good stuff and if the 12.6 is an avg including stops that's not bad at all

Avanti73, I got the Cateye Strada Cadence so I think it pauses at stops. The 14 miles of city streets slowed us down a bit. The pine straw covered trail was also slow going. Most of my rides are going to involve city streets, but I do have some loops that don't involve all those lights we hit downtown. I'll see what the stats look like on one of those.

abracapocus, Your average speed is just fine the important thing is that you did it and had a good time. The average speed for my daughter and I at the Space Coast ride last weekend was only 16mph and that was all flat land riding. Your next step will be a metric century, right?

11/08/2010
23.8 miles today
185 ride days LY vs. 188 ride days TY
1720 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 77% of my goal. 85.5% of the year has passed, this is not looking good
46 miles ahead of last year at this date
24.1 miles average ride this month
30.80 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 8.0 on a scale of 1-10

It was a little cold but not bad and not as windy as yesterday, tomorrow will be warmer...

Week of Nov 1-7
Distance: 165.76 mi
Time: 10:18:29 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 16.1 mph
Avg HR: 118 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence: 72 rpm
Avg Power: 173 W
Elevation Gain: 2,237 ft
Calories: 5,476 C
Max Speed: 30.6 mph
Max HR: 170 bpm
Max Bike Cadence: 129 rpm

2010.11.08: AB am Ride
Distance: 19.61 mi
Time: 01:12:01 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 16.3 mph
Avg HR: 115 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence: 84 rpm
Avg Power: 133
Elevation Gain: 217 ft
Calories: 583 C
Max Speed: 26.7 mph
Max HR: 180 bpm
Max Bike Cadence: 220 rpm
Avg Temp: 55.1 F

abracapocus, congrats on the ride. :thumb:

I too rode Sunday, but I waited until the temp was a little warmer (43F ;)). Did 31 "cool", slow miles.

Today was much better. It was warm enough to leave the arm and knee warmers at home. Did 37 miles. Got slowed on my way home by funeral traffic in Tucker and 2 school buses in Clarkston.

2010.11.09: AB am Ride
Distance: 19.03 mi
Time: 01:21:10 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 14.1 mph
Avg HR: 120 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence: 79 rpm
Avg Power: 100 w
Elevation Gain: 256 ft
Calories: 559 C
Max Speed: 26.3 mph
Max HR: 173 bpm
Max Bike Cadence: 132 rpm
Avg Temp: 60.2 °F

No shame in being slow... getting there is the point! I consider anything over 10MPH fine! ;)

My new co-worker had to go to Davenport, IA for training this week, so I'm back to 10-hour days until he gets back. I will probably ride tomorrow and Friday, but starting next week, I will be able to ride every day! Yippee!!

Really didn't want to but I did. Up at 4am for work, and had to fix dinner for the wife and kids before their 4H meeting, but I managed to stuff in 10 miles before dinner, av 16.8, max 32 (ok, at the bottom of the hill on 23rd but still I managed it! :) ) in. It gets really chilly really quickly when the sun starts going down, let me tell you! :) Just trying to stay loose and used to riding for Saturday.

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to max out at 50 miles for a while before I tackle a metric century. Got the standard almost 19 miles of commute in yesterday and will again today. The cooler mornings seem to have scared a few folks away, but plenty were out in the afternoon when it was in the low 70s. Riding in again today then have two days off. Hopefully I'll get in at least one decent ride.

11/10/2010
23.4 miles today
187 ride days LY vs. 189 ride days TY
1696 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 77.4% of my goal. 86.03% of the year has passed, this is not looking good
20 miles ahead of last year at this date
24.1 miles average ride this month
30.80 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 8.0 on a scale of 1-10

Two broken spokes today. Need to change sig from SloSpokeJim to BrokenSpokeJim

HOLY crap.... I cant believe all the spokes you have broken SloSpoke... On a similar note I think I'm going to have to take my road bike to the shop to get the wheels trued up. The same spoke keeps coming loose... and I think i need it replaced and then have the wheel trued.

Yep.... I did ride today for the first time in 9 days (not counting the ride to friends house a couple of blocks away)..... I was kind of miserable for about the first 7 miles out... Felt awkward on the bike, NOT comfortable... & SLOW(er than normal)... All that from not riding for only 9 days... A bit before I turned around to head back I started feeling better, not as winded, more comfortable. Perfect weather though, wow it was nice.... I mean if I had to feel bad on the bike I picked a great day for it ... LOL Ended up riding 20.17 miles.

Yesterday was the official grand opening of the newly paved portion of the Palatka Lake Butler trail. Of course if they would have PROMOTED it a bit I would have been there but noooooo ... Only get to see it in the paper after it has already happened.. grrrrrrr. Said in the paper that they have the funding lined up to do another 4 miles in 2011... It will be 4 more miles east from Grandin towards Palatka. That will be 14 miles of the PLB trail & another 6 miles of trail up towards Golds Head state park.

Got to the end of the trail and these 2 guys in ties.... One with a camera. Parked right smack in the middle of the trail. Kind of dangerous because the trail ends right at the road there. I mean they could have pulled to one side or the other.. but NOOOO .... Me and 2 other riders had to go around them. They never glanced at any of us, just sat there like the owned the place, like it was normal and OK to just park right smack in the middle of the trail.....

Forgot batteries for the real camera, took this one with my phone...

11/11/2010
24 miles today wow!!!!
188 ride days LY vs. 190 ride days TY
1672 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 77.7% of my goal. 86.3% of the year has passed, this is not looking good 20 miles ahead of last year at this date
23.8 miles average ride this month
30.70 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 8.0 on a scale of 1-10 can't get the Mo Jo going...

No broken spokes today (but the day isn't over). Need to change sig from SloSpokeJim to BrokenSpokeJim

Two days in a row for me now.... woooo hooooo .... :D Got dropped off in town after shopping. Instead of just riding home mostly with the wind for 12 miles I did a bit more.... Including about 7 miles in to a pretty strong headwind. And then the last 10 with a tail/cross wind to home. Felt much better on the bike today.... Ended up riding 23.27 miles with a 1/2 mile walk home on the sandy road. It was 71deg when I passed the hardware at about 5pm.

Sorry.... Didn't realize it was a troll until after i made this post......

11/12/2010
23.7 miles today wow!!!!
189 ride days LY vs. 191 ride days TY
1648 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 78% of my goal. 86.6% of the year has passed, this is not looking good 25 miles ahead of last year at this date
23.9 miles average ride this month
30.6 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 8.0 on a scale of 1-10 can't get the Mo Jo going...

Perfect riding weather today. I need to step it up several notches.

11/13 - Ride of Your Life, Bartow, FL. Did the 62 mile option, but add in a bit for missing a turn (Thanks to the guy who chased us down and got us back on course!) it turned out to be 65, at an average of 14.8. Rode most of the first half of the ride solo, trying to keep a steady pace so I'd have enough energy left for the hills in the orange groves at the halfway mark. Strategy worked! Joined up after the second rest stop with the same bunch of guys I rode with last year, and we proceded to knock out the rest of the ride in fine form. I felt much better burning up that long stretch of hills than I did a couple months ago with my daughter. :) Pics sometime tomorrow. I'm too tired to post 'em now. *thud*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

11/14/2010
32.1 miles today whoooooooooooppppppeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
191 ride days LY vs. 192 ride days TY
1616 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 78.4% of my goal. 87.1% of the year has passed, this is not looking good , 18 miles behind of last year at this date
25.0 miles average ride this month
30.6 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 10.0 on a scale of 1-10 got the Mo Jo going today...

Perfect riding weather today. cool temps clear skys perfect day I stll need to step it up several notches.

Week of Nov 8-14
Distance: 176.87 mi
Time: 10:39:37 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 16.6 mph
Avg HR: 130 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence: 76 rpm
Elevation Gain: 2,155 ft
Calories: 6,349 C
Max Speed: 31.8 mph
Max HR: 180 bpm
Max Bike Cadence: 220 rpm (?)

Ride of Your Life 2010 - pictures - 1
 

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01923.640.jpg
Starting out... hand was a little shaky... there were only about a dozen at the start for the 62 mile option, but more showed up later who got to the start after 8am. It was about 55 with wind out of the N to NE.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01932.640.jpg
Typical view of the scenery on the first half of the ride - lots of mining and heavy industry going on around here. Wish I'd gotten a decent shot of that ENORMOUS dragline ore bucket a few miles further in.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01935.640.jpg
The sun at my back and the wind mostly behind as well made the westbound and southbound stretches fairly nice. Turning east or north was somewhat akin to running into a brick wall.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01936.640.jpg
Obligatory on-the-bike self portrait. I thought not shaving might keep my face warmer. :)

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01938.640.jpg
Lots of some new-fangled flavor of hopper car parked on an unused stretch out in the low-rent district.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01939.640.jpg
A few of the local residents wandered out to take in all the humans in the funny outfits.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01943.640.jpg
More trainspotting :). For a confirmed Alco buff this nicely-maintained RS-1 was a really sweet find.

Ride of Your Life 2010 - pictures - 2
 

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01944.640.jpg
Looking back down that long rolling uphill stretch through the orange groves at the 30 mile mark. That's the guys I met up with at one of the rest stops - couple of docs from Tampa I rode with last year, and a lawyer-type who specialized in cycling-related accident litigation.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01945.640.jpg
Out ahead of us, another couple of riders are just cresting the big climb. The turn onto the really bad pavement is just on the other side of the hill.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01947.640.jpg
Time to banana up and refill water bottles at the 35 mile mark. The roads on this stretch are really rough, with lots of cracks, potholes and overall wear and tear. Hands and wrists got really sore somewhere in here as a result of leaving my gloves in the car. Ooops.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01949.640.jpg
Another shot of my partners in sweating and straining on the last hill coming back into Bartow, past the concrete-light-pole factory and the county dump (no, all those circling vultures were NOT just waiting for bonking cyclists :) ). Just another 3 or 4 miles and it's done.

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01950.640.jpg
Remarkable Sight the First: I remembered this from the Tour de Tow a couple months ago and just had to get a snap of it - the ENTIRE front yard was AstroTurf. All it needed to complete the picture would have been a couple of pink lawn flamingos. :thumb:

http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01951.640.jpg
And finally, Remarkable Sight the Second: Walking through the car show after the ride, I spotted this nicely done engine transplant - a 5.0L Ford V-8 stuffed into a Mazda Miata. I'd read about them but had never actually seen one in the sheetmetal before. VERY cool little car.

I'd love to see more folks come out and do this ride next year; it's a great workout and a pretty nice route - a couple big hills, some long straight stretches for your Inner Time Trialer, some swoopy turns, and some nice rest stops stocked with plenty of munchies and fluids staffed by really friendly folks. Siskel and Ebert give it two Thumbs Up!

11/16/2010
35.0 miles today
192 ride days LY vs. 193 ride days TY
1581 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 78.9% of my goal. 87.1% of the year has passed, this is not looking good , 14 miles behind of last year at this date
26.3 miles average ride this month
30.7 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 10.0 on a scale of 1-10 got the Mo Jo going today...

Perfect riding weather today. cool temps clear sky's the only problem was the 13 mile return trip in to a 16/23 mph head wind. I still need to step it up several notches.
I took my bike over to the powder coating place and discussed the job with them but have not made a decision yet.

2010.11.15: AB am Ride
Distance: 22.49 mi
Time: 01:21:26 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 16.6 mph
Avg HR: 127 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence: 86 rpm
Avg Power: 137
Elevation Gain: 190 ft
Calories: 753 C
Max Speed: 25.5 mph
Max HR: 176 bpm
Max Bike Cadence: 114 rpm

Avg Temp: 63.4 °F

2010.11.16: AB am Ride
Distance: 18.66 mi
Time: 01:18:48 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 14.2 mph
Avg HR: 113 bpm
Avg Bike Cadence: 78 rpm
Avg Power: 101
Elevation Gain: 139 ft
Calories: 526 C
Max Speed: 24.7 mph
Max HR: 165 bpm
Max Bike Cadence: 109 rpm

Avg Temp: 72.2 °F

11/17/2010
30.1 miles today
193 ride days LY vs. 194 ride days TY
1551 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 79.3% of my goal. 87.6% of the year has passed, this is not looking good , 14 miles behind of last year at this date
26.7 miles average ride this month
30.7 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 10.0 on a scale of 1-10 got the Mo Jo going today...

Perfect day for a ride

11/14 25 miles
11/15 35 miles
11/17 20 miles