My first "real" ride
Since I started cycling a couple weeks ago I've mostly been sticking to a bike trail a couple miles from my house. It can be a 20 mile ride if I do both legs of it. I've been annoyed by the number of slower riders and walkers who somehow always seem to be able to be in both lanes at the same time! I started riding the few miles from my house to the trail instead of driving. I usually did this during rush hour traffic on busy 2 lane highways with no bike lanes. Honestly it scared the crap out of me.
Yesterday I finally decided to venture out to some of the country roads around here. I just moved here less than 2 months ago so I was riding down roads that I've never even driven in my car. I had no planned route but stayed near major roads and had my GPS enabled Blackberry with me incase I got lost. I left from my parking lot at work and just started riding. I had an absolute blast! Traffic was light and everyone gave me plenty of room despite a lack of bike lanes for most of the ride. The weather was PERFECT, bright and sunny in the mid-upper 70s. I live in a small town in Central Ohio just outside of Columbus. I have plenty of long country roads to explore. Mostly flat with a few small grades and one decent climb over a fairly steep bridge. I only took a couple pics. The one I attached here is on one of the more remote roads that came to a dead end after about a mile. My energy level crashed about .5 miles from the end of my ride. It think I would have been good for another 10 miles if I stopped for a minute and ate the Clif bar I had with me.
Miles: 27.67
Avg Speed: 17.1 mph
Top Speed: 29.2
Time: 1:37
Avg HR: 145bpm
Cadence: 81