Saturday Ride

Rode 11 miles at the Downtown Airport this morning with a small group, family and friends!  Really enjoyed the ride, and felt like I pushed myself.  Stopped after 2 circuits, thinking that was enough, but recovered quickly and some of the group went on.  Stood there thinking, do I have another circuit in me?????  Decided I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try.  Had nothing to lose.  Went really well, avg mph 12.1, into a 17 mph head wind, overall, pleased about my performance!  Love my Giant Escape, but adding a rode bike might be something to think about.  A Great Day!

Rode again! 4 rides this week!  28 miles so far, good start to the season.  Tonight was the best ride yet,  another 8 miles, increased avg mpg by .5 mile.  Everything felt good, a success!  Planning on a Saturday ride with a small group…should be fun!

RIDE RIDE RIDE!

Back on the bike tonight!  This is starting to feel comfortable again, part of my normal routine.  Battery back in the bike computer with history.  Rode 8 miles after work.  Overall, felt good, recovered in a couple of minutes and thought I’d like to ride more.  Success!  Thinking it’s time to upgrade riding shorts, they don’t last forever. Average mph was low for me at 10 mph, anticipate it moving back up as I gain strength and endurance.  Again, with the new bike rack, bike was loaded in less than 5 minutes.  Looking forward to riding as much as possible in this warm weather this week.  

Back

Wow, Can’t believe it’s been a year since I’ve posted!  Back on the bike this year!  Big change for me has been the new bike rack.  Thule 9033 rear mounted platform rack!  This rack was highly recommended.  The rack packaging weighed 47 lbs, and upon it arriving, I was worried it was a bad decision for our 2010 Kia Rio. The most difficult thing about the rack was opening the box!  The instructions were excellent and the bike was loaded on the car within 20 minutes.  The platform concept is incredible and secure.  My bike loads and unloads quickly.  Thrilled to be able to be bike mobile again!

Rode at James A Reed wildlife conservation area today for the first time.  Nice ride but short.  Rode the loop twice, a very enjoyable ride, just not too long.  Surface is mostly asphalt or concrete with short spurts of gravel.  Enjoyable ride, riding along with equistrians.  All in all a good ride!

Absolutely love the bike and and highly recommend the Giant Escape.

Katy Trail

One of my very favorite day trip’s is to spend time on the Katy Trail.  This is my second (or is it third?) annual Memorial Day trip to the Katy!  I didn’t get quite as early a start as I had hoped on Saturday, but got to the Sedalia Katy Depot and ready to ride before noon.  This is an exceptional weekend to be on the Katy.  The Katy hosts a Memorial Day concert in Boonville every year on Saturday, so there are alot of riders actively motoring on the trail.  From the depot I traveled through city streets for just about 1 1/2 miles to get to the trail.  The plan was to ride to Clifton City through Beaman and make it a round trip.  I peddled strong, feeling incredible!  Much of the way was under the canopy providing shade.  About half way to Clifton City I crossed a bridge overlooking a beautiful stream.  That, I’m told was the lowest point and from there east I rode on the incline.  As I rode into the Clifton City depot there was a sign that food and drink was in town.  I knew from my research that the entire downtown had burnt down and not been rebuilt, but there was an auto mechanic that also served food and had cold drinks.  Deciding that I still felt good after the 11.9 miles, and wanting to build some endurance, I rode on to mile marker 214.  With 13 miles so far, I turned and rode back to Clifton City, detouring into town to check out this drink-providing mechanic. The Clifton City mechanic was closed, so I began the return ride.  I was running out of “steam”, feeling tired with 10 miles left.  I had two rest stops on the way back, just a couple of minutes. I had brought my 1.5 liter camelback and an extra bottle of water, and used it all. I rode back to the Sedalia Depot completing my longest ride yet–27.5 miles!  My average speed 10.6 mpg.  Completed the ride in 2 hrs 36 min.  I am convinced that the saddle and the bike fit me.  THAT was a great ride!

Mill Creek Ride

As I am still adjusting to my new bike, I was anxious to get some miles in this week.  The rain kept me off the bike until Thursday.  I got a solid ride in on the Mill Creek Trail.  I started at the trailhead at 95th and headed north.  Typically, I ride about 8 miles on work days fairly regulary.  However after the turn around, I felt good and road on to make 10 miles at 11.9 mph.  During this ride I felt I was still adjusting to the saddle and the specific mechanisms of the bike: shifting, breaking, mounting and dismounting.  A side note: I didn’t appreciate how conditioned I was to riding my previous bike.  After a solid ride, I’m feeling good about the saddle and the bike.  It is truly “lively”! I peddled easily.  I am looking forward to more bike time this weekend.

New Bike!

Wow!  After I had decided to use my Diamondback bike one more season, I stopped in and visited my friends at Bike Stop in Lees Summit.  They offered to take my Diamonback on trade and Poof!  I’m on my new bike!  It is a  Giant Escape 1W 2011!  I was fitted on it and all my gear was transferred.  Today was the first real ride!  13 miles on Little Blue Trail!  I knew the bike would be an upgrade, but had no idea.  I was told the Giant Escape was “lively”.   I had not idea the difference it would be.  The bike is responsive, lightweight, and “motors down the road”.  I averaged for the entire ride 11.9 mpg, completing the ride in 69 min. 25 sec.  I road north from the trail head at 23rd Street, riding into the wind.  The trail was predominately dry, however periodic puddles were definitely splashing away.  The turn around at O’Charley’s Restaurant on 39th Street brought the wind at my back, and I got into my zone riding at about 13.5 mpg most of the way back.  Awesome ride, awesome bike!

Gym time

Wasn’t able to ride tonight, but did get to the gym.  I did 30 hard minutes on the running machine which, although it isn’t cycling, it was a work out!