Finished the first bike ride of 2011! Woohoo!
I made a goal this year to ride 2011 miles on my bike. I use my bike a lot so I figure that won’t be a problem at all. I use my bike for triathlon training, to get around town because I don’t have a car, and just for fun rides. The miles should add up quickly if I keep track of them.
The first ride of the new year was part training, part fun ride. I cruised most of the way instead of going for speed. It is the longest bike ride I’ve been on as an adult so I wasn’t aiming for speed – I just wanted to get it done.
That was a good attitude to have because it got me through a few tough hills. Hills here in New Zealand are tough!!
The ride out to Bucklands Beach made for a round trip of 23 miles. I rode on the bike lanes when they existed and then took to calmer side streets and even sidewalks for a bit on the busier roads.
That meant stopping quite a few times to wait for the lights to turn and the crossing to start. It’s a slow trip!
The trip there took an hour and 20 minutes, which included stopping several times to drink water and once to buy chocolate milk – the fuel of champions.
The beach is a really pretty and calm one and I would love to live down there!
Getting to the beach was fun because we sped down a really steep hill that leads to the flat beach road. The only problem was after the beach you have to ride back up the steep hills! Most of the ride was quite flat but the area around the beach was much more hilly.
The trip home took an hour and 40 minutes, which included stopping for water, stopping again to buy more chocolate milk, and stopping several times going up the hills. I managed to get up the first one fine and paused to take a really cool photo or two.
For the rest of the return trip I was properly tired and stopped more frequently. The hills in the beginning of the return trip were sooooo steep and riding into the wind the whole trip back took more effort and that led to me needing more breaks. I think I stopped three times on the long steep hill right after that photo I took. Despite taking more breaks and going slowly I am really proud of myself for doing it and finishing a pretty tough ride.
Ride Stats:
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Total Miles: 23
- Pace: 7.6 mph (including stops/hills)
- Average Heart Rate: 155
- High Heart Rate: 183
- Total Calories Burned: 1902
So far that’s 23 miles of my 2011 mile goal. I’m really proud of myself for the ride (Kepa says I have to be) and I can’t wait to do our next long ride!
How did you start the new year?
