This Ordinary Life

My latest cycle took me through West London to Richmond Park and after two laps back to St Johns Wood. It was a great day for riding with plenty of sun and relatively little wind. After slapping on some sun screen and sliding on my shades, I was ready to go.

Key stats for this trip are as follow:

Distance = 56.9km

Calories = 1574

Avg Speed = 27.5km/h

Max Speed = 54.3km/h

Ride Time = 1hour, 52minutes

Climb = 292m

I use Polar Precision Performance SW to track my cycling. I have attached a screenshot which I find very useful is assessing my progress and determining when I have finally achieved the status of "Kick-ass Cyclist".

The Variado is still holding up well, although I didn't do very well on the short steep climbs in Richmond Park. I think some sprints are required to build up my strength. Hopefully this will bring my 10km split time down from 21mins, 30secs to below 20mins. Traffic in Richmond Park is somewhat of a problem in achieving this, but I think early morning rides might be the answer.

On a off-the-bike note, I tried to attach my Syntase Tri-bars to the Variado, but ran into a number of problems. Firstly, due to the geometry of the handlebars, the Tri-bars can't be attached close together enough to achieve the optimal riding position. Secondly, NEVER attach tri-bars over any cableling, common sense, I know. I tried to lead my gear cables through a nice gap created by the two halves of the tri-bars, which disappeared when I tightened them and I now have some nice pinch marks on the cabings. Luckily, it's only cosmetic and no damage was done to the actual cables themselves.

My next ride:

This weekend I hope to finally do the 80km trip out to Windsor and back. Ideally, once I reach some open stretches of road I try incorporating some sprints. I have also started daily sit-ups to see if some added core stability and belly-reduction will help me get into a more aerodynamic riding position and perhaps help me get my average ride speed up to over 30km/h.