been sticking to this one roughly 10 mile loop. When I have felt strong enough I'll do a second loop. At this point I've actually done two 30 mile rides. But I'm feeling good about the ride I did this evening. My last ride was Sunday and I felt like crap. Struggled the entire 20 miles and eked out a low for me 11 average mph. Tonight I did the same ride but from the first incline I felt strong. And I felt like I was moving faster this ride. Turns out I was moving faster and I smashed my previous best 11.7 average mph by doing 12.3 mph average mph tonight. I'm stoked and pumped to get on the bike again on Thursday. Below is my route which I do twice to get the 20 miles. I'm going to stick with this route through the end of June and my goal for my first ride in July is to do the loop as a figure 8 which would require me to traverse the white road that snakes through the middle of the Reservation twice. It's a long steep climb over the mountain that runs the length of the Reservation. I was once able to do it several years ago. So I'm working up to this. As for my level of fitness generally, I've lost a few pounds and am at 210 lbs now. It's probably not doable but I'd like to be at 205 by the end of June with the goal of getting under 200 by the end of July. I won't get there without watching what I eat. That's tough for me. But I gotta do it. I've been augmenting my riding with some strength exercises. Push ups, bicycle crunches and planks. Gotta get the core stronger so I can ride more efficiently. Anyway, that's my update. Feeling good about how things are going finally after many false starts.