trike-ab-trike-2019

2019 mileage: 513.2 A few years ago, a new meteorological term was coined—the "Polar Vortex," referring to a large mass of cold air moving upon us from the Arctic regions. Then for the last couple of years, we haven't heard it ... but now it's back with a vengeance! Our new LA Fitness club, which opened earlier this month, has been a tremendous godsend. Without it, I'd have accumulated almost no miles so far this year—but with it, there is a digital counter on each of the stationary bikes to tell you how you're doing (the readout varying, of course, dependent on your pedaling speed/effort, and also the degree of resistance you have selected). This morning, I was there at 5:30 (they open at 5:00 during the week), enjoying being able to ride in warmth despite the -6° actual air temperature when I got there (with a wind-chill of -32°). I rode 20 "miles" (taking me roughly an hour and a half), which is my standard effort there. And by diligence and

2019 mileage: 253.2 Today I rode in conditions for which "raw" would be a perfectly apt description. Michelle and I have a word for such weather—blukka—though we usually reserve it for even harsher conditions. However, today was cold (26° when I began, just before noon) and gray, with air that was exceptionally humid and felt quite clammy.  The  only good feature was that, for the second straight day, there was almost no wind. Anyway, given the conditions, I allowed myself to settle for a relatively short ride—just a single round trip to Marsh Park, augmented by a loop on Interfirst Dr. I managed to do this 11.5 miles in 1:27. Also, a note of clarification—I am saying this was only the second ride of the year, because I'm only numbering and counting my outside rides. But my mileage has built considerably beyond that, due to my riding the stationary bike at LA Fitness on all but 1 of the first 13 days of the year. Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

MILEAGE for 2019: 241.7 I last rode outside on December 17. Right after that, I had extensive repairs done to my trike—a new chain, a new derailleur, and a new cassette of gears—and then cold weather set in, and I discontinued outside rides. I joked to the small group of men I meet with at our church early this morning that the forecast was for sunny skies with temperatures over 30° this afternoon—and since that seemed practically tropical in contrast to our weather in recent weeks, I hoped to bundle up and ride outside. Indeed I was able to do just that—not a long ride, but I did a single round trip to Marsh Park, augmented by loops on Bicentennial Pkwy/Wilson Rd, and Interfirst Drive. The sunshine was brilliant, and though it was just 30° when I began at 12:30, when I finished it had climbed clear up to 34°! I was able to get away with my cloth gloves as opposed to my thicker winter ones, which are much more cumbersome I did deign to wear my winter coat, as well. And best of all

2019 mileage: 40.0 My year is off to a slow start in terms of actual riding (outdoors, with real miles rather than virtual ones), but at least I'm being disciplined so far. Despite the lethargy of the post New Year period and the sloth of the cold winter, I've made myself get to LA Fitness both yesterday and today, to do 20 brisk miles on the stationary bike. Last year my first outdoor ride was on January 11, when we enjoyed an unseasonably mild 55° day. It remains to be seen when it will happen THIS year.