Nice work!

Konaflyer, welcome to the 50+ Forum asylum, congrats on the 50 mile ride, that's a nice milestone to tuck away and to build from. Good job!

Bill

Thank you for setting me straight on % vs degrees. It is comforting to have so many detailed members of this forum.
Also, thank you for the Garmin information. I will look for something similar.

Sunset is at 5:02 now, so I tried something new yesterday. I took my bike and riding attire to work. At 3:55 everything was quiet, so I changed clothes and went for a ride. If my iPhone rang, I was always within five minutes of the office and could get back if I had to. I got in 10 miles that I couldn't have otherwise.

Gonna do it again today. 70 degrees, cloudy, south wind @ 5 mph. Not many afternoons like that left. Might be able to pull this off a couple times a week until Thanksgiving.

It's good to be the boss.

IIRC, my brother the architectural engineer told me when they used the word grade it generally means vertical distance gained vs. horizontal distance traveled, i.e. the tangent of the climbing angle. You could also think of it as vertical distance gained for total distance traveled, i.e. the sine of the angle. For any reasonable road we are likely to go up by bicycle the two are essentially identical. MTB trails are a different matter.

To put it into perspective, a 10% grade would mean 5.71 degrees. The sine of 5.71 is .0995, or 9.95%.

Suppose a trail was 30 degrees. That would be a 57.7% grade! And the sine of 30 is .5, or 50%, not the same as grade but close enough to call both steep.

I find grades from DeLorme's Topo North America. When I need to measure degrees my go-to instrument is a thermometer. :D

I am so humbled to have joined this forum. Thank you for all the useful information. I have learned to not ask about anything.

No! No! No! You are supposed to have learned to ask about anything! :thumb:

No ride yesterday. A nice and windy 35 mile ride this morning. I even got in a few short intervals between the wind gusts.

26+ miles, same fall weather this afternoon.

Bill

30.9 miles, 1500+ feet, 14.7 mph, about 1 mph slower than my "usual"; definitely feeling the effects of sporadic riding. OTOH, it was a beautiful day. Wanted to get out at 0800: arm warmers, leg warmers, etc. Actually hit the road at 0915. One mile later the arm warmers, leg warmers and wind vest were stowed. Warms up fast this time of the year. Oh, and it actually rained a few days ago!

Thank you Bill! Very kind of you. 50 miles yesterday and 40 today. Semper Paratus from an old Coastie!

Mark

Mark,
Seems like you are finding your groove now, glad that you're here in the forums. Semper Fi back at ya, Coastie, staying prepared is a big part of cycling ain't it . You guys have a thankless and essential job keeping the rescues and interdiction actions going. Thanks for the service.

Bill

Seems as if the winds are here for a while. Got in a nice 45 miles with some fairly strong wind gusts as it got closer to noontime. The last 8 miles was a killer. :(

A little warmer this afternoon, the temperature was up to 71°F while riding. 26+ miles in the books.

Bill

Did a chilly 82.5 miles today. Had a great tailwind on the second half. :thumb:

20 miles to and from work today. A little cool but well above freezing ( :) ) so no complaints.

A very nice 27 miles with the wife this morning. To my surprise, the wind was really calm this morning. First day in about a week that we didn't have a windy ride.

Did my 2nd ride since Saturday's 112 miler in Ironman Florida. First time in the 17 years of IMFL they had to cancel the swim. 25/30 mph winds and rip currents shut the beach down. Winds and 46F did not stop the bike. I managed a 18.12mph average for the 112 without stopping but it was hard on my body. Not being trained adequately enough I wound up sitting up for many miles. After 60 miles I could hardly turn my head so it was advantageous to have the eyeglass mirror. Forgot to pop a couple of acetaminophen so shoulders were also in serious pain. Worst marathon time ever followed the biking.

Today's ride was 32 hard miles and legs still smarting even though I added 21 extra easy miles. Tuesday's ride wasn't quite as bad as today's and only 51 miles.

45 miles this morning, despite the wind, two miles of newly torn up pavement on the route and a school of unsupervised kids riding through the park.

Only 18 miles today on the Sirrus Hybrid. Been averaging 25 all week bouncing from one bike to the other. I brave the morning cold (avg 36º) to avoid:
a) Heavy Traffic (3 miles streets to the bike path, 3 miles back)
b) Dog walkers on the bike path (they're thick in the afternoon)
c) The inevitable afternoon winds. Been sunshinny most of the week. I've done 2nd rides (avg 10mi) some nice afternoons.
Luv 2 Ride

Jan: 216.....Apr: 207....Jul: 645.....Oct: 543
Feb:- 87....May: 440....Aug: 522....Nov: 137
Mar: 145...Jun: 484.....Sep: 558
2014: 3,984 Miles–254 Days–324 hrs — Weekly Avg: 110

Another 20 mile bike commute today; barely above freezing this morning and in the 40's this evening. Might not be this nice for commuting next week.

26.1 miles this afternoon, cold front came through yesterday with some nicely cooler temps, it was 59°F while I rode. Some stiff north winds were adding to the challenges.

Bill

And I did my commute again. Winter has cast its hue over the air. Not white hue, but a dry cold snap in the air.

35 miles, commuting, great weather. I feel very fortunate.

23 miles mostly on hills in the tremendous wind. I about got blown off the bike a couple of times on the fast downhill sections. Less wind today, but it's 24 degrees out. What the heck?