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

2025 cycling week 13

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March 24-30

It feels good to ride in the morning and get it done. I do miss the sun but I do not miss the traffic.

I had an eye appointment on Friday so I rode that.

I did my regular errands on Saturday.

One annoying thing is Flow App is having difficulty connecting with the Apple Watch. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes or more. Then the Apple Watch wants to start its own activity. Ugh.

I did a big ride on Sunday because I wanted to stop for ice cream. Storms were predicted so I stayed close to home then went to Cold Stone Creamery. I was worth the effort.

This week 110 miles

This year 1,326 miles

Streak 1,856 days