Why ride as fast as I can?
Sometimes I really try to slow down on my bike commute. Today when I rode to work I knew that my morning ride is always faster than my evening ride. I averaged 29 KM per hour. This evening I had a slight tailwind from the east so my ride west was really fast. I normally ride in my big chain ring which has 52 teeth and my number 7 chain ring which has 14 teeth. When I got to about 10 KM I dropped into my 8 chain ring which has 13 teeth and I rode at speeds that topped 35 KM per hour. I was amazed to be riding that fast and I was riding that fast, but I was comfortable with my breathing and my legs did not feel strained.
So when I ride like that my goal is to be able to ride like a class B cyclist. Here is a link to the cycling classes. I was riding at the class B level when I was in my mid 40s in Portland Oregon Now that I am in my 60s and living in the flat lands of SW Georgia I thought I was going to resign myself to just being a class C cyclist. Now I can see a path for me to regain my speed and maintain a class B cyclist rating. I have been training on my daily bike commute by riding in a single gear. When I started bike commuting in September 2012 I rode in my large 52 toot gear and my rear 15 tooth gear. When the riding got too easy in that gear I shifted down to my 14 tooth gear. I have been riding in that gear for about two months. Today I dropped down into my 13 tooth gear, number 8 of 9 on my rear cassette. I rode in this gear tonight for about 20 KM and never felt winded. So for a short time tonight I had confirmation that my riding style and training methods in the flat lands is working. I am building my legs up so that they have the power to push the higher gears for speed. Now I can work on getting sustained speed with distance.
So when I ride like that my goal is to be able to ride like a class B cyclist. Here is a link to the cycling classes. I was riding at the class B level when I was in my mid 40s in Portland Oregon Now that I am in my 60s and living in the flat lands of SW Georgia I thought I was going to resign myself to just being a class C cyclist. Now I can see a path for me to regain my speed and maintain a class B cyclist rating. I have been training on my daily bike commute by riding in a single gear. When I started bike commuting in September 2012 I rode in my large 52 toot gear and my rear 15 tooth gear. When the riding got too easy in that gear I shifted down to my 14 tooth gear. I have been riding in that gear for about two months. Today I dropped down into my 13 tooth gear, number 8 of 9 on my rear cassette. I rode in this gear tonight for about 20 KM and never felt winded. So for a short time tonight I had confirmation that my riding style and training methods in the flat lands is working. I am building my legs up so that they have the power to push the higher gears for speed. Now I can work on getting sustained speed with distance.
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