Training Ride #1
With a cross country bike trip looming in the near future, I felt it was a pretty good time to start training. The last time I rode any decent mileage was on Thanksgiving, about 25 miles with some decent hills, and before that was the MSBike NYC ride on October 4th, where I rode the 60 mile route. So, looking out the window at clear skies, and not too much wind, I decided to ride a little outside. I layered up, filled up my Camelbak, and headed downstairs. When I got to the garage, I spotted my road bike, leaning up against my recently built single-speed, and figured it was the perfect time to take her on a maiden voyage.
It's a 70's model Schwinn Continental, with a 39T chainring and a 16T bmx freewheel. It took a couple minutes to get used to the bike, and the cold, but after the first mile or so I felt good. I decided to ride to a local bike shop, Getaway Cycle Center in Bloomingdale, and order up some rain gear. The ride there was great, about 35 degrees, but with the layers, barely noticed it. The ride home on the other hand was a different story. The sun had started to sink, and my hands started to freeze. Luckily, I threw a pair of snowboarding gloves into my Camelbak and after throwing them on, the rest of the ride was delightful. All in all, about 15 miles. Not too bad for a first ride in a month, in 35 degrees, on a single-speed. Tomorrow I plan on setting up my CycleOps trainer in my room with my road bike and start logging some serious time in the saddle.
***Big thanks to Nick at Getaway Cycle Center. Ordered me up a sweet set of Endura rain gear. They work great. He was also a stop on all my training rides, filled up my bottles and hooked up my odomter. Check out his shop if your ever in Bloomingdale, NJ.