Learnings from this weekend
1. I have to start riding earlier than 10am as I build my distance. New goal, be on the bike at 9:00 a.m. which gives me time to deal with the distance and any mechanical issues that may arise.

2. My second ride of the weekend has to be just for fun...trying to push hard on day two makes for a crummy day of riding. I'd like to stretch (in distance) these rides a bit as well.

3. I'm feeling very strong on the bike. I have good power (which is from my mountian biking) so I really want to include at least one mountain bike ride in each week to mix it up a bit...but also because it makes me work so hard.

4. It has taken a while for me to enjoy riding by myself. I know I ride faster and harder when I'm with others...but I really enjoy riding by myself as well. It is nice to be able to change your course as you ride. On Saturday, I didn't decide my actual course until I was into the ride a bit. As miles accumulated I decide on routes that I thought would have me at the distance I wanted.

Sunday, January 28, 2007
Today I wanted to get in some miles but I didn't have time for a long ride. I parked at McD's on Eastlake Sammamish (Issaquah) and rode around Lake Sammamish counter clockwise. The Eastlake Sammamish stretch I tried to keep my cadence over 80 (even on the hills). My cadence dropped a bit below on some of the hills but my speed was significantly better (13.3 verses 12.5 mph) than my averages the previous few weeks. The rest of the ride I just relaxed a bit. Today I felt a little tired; but not depleted from the previous days ride. I'm looking forward to several weekday rides this week. I need to get back on the Mountain bike as well...this is where I can build my power up a bit since so much of it high heart rate and climbing.

Saturday, January 27, 2007
Got up and made myself a couple of pancakes and some coffee. My plan was to be on the bike by 10am...alas it was 10:30 before I clipped in. I've decided that Saturdays are much better for long rides (than Sundays) because it is hard for me to do my long ride on Sunday after riding Saturday. My goals for this ride were two fold 1) have fun 2) ride 60 miles. My chosen course (which I guestimated the miles for) was Issaquah, Redmond, Eastgate, Bellevue, Renton, Seattle, Mercer Island, Eastgate, Issaquah or more specifically starting at the McDonalds (in Issaquah) on East lake Sammamish. Ride E. Lake Sammamish through Marymoore taking West Lake Sammamish through the turn a bout and head to Bellevue (on the South side of I-90 freeway). Ride through Eastgate picking up the bike trail at Factoria. At Bellevue I turned South and road the South end of Lake Washington. From Seward Park I road to I-90 and back up to Issaquah (switching over to West Lake Sammamish). It was a fun ride and one of the most enjoyable rides of this year. I even finished with several sprints. Traffic was heavy on 900 riding toward McD's so I joined the traffic and then challenged my self to keep up in the stop and go of the stop lights. I did very well especially since it was the last mile of a 57.5 mile ride (yep I guesstimated short and I didn't have time to add another 3 miles at the end).

I finished my ride a 4:00pm in Issaquah, drove home, took a very quick shower (and dressed), fed Cosmos and made it to Seattle for a 5:00 dinner reservation (at 10 Mercer which I highly recommend). Finished the evening with the Opera...this was one of the most enjoyable days I've had in a long time.