Bike-commute day 65—to work

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

In memory I was replaying the C Minor prelude from Bach's WTC volume 1 and using that insistence of sixteenth notes to keep my cadence and heartbeat high. Then, after I left Eastwood Park and cornered to parallel Springfield Street, I saw the Northbound Trainers coming my way, though they were on the pavement of Springfield Street. Ah-hah! A chance to find out the habits behind their weekly ride, if they have the time to stop! As I slowed. I called out, "Would one of you stop?"

They all slowed, or perhaps had slowed already to navigate the turn into Eastwood Park. A couple looked my way as I planted a foot on the bikeway, and one or two actually hesitated, considering what I was up to. But the leader kept going, and they all decided to follow him.

I completed a u-turn before the last one turned onto the park's roadway, and I caught the tail-end of the group under the trestle just inside the park gates. I asked the caboose, "Do you have an email address, so I can ask you about the group?" He replied negatively, and I accelerated to the next group of three. The one man I asked directly was evasive, referred me to the Dayton Cycling Club website for more information and maybe a contact person. Even after a rather quick explanation of my hope to interview him for this blog, he gave only an address for the club rides. I sped to the lead rider, who was more forthcoming. We went back and forth on the details of his email address, and I committed as much as needed to memory. 

By this point, we had reached the concrete embankment over the Mad River, and I turned quickly to resume my commute. As I passed my second checkpoint a third time, I heard the Garmin automatically register yet another lap based on my GPS coordinates.


Ride conditions
Temperature: 62 to 66°F at 02:25
Precipitation: none presently, heavy rain early last night
Winds: calm to 5 mph
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:44:44 for 13.31 miles
Heart rate: 134 bpm HRave, 154 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 11 cyclists, 6 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 62—to home

Monday, 01 August 2011

A direct ride home so Chuck and I can continue work in the front yard. 


Ride conditions
Temperature: 91 to 100°F at 11.93
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 mph from the south
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:42:07 for 15.85 miles
Heart rate: 126 bpm HRave, 140 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 17 cyclists, 8 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 62—to work

Monday, 1 August 2011

Like most Mondays, the ride was lower intensity while my body accustomed itself to another week of bike commuting. Several times, I turned my attention to the cadence, to the spin, and particularly to the arc from 5 to 8 o'clock. Pull through, get some advantage from the hamstrings flex. And it worked for a bit, until my attention was pulled elsewhere.

On the Mad River plateau, a group of riders approached me from Eastwood Park. They were likely members of a similar group I had seen Friday morning in the clearing by Miami Valley Manufacturing, which then was 6 riders. Today the group had 5 cyclists whose control of the road and apparel implied their presence was a training ride, perhaps an LSD (long, slow distance) ride. I almost u-turned to ask them if they have ridden together over a long time, their typical start time and distance, and other details of their ride. ...But the need to arrive at work had precedence, and the questions were left unanswered. Perhaps over a few similar meetings on the bikeway, I can glean at least how much of our routes covers the same points. Or, on some day that I start out much earlier, I might afford some time to ride with them and ask my questions. For now, I'll name them the Northbound Trainers.

A couple miles on, a half mile north of Burkhardt, I said good morning to a couple of women whom I had greeted and exchanged some information perhaps a week ago. One of them, the older who is about 55 or perhaps as old as 65, is from New Zealand and is the more outgoing of them. The other is no older than 40, more athletic in appearance, more reserved.

As I neared the end of my route, I saw a single rider ahead of me at the turn from the Haverfield canopy onto Spaulding. He was about 25 seconds ahead of my own turn at the same corner, and once on Spaulding, I saw him approach and overtake a pair of other riders around the drive to the water treatment plant. All three were new on this stretch, as far as I knew. And all three had reached the bend toward County Line Road by the time I headed off the bikeway into Research Park.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 68 to 73°F at 07:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:42:05 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 12 cyclists, 6 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 61—to work

Friday, 29 July 2011.

My morning commute was the second half of my 61st day of bike-commuting, which results from driving to work yesterday with my bike in the van and biking home in the evening. This afternoon, I'll drive home with my bike in the van again.

I developed this practice for the parts of the year when the daylight time is too short than the time needed for two commutes and a full day of work. My typical week then alternates one day in which I drive to work with the bike in my van in the morning and then bike home with the next day in which I bike to work and then pack up the bike for the drive home.

My commute seemed to be energized today, in contrast to the last week of cycling with lower energy. The last time that I had the same average speed (17.4 h) was almost two weeks ago.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 75 to 79°F at 07:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the south
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:33 for 11.93 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 147 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 13 cyclists, 11 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 61—to gym and home

Thursday, 28 July 2011.

I lost the opportunity to bike to work this morning, since I had to change a tube at the last moment. (I rode the last couple blocks last night with an ever-softening rear tire. I had pumped it up on my arrival, hopeful that it had miraculously sealed itself. But physics is a constant: the leak had left me with a flat to repair this morning.) So my bike commute today starts with the evening ride, since I carried my bike to work in my van. As I do during the seasons with short days, I'll leave the car at work overnight, and then drive home on the last workday of the week. Which is tomorrow for this week.

At Cardinal Fitness, I had time only for bench presses, cable rows, lat (latissimus) pulldowns, and dumbbell lat raises. And I spoke with Kathy and Jesse, a couple who I had seen attending the appearance of Ira Glass, the host of NPR's This American Life. I mentioned to Kathy that David Sedaris is appearing at the Victoria in October, and she seemed happy to know that tickets are now available. Jesse complained of feeling less enthusiasm, despite changing his routine. We talked about several possible sources of the lack of energy, including suppressed blood pressure, low blood sugar, lack of rest. But we didn't speak of a strong possibility: overtraining.

Back on the commute by 6:20, and planning the evening's dinner, I decided on grilling butterfly pork chops with a citrus rub and thick slices of eggplant drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Sonst nichts, außer'm Brot und Butter—etwas einfaches. First thing when I get home will be to fire up the charcoal, and then I'll have time for a shower by the time it's ready.

Chuck wasn't home yet; I guessed that he was still jabbering with Susan Carpenter, who was in Yellow Springs for the writers' conference. He had planned lunch with her and perhaps a visit with our friend Pat White, if she was at home. I checked for messages that might indicate when he would be home: nothing on paper, on the home phone, or on my cell. So I let Howard-the-Dog out of his self-confinement in the bathroom (he usually has the run of the upstairs and landing, held back from the downstairs by a child-proof gate at the bottom of the stairs), went with him to the deck, where I pulled off my skinsuit and dumped charcoal in a mound in the grill. It'll need only a squirt of fluid and a match to be blazing for dinner. Then I walked Howard to the dog run and coaxed him to give us another brown offering and a watering of the gravel.


Still no Chuck, so I brought Howard in before he could think of attacking the tomato plants for their green fruit and sat at the piano to sight read through a few Bach preludes and fugues from Das wohltemperierte Klavier. After excursions into G minor, A major, and A minor, Chuck interrupted the reading with a quick phone call from the gym. He would be home soon. The evening could start.


Ride conditions
Temperature: 94 to 97°F at 17:15
Precipitation: none Winds: variable 5 to 10 mph from the south, west, and north
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:57:36 for  15.65 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 29 cyclists, 16 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 60—to home

Wednesday, 27 July 2011.

Wooze was what I felt as I started out tonight. And then a few blocks from home, a bit of broken glass made my day.  But I was lucky that the leak was a slow one, and I made it home before the tire was too flat to ride.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 89 to 95°F at 19:12
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the south
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:59:27 for 15.85 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 31 cyclists, 19 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 60—to work

Wednesday, 27 July 2011.

Today is the 60th day of commuting this year, but I was in no shape for a celebratory ride. It was slow going this morning. I felt a bit of wooziness even as I started out. Is it from dehydration? I wondered, thinking then of the triple hands-cups of water just before bed and the frothy mix of orange juice and La Croix water this morning and deciding No, I don't think I've been lax in taking the fluids. Maybe from our low-carb salad dinner last night? Perhaps. But in any case, I had allowed myself a late start this morning, after hand-watering plants both in the back yard and the front. So the late start and a continued slow pace would mean no time for shaving during my shower.


At the Springfield Street crossing out of Eastwood Park, I caught up to a single cylist, a woman who I had never seen before. After navigating the crossings of Springfield Street and North Smithville, I decided to wait for her to catch up. Her pace was slower than my usual, but at 14 mph was well matched to the lower intensity I could muster today. Her name was Bonnie, and she typically rides a few days each week from her home in Beavercreek to Xenia and back. Today she wanted a change of scenery, and she was enjoying the canopied cover and occasional open areas of the ride into Dayton.

Bonnie is retired, as is her husband. They had often taken their bike rides together, until he had suffered a few bike crashes, one of which broke his hip and collarbone. Now his sense of balance is lower, and he's much more tentative, so Bonnie rides alone. We had reached the split of the Iron Horse Trail by the time I had offered my own crash stories, and she turned east toward Beavercreek and I headed south to work.

Mid-Season Summary
Looking back over the blog posts for the commuting season, I see I was anticipating the commute as early as February. But that month had no commutes and only a Saturday trial to check the viability of commuting. In March, I had 10 days of commuting; a few "rain days" are accounted for in the month. April had only 7 days of commuting by bike and 4 documented days of rain that prevented commuting. May had 16 commute days by bike, and some of these occurred with rain in the forecast or actually making my ride a wet one. I took 14 bike-commute days in June, and the same number so far in July.

So my average is commuting about 60% of the workdays from March through July. That's a bummer to me: I've often said that I commute by bike four days a week on the average, and the truth is more like three days a week.

Housekeeping
One of the FiveRivers staff was mowing the grass bank above the Mad River bikeway this morning. It seemed a strange choice to me that he had mowed over plastic bottles, shredding them into gnarled segments. If a cleanup detail is posted for the area, they'll have a bit more work because of the mowing activity.

Mowing always seems a strange choice to me. First, why not leave the river banks in their natural state, except for removing trees and shrubs as they begin to gain a hold? The uncut grasses would cut down the numbers of geese squatting on the bikeway, since the geese prefer to be within view of water and the safety it provides. Another benefit to leaving the grass uncut is financial: mowing costs are lowered and cleaning the debris on the bikeway is made unnecessary. Finally, leaving the grass uncut benefits the cyclist users too, since the mowing always kicks stones and rocks onto the bikeway, which offer a potential of flats or, in extreme cases, instability from gravel patches on the bikeway.

Glass still on the bikeway about 0.15 mile south of the Linden Avenue crossing. I'll call this in today to the Springfield Street shed.

Tree debris still littering the bikeways under the canopies.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 69 to 80°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:45:31 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 121 bpm HRave, 140 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 7 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 59—to gym and home

Tuesday, 26 July 2011.

Creekside Trail from Park Row (top) to
Burkhardt (bottom), Airway at midpoint.

I was zooming down the bikeway after a short legs workout at Cardinal Fitness, paying more attention to the bottom kick-back of the pedal strokes and getting more efficiency through that focus. I had already taken my second lap check north of Linden Avenue, crossed Burkhardt and Airway, rounded the meadow near the Multi-Service plant, and entered the canopy heading toward Park Row, still focused on cadence.

Suddenly two individual cyclists turned into the stretch of canopy and approached me. The first cylist was bare chested, lean, handsome. My pace faltered, but he had passed before I could whistle at him. The second cyclist on a red-white Cannondale passed and called out, "Tom Kohn!"

I recognized the voice of Matt Kemna, a colleague from Kodak. I slowed enough to make a U-turn at the double corner, and headed to catch him.

Creekside Trail from Double-Corner (top) to
Airway Canopy (bottom), Multi-Service Meadow at middle right.

When I returned to the meadow, I saw both cyclists yet to enter the canopy that leads to Airway. I whistled my most shrill signal, three bursts. Neither turned at the sound.

I increased my pace as Matt passed into the canopy. I rounded the meadow, and then I, too, entered the canopy. The bare-chested guy was making the rise near the renegade BMX course beside the Wright View neighborhood. I took a close look at him—just had to, don't ya think? Not only was his chest bare, but it was also smoothly shaved, and he had an exquisitely gentle face too, framed by white earbuds and their cord. No wonder he didn't turn at my whistle. But I also saw Matt at the end of the canopy, paused just before he could cause cross Airway. I whistled again, once clear of the bare-chested beauty.

Matt looked back after he navigated the crossing. He recognized me and slowly pedalling to keep a forward momentum but also to hold up his pace. When I reached him, my cadence was still fast, and I said, "Don't ride too slowly!" as I applied backward force to the cranks' revolutions.

We traversed the half mile south to Burkhardt, just chatting about our recent rides and naming co-workers we should encourage to ride with us sometime. We stopped short of the intersection, said goodby with a handshake, and I turned around to resume my ride home. Lucky me: I got another glance at the bare-chested cyclist as I rode toward Airway.

I was happy with my pace today, though I didn't approach a training heart rate for any length of time. The variable winds were with me, except for a short, hard blast from the west at the concrete "ship" below the YMCA.  

Housekeeping
The glass south of Linden still hasn't been cleared, and tree debris still littered the bikeway under all the canopy.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 88 to 95°F at 17:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph variable, most from the north and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 01:06:28 for 18.23 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 151 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 26 cyclists, 21 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 59—to work

Tuesday, 26 July 2011.

After I passed under Webster this morning, a RiverParks workman was driving a tractor along the bikeway, heading toward Eastwood Park. Towed behind was a sweeper, its brushes stilled and lifted off the pavement. Good, I thought. I guess they scheduled some bikeway cleanup, perhaps to clear the fallen brush today.

Just at the curve before the dip under Findlay Avenue, a rider on a yellow and red Oceam bike pulled silently beside me. It was Matt Siebers, husband of Kate whom I had met a month ago or more on the same section of bikeway. Matt is a student at WSU in Cyber Technology, and this was his first day commuting to school by bike. The bike was a carbon frame of some beauty, and he bought it while living in Europe. A few searches on Google didn't result in a website for the manufacturer.

We didn't ride together long, since his route took him east out of Eastwood Park, and onto Springfield Street toward Wright State.

Housekeeping
Broken glass on Iron Horse bikeway 0.15 mile south of Linden crossing.

Tree litter on the Creekside Trail under the canopy between Airway and Burkhardt and the canopy between Burkhardt and the split-off of the Iron Horse Trail.

Tree litter on the Iron Horse Trail under the canopy between Linden and Woodman and the canopy between Woodman and Spaulding.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 79°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none, humidity 9%
Winds: 5 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:48 for 11.91 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 151 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 11 cyclists, 7 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 58—to gym and home

Monday, 25 July 2011.

Iron Horse Trail, Haverfield Canoy (horizontal, left)
to Spaulding Road (vertical, right).

Unexpected winds pushed back at me as soon as I left the parking lot, and it took unusual effort to get to the bikeway that parallels Haverfield Road (the marked crossing of Spaulding Road between American Sales Inc. and G.W. Smith and Sons). Once I had reached the shelter of the canopy and residences, the wind had less noticeable effect. Nevertheless, my ride to the gym and home was one of much lower intensity.

Housekeeping
Glass over half the bikeway 0.1 mile south of Linden.  The fallen tree from this morning's ride had been cut and cleared away.


Ride conditions
Temperature: 87 to 97°F at 17:05
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph variable from the north and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:59:58 for 15.76 miles
Heart rate: 117 bpm HRave, 138 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 21 cyclists, 14 pedestrians, 2 dogs, 4 unattended bicycles at the creek across from Multi-Service plant
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 58—to work

Monday, 25 July 2011.

Soon after I dropped down to the bikeway from Monument Avenue Bridge, I spied a group of three cyclists some half mile ahead of me, on the upstream side of Riverscape. A pack of rabbits! I thought as I increased my cadence to chase them down. As long as they don't take the zig-zag up to the Green Bridge, I'll catch them in a bit, I bet.

They went along the Mad River (Good, they're heading my way) as I passed under the pavillion at Riverscape, and further along crested the small rise at Keeowee as I passed below the zig-zag. I checked my time, to measure the distance between us when I reached the same point. (One minute, twelve seconds.) They held a 55-second lead at the curve before the dip below Findlay Avenue, and it seemed I had lost sight of them entirely at the plateau above that dip. But as I curved into the straightaway by the water pumping stations, I saw them again momentarily, dropping into the level above the concrete embankment below the firefighters' training camp. (Nice. Thirty-eight seconds.) As I entered Eastwood Park, I again caught a glimpse of one of the trio, before he slipped into the rockwork train trestle. (Twenty-three.)

I followed him through the trestle, and saw the same cyclist stepping out of the saddle at the FiveRivers maintenance shed. Probably ready to start work soon, and he could count the ride as an inspection of the bikeway. I continued along Springfield Street, crossed at the intersection with Smithville, and saw the remaining two cyclists crossing Smithville as I navigated the weaving bikeway along the creek.

Just after I also crossed Smithville, I reached close enough to hear them conversing, done for the moment with intensity in their ride. The rear rider noticed me as they slowed for the Park Row crossing, and he said "Clear" for my benefit.

As I passed, I said, "On your left. Thanks there, and good morning."

They made no attempt to match my speed, and the last I saw them was at the meadow around the former Multi-Service building, when they entered the clearing and I left it.

Housekeeping
Lots of fallen twigs and walnuts needed careful steering for the half mile between Airway and Burkhardt. About a mile further on, a fallen tree across the bikeway required a stop and step over the trunk.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 71 to 75°F at 07:20
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:06 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 132 bpm HRave, 148 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 17 pedestrians, 3 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 57—to home

Friday, 22 July 2011.

Very hot today. High headwinds on the Mad and Great Miami rivers. And despite the heat and winds, I had to hurry to get home for an early dinner and perhaps a couple films.  

Ride conditions
Temperature: 94 to 101°F at 15:45, 97 to 105°F at 17:20
Precipitation: none, humidity 50%
Winds: 5 to 15 mph from the south and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:43:11 for 11.95 miles
Heart rate: 136 bpm HRave, 148 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 10 cyclists, 4 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 57—to work

Friday, 22 July 2011.

The heat was welling up early this morning, and during the ride I sipped more than half my bottle of water before arriving at work. Usually I don't drink at all on the morning ride, so now I have a new indicator of ride conditions. 


Ride conditions
Temperature: 78 to 84°F at 07:15, 86 to 88°F at 08:55
Precipitation: none, humidity 94%
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the south and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:27 for 11.88 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 144 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 cyclists, 5 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 56—to gym and home

Thursday, 21 July 2011.

Today's slow, conservative ride because of the heat was still hard with headwinds from the north and west. The winds were especially strong along the Mad and Great Miami rivers. To take my mind off the effort, I planned dinner. There's a lot of leafed-out basil in the garden. Better pick it and make pesto. And use that package of scallops tonight. With a nice amount of garlic and olive oil and a couple tablespoons of fresh pesto, you'll have a nice sauce for pasta. I think there's still a half-pound of perciatelle to cook.

So by the time I crossed the river on the Monument Avenue Bridge, it was just a matter of putting it all together. Dinner could cook itself. Almost.

When I arrived home, the house was again too cold to be comfortable. I set my bike up alongside the rowing machine, pulled my flip-flops and gym shorts from the closet, and walked out to the deck to change.

The sun had taken its toll on the potted plants: the petunias, coleus, and lontana were all wilting. So I quickly pulled off my shoes and skinsuit, slipped into the shorts and flip-flops, and doused the flowers with several watering cans of refreshment. Only then could I turn to harvesting the basil for dinner, and I had a full gallon container of top leaves for the pesto.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 93 to 102°F at 19:35
Precipitation: none, humidty 50%
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the north and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:59:32 for 15.77 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 143 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 2 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 56—to work

Thursday, 21 July 2011.

I had already begun my commute before I remembered to start the Garmin device. So the time and distance under Ride conditions show a double entry, in which the first value is estimated, for the ride portion that occurred before I turned on the device and started recording on Bryn Mawr Drive.

Shortly after I started up the Mad River Bikeway, I saw a slowly moving person ahead. From a distance, I could see the person had some machine with wheels. But the rider was bobbing up and down for a few strokes, then holding upright, and then bobbing up and down again. I slowed as I approached, and noted the front wheel was smaller than a 26-inch wheel typical on mountain bikes and the back wheel was even smaller. Between the wheels was a low shelf that was long enough for a foot. I asked the rider about his scooter and how he used it in his routine.

He bought the scooter—the exact name is a kickbike—online from a Norwegian company, since he knows of no retailers in this area that sell them. He uses the kickbike for crosstraining, to build the hamstrings.

As I rode along with him, he kicked three times with his right foot, then swivelled his left foot on the shelf and landed his right foot alongside it, lifted his left foot and kicked with it as he pivoted the right foot fully onto the shelf. After three kicks from the left foot, he repeated the actions to shift again to kicking with the right foot. His speed ranged from about 9 to 12 mph. He was sweating as much as I was, so the work factor was evident.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 74 to 79°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none, humidity 100%
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:01:30 + 00:42:14 for 0.20 + 11.72 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 149 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 12 cyclists, 9 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 55—to gym and home

Wednesday, 20  July 2011.

Whew! It was really hot this afternoon. Accordingly, I again took it easy on my way to the gym and then home. But still my time was usual for the route, though I kept my HR mostly within a range of 130 to 140 bpm.

When I arrived home, Chuck was there to open the door for me. I stepped inside to a refrigerator blast, it seemed, and I stepped onto the deck to remove my wet skinsuit, dry off, and put on a pair of shorts. Chuck left for a quick errand, and I prepared a light dinner of two types of fish (cod and salmon) broiled with fresh green grapes from our arbor

Ride conditions
Temperature: 95 to 102°F at 16:25
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves...but maybe it would have been better naked
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:58:54 for 15.76 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 151 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 10 cyclists, 9 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 55—to work

Wednesday, 20 July 2011.

I took a couple days off, using Monday as a rest day and Tuesday's morning thunder shower as another reason not to ride to work. I used the auto commute to fill my gas tank for the month, replenish my stock of canned water and juices, and to bring fresh clothes to my locker. Ready for another stint of bike-commuting.

One of the first things I noticed once I got to the bikeway was the repaved culvert crossing under the Main Street Bridge. Where nearly the full width of path had had a 3-inch-deep hole ever since the Spring floods, the bikeway now has a smooth transition over the sluice from underneath Main Street into the river. The new asphalt is smoothly graded and the tar seams are full without a noticeable hump to them. I hope the workers get a nice review passed to them.

I took a relatively easy pace this morning, not only because of the two rest days but also in deference to the heat index (over 100°F). I plan on braving the heat today and through Friday, for which the heat index is forecast to remain over 100°F.  

Ride conditions
Temperature: 75 to 79°F at 07:00, 84 to 87°F at 10:00
Precipitation: none (Humidity 100%)
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the west-southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:55 for 11.91 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 142 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 cyclists, 5 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 53—to home

Thursday, 14 July 2011.

No gym stop today, because of a late start. And during my lower-energy ride, I planned our dinner: a Boboli pizza shell topped with mozzarella, asparagus chunks, onion pieces, baby portabellas, hard-boiled egg chunks, anchovies, and Parmesano-reggiano—a garbage bin pizza made from a variety of whatever leftovers are in the fridge. The plan was made before I reached Eastwood Park, and the course along the Mad River was faster, more energetic because of the slight tail wind.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 81 to 86°F at 17:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the northeast
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:42:11 for 11.93 miles
Heart rate: 121 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 22 cyclists, 17 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 53—to work

Thursday, 14 July 2011.

Ce jour-c'est le quatorze de juillet, la fête de la Bastille, et je suppose que les courreurs feront une étape française aujour-d'hui. Yes, I've been watching the Tour de France, avec horreur parce-que ces écrasements choquants.

Yesterday morning was the first day in July that I noticed another cyclist with Tour colors, and I called out, "Hey, it's the yellow jersey right here!" as we passed each other. I think I saw the same rider again on my return commute, and I noted his yellow jersey was actually a jersey  that advocates a 3-foot passing space for autos. A safety-yellow jersey.

My performance today was low-energy, probably due to the sleep deficit I've developed because of watching the recorded Tour broadcasts.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 59 to 64°F at 06:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the north
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:43:39 for 11.93 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 150 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 17 cyclists, 7 pedestrians, 5 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 52—to gym and home

Wednesday, 13 July 2011.

I noticed a relatively low energy level early on in today's ride, even before I stopped by the Shell station to replenish my lotto tickets. (C'mon, didja really think I needed to buy gasoline?)

The bikeway was still littered with debris from the rain-wind storm of Monday evening, so the lower energy gave me opportunity to use more care in avoiding the larger twigs and small branch pieces that remained. In the outer Belmont area, trees were still in the streets and power lines still down, making a small detour necessary again today. Shirtless workers hauled fallen branches to their treelawns, and two tree trimming trucks were busy making wood mulch.

My weight training consisted of three sets on each of four abdominal machines. I rationalized myself out of doing the leg lifts in the Roman chair, since I was "so far out of shape for my core work."

Back on the road, I seemed to gain some energy, though I knew my pace was below my average.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 82 to 87°F at 16:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the north
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  01:01:20 for 16.09 miles
Heart rate: 119 bpm HRave, 141 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 15 cyclists, 12 pedestrians, 1 dog
Here is a playback of the ride.