2025 cycling week 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

2025 cycling week 11

is this why it smelled smoky earlier this week?

Mar 10-16

On Monday, I didn’t ride in the morning thinking I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon. I realized my error and rode after lunch.

My dental appointment was on Tuesday so I rode to that.

I wimped out and didn’t ride in the morning even though the temperature wasn’t too bad.

tequila sunrise when i don’t trust the margaritas

I did my regular ride to Publix on Saturday morning then went out after lunch to meet friends at Wiregrass.

messy salted caramel ice cream at bruster’s

It was very windy on Sunday but I did a big ride through Flatwoods and Sprouts and treated myself to ice cream at Bruster’s.

This week 108 miles (on track!)

This year 1,107 miles

Streak 1,842 days

2025 cycling week 10

March 3-9

Monday, Thursday & Friday mornings were cold. I rode at lunch time instead of freezing. Each ride was just under 14 miles with the added miles through Live Oak.

Tuesday and Wednesday were my regular morning rides before work.

On Saturday, I did some errands to Nutrition Smart & Target. It was only 8 miles and I felt like I should go out again. But I opted the clean and lube the bike instead. I also added some stickers to the panniers. They are pretty much full now.

On Sunday, I just did a 21 miles ride around my “neighborhood.” I noticed the chained skipping if I tried to push the pedals too hard. I checked the last time the chain was replaced and it was in July, 3300 miles ago. (I have a haircut scheduled for April 5, I wonder if I can last that long?)

This week 104 miles

This year 998 miles

Streak 1,835 days

2025 cycling week 9

Feb 24- Mar 2

It rained all day on Monday. I opted for an early morning ride because there was less wind. I still got soaked and was happy for a warm shower when I got home.

The rest of the week was dry and not too cold in the morning.

I did three errand runs on Saturday and a very long errand on Sunday.

Saturday marked 5 years for my ride streak.

This week 120 miles

This year 895 miles

Streak 1828 days (5 years 2 days)

2025 cycling week 8

Feb 17-23

The week didn’t start out well because I had to deal with the flat tire. Because the mornings were colder, I planned to ride after lunch. I figured I would have a short ride on Monday once I changed the tire. Except that it took way too long to get it done.

I had never removed a tire front my bike. I had to call the LBS to get some help on removing the axle. Unscrewing only got it to come out about an inch. Danny told me you just have to pull hard.

Once that was done, I couldn’t get the tire off the wheel. I went to a neighbor’s house and he tried but just broke one of my tire levers. I went to the LBS. Danny was at lunch but someone else showed me how to loosen the tire and get it off. Schwalbe tires are amazing for their durability but that are a bitch to remove and put on the wheels.

I got home just in time for a work call.

Later, I tried putting the wheels back on the bike. Why is it so hard? I called the LBS and got some pointers. Finally, it was back on and time to quit work (my afternoons are generally slow) and ride.

I decided to add a few more miles to my route so I could catch up to my weekly goal. I did the same route Tuesday through Thursday after lunch.

I had an eye doctor appointment on Friday so I rode there. I went to Target to get some of the grocery shopping done early.

i went to five guys on saturday. i rode to sprouts before even though i didn’t need much. i needed a longer ride to justify the fries.

I did two errand rides on Saturday and a longer errand ride on Sunday. I stopped for ice cream on Sunday and didn’t like the full feeling in my stomach on the way home.

frozen custard at rita’s ice on sunday

This week 110 miles

This year 774 miles

Streak 1,821 days