Activity: Long Bike
Distance: 30.5 miles
Time: ~2:10:00
Avg Cadence: 70-75
Avg Speed: 14 mph
Max Speed: 32.2! whoa!
Average: 4:15
PLE: i think that i could maintain this pace for quite a few hours. limiting factors are back and seat pain.
Weather: 55-59 sunny i think that my feet were cold.

Wow, this ride was sooooo much nicer than the one I did in Pittsburgh last week! I actually felt like I could maintain a cadence by shifting through my gears (at least when I was concentrating on it...).

I took a little break at about mile 8. This was right after a long hill, and my legs felt like they needed a break. Thankfully, I checked for cars before stopping to clip out. Because my legs were tired, I had some issues clipping out on my right foot. Naturally, I lean to the left, right? and I fall in the middle of the lane. Ha I need to think a little bit faster when I get into these situations. Rather than leaning to the left, I could pedal forward a little and try to clip out again. It's not like I was at a stop sign.

The rest of the route was very rolling and pleasant, minus one hill just past mile 15 on Marengo. This actually was quite a formidable hill and probably could be compared to hills in Pittsburgh. The difference is that I'd been rolling along, mostly downhill, for miles 8-15. I didn't even shift down to lowest, lowest gear until near the top! go me dance!

There was a general upward trend after I turned onto Tadpole, but my legs really felt pretty good! I think that I was able to maintain a 15-16 mph pace here. I think that my average pace is on the low side because I started out this ride slow. My average pace when I stopped at mile 8 was only 11.? mph. I might have maintained an avg pace of 16-17 mph for the last 20 miles of the ride.

There was one downhill on Tadpole that got pretty steep. That's when I maxed out at 32 mph. It was fun!

They just paved, if you can call it that, the next section of Tadpole up to Whitehall. I guess that it would be termed a Macadam road, meaning that it's bumpy. My rear gears went all funny about a half of a mile after I got onto this section. They started to make a rattling noise which I stopped to check out. I don't know if I bent one of the derailleurs or something. Other than making a noise, the bike felt like it was riding fine. I might ask Jon/Brandy what might be up, or I'll take it by The Bike Shop.

My feet were a little bit numb and swollen when I got back. I think that my feet were cold? It's kinda strange because I don't move my toes at all when I bike. I really do feel like my body and the bike are one.

Good feelings about this bike ride. Jon and I are off to Erie, PA, for the Presque Isle Half Marathon tomorrow morning. I hope that my legs are not too sore tomorrow!

mood: yay, i did it!
health: gettin' much better on the hills!