2025 cycling week 23

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June 2-8

Morning are warm and sweaty. I am still trying to figure out Zones. I thought I should be riding in Zone 3 but from what I have read, I should do most of my rides in Zones 1 and 2. Zone 4 is for training and should include intervals. I did Zone 3 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I went back to Zone 2 on Friday.

I did two rides of errands on Saturday.

I did a slow, Zone 2 on Sunday. It feels good to get this done before breakfast, before it gets too hot.

This week 112 miles (118 miles Flow)

This year 2,420 miles

Streak 1,926 days

2025 cycling week 22

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May 26 - June 1

The mornings were good. I am riding more in Zone 3 which is more intense workout than I am used but that is good for me. I find myself being too slow rather than too fast. I understand that intervals are good training but I never liked doing them. I am not trying to get stronger or faster to race. I am exercising to stay healthy.

On Saturday, it rained most of the morning. We got almost an inch of rain. I managed to ride to Target when it was only drizzling. Later, I rode to the eye doctor for exam and new glasses.

I had 503 miles for May.

On Sunday, I rode my usual morning route before breakfast. I wanted a slow, fat burning ride. I changed my Apple Watch for Zone 2. About 1/3 of the ride was Zone 2 and the other 2/3 was Zone 1.

This week 112 miles (Strava) 114 miles (Flow)

This year 2,307 miles

Streak 1,919 days

2022 cycling week 21

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May 19-25

The week didn’t start out too well. I noticed my rear tire felt soft when I turned from MLB to SR56 during my second loop. I stopped to add some air. It was very dark and I could not get my iPhone to shine its flashlight on the right spot. I got it pumped up and rode home. I passed 10,000 miles on the bike and these tires.

The tire was completely flat on Tuesday morning. I was hoping it was just a pinch flat and I could ride today and then to get new tires at the LBS. The tire felt soft about 6 miles in to my first loop. At about 8 miles, it was very soft so I stopped and walked home.

I called the LBS but they don’t stock the tire I need. They would have to order them and it might be 7-10 days. Plan B, I will change the tire myself and order some tires from Amazon.

i took a photo of the bike before i removed the tire. it didn’t really help.

I was never good at changing flats on my regular bike but I feel like an idiot with this bike. I finally got the wheel off and then tried to remove the tire to change the tube. I just couldn’t get it to budge. I went to LBS. Randy said that there was still a bit of air in the tube. He got the tire changed and I was on my way. Getting the tire back on was even worse. A neighbor came by and helped. I needed 4 hands. 2 to hold the derailleur out of the way and two more to seat the tire. Sigh.

i ended up removing both buckets. i left them off until i needed them on saturday.

The rest of the week was better. I now have my heart rate zone 3 on my Apple Watch to alert me when I go over and under. The Apple Watch has calculated my zones slightly higher than the old formula I used. I have to ride harder to keep my heart rate up.

Summer is almost here and it is hot. I am trying to avoid rides in the afternoons.

I went to Target & Publix in the morning. After lunch, I went to Sprouts. Next week, I might start earlier and go to Sprouts first.

On Sunday, I rode before breakfast. I got to see the sunrise. I wanted to ride in Zone 2 but the alerts were still for Zone 3 so I never heard anything after the first one saying I was below my range. I just looked and most of the ride was in Zone 1 which means even more fat burning.

This week 107 miles (Strava) 110 miles (Flow)

This year 2,195 miles

Streak 1,912 days

2025 cycling week 19

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May 5-11

The morning rides were good though I bit warm. I am not looking forward to summer mornings and sweating like a pig.

I did errands on Saturday to Publix & Sprouts.

Mother’s Day was Sunday but it rained on and off. I went when it looked like it might be light. It was light rain but I got soaked and only did 11 miles.

This week 107 miles (Strava) 112 miles (Flow)

This year 1,986 miles

Streak 1,898 days

2025 cycling week 18

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April 28-May 4

The mornings were a little cooler but I only needed an extra shirt. I located the technical tees I got from Machines for Freedom. I could never wear them alone as the front is more of a crop.

The Flow app was having more trouble connecting to my Apple Watch. I finally disconnected it from health. Now I am using the THREE APPS! I use Flow so I can see my battery and time and because it works in landscape. (I can’t change the orientation of the phone mount.) I used Trek Ride Club because of the challenges. I wish I could get the file upload to work but it errors out. And I am back to the Apple Watch Activity app. It now has a companion app on the iPhone but only works in portrait.

I am trying to gauge how I feel and check my Apple Watch for my heart rate. It is a pain since I have to take my hand off the handlebars and lift my wrist. There is a lot of info on that screen but I set it up so the heart rate is on the bottom so I usually just look at that. I do like that it tells me when my exercise ring and move rings close and chirps every 5 miles. I used to use that chirp to tell me to drink. Without it, I switched to every five minutes of riding. That is more frequent so I drink smaller sips.

On Saturday, I went to Target for groceries. I was planning on going to Publix with Andy on Sunday so didn’t need to go on Saturday. But the trip to Target is too short. So I rode to Wiregrass for Fresh Market and got some honey.

On Sunday, I didn’t need to go to Sprouts and could have had a shorter ride. But, ice cream!

I rode two big loops then to Cold Stone Creamery for a cup. It was a very windy ride and ate up most of my battery.

This week 115 miles (Strava) 123.23 (Fetch)

This year 1,878 miles

Streak 1,891 days

2025 cycling week 17

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April 21-27

The mornings were nice, not too cold nor too warm.

I had an eye doctor appointment on Friday but had forgotten as I started to ride before work. Oh well, extra exercise is always good.

burger monger cheeseburger was ok but a little too well done. the fries were awesome.

I rode to the eye doctor as well and did some grocery shopping afterwards.

I did more grocery shopping on Saturday before lunch. The weather is getting warmer and I need to get my rides done earlier if possible.

i stopped to get more water. i was glad it was cold because i ran out of ice in my water bottle.

On Sunday, I went for a long ride through Flatwoods before stopping at Sprouts. Since this ride was over 20 miles, I treated myself to a small ice cream at Bruster’s.

i asked for a small but i think i got a kiddie cup. it was still more than i needed.

This week 133 miles (127 Strava)

This year 1,763 miles

Streak 1,884 days




2025 cycling week 16

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April 14-20

The mornings are getting a little warmer. Still cool enough to wear tights but not have to wear heavy gloves.

April is still windy especially once the sun comes up.

I did my usual errands on Saturday. Sunday was Easter but I couldn’t seem to get myself to do a bigger ride. I stopped for French fries to make Ryan happy.

This week 109 miles (103 strava)

This year 1,636 miles

Streak 1,877 days

2025 cycling week 15

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April 7-13

The mornings were cooler but not cold. It was nice to be able to ride hard if I wanted to. There seems to be a new noise near the bottom bracket. Sigh.

On Saturday, I rode to Publix for groceries. I thought about going out late but opted to stay home and get some gardening done.

The Trek Ride Club app stopped recording my ride. I tried to upload a file from the Flow App but it failed. Strava accepted the file so I got credit.

This week 104 miles (98 Strava)

This year 1,533 miles

Streak 1,870 days

2025 cycling week 14

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March 31- April 6

The week started out a little iffy with the bike chain. I cannot ride in the two smallest gears as the chain will slip.

So I rode slower in the larger gear. Though sometimes, I did switch to my favorite gear if the path was straight and clear.

Since I had an appointment in the air, I called my bike shop to have the chain and cassette changed on Saturday.

I did a Target run early and came home to unload the groceries.

I went out again. I had to stop short at CLR. One driver thought to stop for me but no one else did so I waved her one. I went to go after traffic had cleared and lost my balance. It was a stupid slow motion fall that skinned up my knee. I got up and back on the bike and crossed the road only to find I couldn’t shift. Did ai damage the derailleur? I stopped and look but I couldn’t really see anything. I got back on the bike and rode as fast as I could in a middle gear. My average speed was only 11 mph. I was concerned I wouldn’t make it in time for my appointment but since ai usually give myself extra time, it was fine.

I rode on the MUP along BBD.i was reminded why I do not like riding there. When cars approach from the side streets, they are looking at on-coming traffic and never look at the traffic coming in the other direction on the MUP. At most of the intersections, I have to maneuver around the large poles for the traffic lights. Two bikes would have a difficult time passing.

I got to the bike shop with ten minutes to spare. I turned off my bike alarm then looked to clean up my bloody knee. It is mostly just skinned, and the wet wipes worked well enough. I have a first aid kit but the cheap bandages would not stick to my sweaty leg.

Randy saw me waiting outside and opened up the door for me. I explained what happened and he said they would look at it.

I went back an hour later after my hair cut and had to wait another hour. They changed the shifter cable and got that working again.

The total came to $189. My bike could probably use a tune-up.

The ride home was uneventful and fast.

On Sunday, I did a loop before going to Nutrition Smart for some laundry detergent.

This week 107 miles

This year 1,434 miles

Streak 1,863 days