On Monday, Kate came to entertain me during my boring desk shift and we decided to go for a walk around Ring Road once I was relieved. Let me just tell you that this was the most torturous ring walk I have EVER taken. It was blazing hot. So hot that the air felt heavy, made it hard to breathe. My feet were burning. My everything was sweating. The two miles felt like days. I couldn't wait for it to be over. But Kate convinced me that it was good for me, sweating out pounds of water weight. So I'm over it.
On Tuesday, I broke out my beloved bicycle.
Today's challenge: to bike around Ring Road 3 times.
Today's results: Conquered
My muscles felt really tired when I set out today, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to reach my goal. I started off going to the left from my apartment. Going this way, the road takes a slow but steady incline to the main entrance. I was surprisingly able to do this stretch with much ease. I then wove down around behind the freshmen dorms, around Maple Ridge Circle and then Roberts Circle, then down around the rest of the ring to the gym, where I biked behind and around it so I could go around the Ring in the opposite direction.
Going to the right is much more difficult than going to the left, I've decided. Once you get past the police station, there is a sizable stretch of incline that feels like it's never going to end. When I made it past there, I went down behind Roberts and through the parking lots. This is where I struggled. That road is also a sizable stretch of incline. I ended up circling through a parking lot and back behind Maple Ridge to alleviate the pain of climbing the hill. I made it back around to the gym with no issues and began my final circle around the Ring.
It was pretty tough for me to climb the hill to the left this time. I had maintained a 4 / 5/ 6 gear for my entire ride, but on this climb, I had to shift down to 3. I really pushed myself and made it to the top, after which, the rest of the Ring felt comparatively easy. I wanted to round off my ride, so I headed down to the Dell and did one lap between West & South before finally retiring.
I then planned to go to the gym, but when I entered my apartment, I realized that I'd been out for an hour and a half and didn't really have time. Lame.
Total mileage = 8 mi
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Don't worry about what gear you're riding in, in fact, if you pedal faster but in a lower gear, you're actually probably going to end up riding faster overall.
ReplyDeleteWatch videos to see how fast cyclists in races are pedaling - it's ridiculous