Meh Ride

I went for a ride after work today. I'm overdue and the heat wasn't insane like it's been lately. It was still close to 80F though.
I started at Whiting, thinking I might be in shape enough to make it up the big Orange hill. Nope. Unfortunately I just didn't feel strong today and really didn't accomplish anything particularly impressive. It felt humid and I just wasn't feeling great.
 
I thought my tire was a bit low before I left but figured it was ok. Unfortunately I felt a bit out of control for about half my ride until I stopped and pumped it up more. For sure that helped a lot.

I rode the Red trail for the first time in years. Well, "rode". There are a lot of hills I walked after failing to climb. I'm continuously impressed by my past self and the hills I used to climb.
One thing that's different is the crazy workouts I used to do between riding. Can I push myself to do those again?

It's weird how certain parts of the trails have changed over the years. Some are obvious rerouting done by the trail crew and others are just erosion.

I did climb the final hill at the end of Green which used to trip up past me, so I guess that's something.

I met up with my wife at the end of the ride and she took a few pics.

I rode 4 miles.

Fourth of July Weekend Ride

This long Fourth of July weekend was a hot one and I hesitated to ride, but decided it would be best to get out before starting another work week.  It was in the lower to mid 80s, so not horrible.

I rode at Webster Park and felt I'd had enough to not continue into Whiting. I wore a Fitbit for the first time to keep track of my heart rate. It is my daughter's and she hadn't been using it for a while. I don't think the MapMyRide app integrates well with it and my phone had a hard time connecting to it anyway (not sure which device is the issue), I don't have a strong need to have that data all the time anyway. I'd take it if it was all just there and easy, but apparently it's not. For now I'm just curious what kind of heart rate I hit and calories burned in general on my rides. I'm not sure the calories can really be accurate, but whatever.

It looks most of my ride was in my peak heart rate range, which makes sense to me as that's how it feels.  I rode for just over an hour and my average heart rate was 154 bpm. The max I see in the graph was 175 bpm.

I'm not sure the Fitbit link works for anyone but me, but here it is.

As I rode I looked at the Fitbit on my wrist from time to time, though especially after climbing hills. My bpm tends to hit its peak maybe 10 to 20 seconds after finishing a hill.

I fell to the ground again a few times this ride. One time was definitely when I was trying to look at the Fitbit. I don't recall if the others were from that. No serious injuries, just a scuff on one knee.

I rode 4.4 miles.

I went deeper into the east side of Webster Park. There are some tough hills in there and I felt it.

End of Sprint Ride

At work we ended a two week sprint today and I celebrated with a muni ride.
Again I went to Whiting and Webster Park but this time I rode into Webster Park first.
Wow I was feeling strong, at least for a while. I'm probably getting into shape more but also wasn't fatigued from riding any of Whiting first. I didn't pull off any miracles but generally rode well and strong.
Or did I? Technically I fell to the ground three times. Generally falling like that is rare for me. Usually if something trips me up I run it out. In any case I only suffered a some small scrapes and bruises.

On my way out of Webster Park I encountered two guys and a dog hiking toward me on the narrow connector trail. The dog was on a leash on the opposite side of the trail from the men. They saw me soon enough so I didn't need to slow down and they reined in the dog to their side. So I rode past and WOAH GRANDMA!!! A elderly woman appeared out of nowhere! She stepped out from behind the men and stepped onto 'my' side of the trail. I'm not sure if she was with them or maybe was wanting to pass them but when they pulled the dog in I think she took the opportunity to fill the new space. Thankfully she saw me just in time but we were both startled and she quickly stepped back in place in the nick of time. I yelled "sorry!" a few times as I rode away. I picture her at home telling her story, "Damn unicycles! What's next? Pogo sticks?!! Get off my trail!"

At Whiting I rode the Green trail. I had a big hand in building that trail with The Friends of Webster Trails and it's quite different from the others. It's all 'benched' and really is impressive. The mountain bikers most definitely love that trail.

I rode 6.8 miles.

Flat Tire and Webster Park

It seemed like a good day to get out and ride. After work I got suited up to ride and grabbed my unicycle. What the ffffflat tire?!! Ugh.
It wasn't flat or even noticeably low at the end of my last ride, so it must have been a slow leak. I pulled out the tube without removing the wheel and eventually found the pin hole leak and patched it. The tube was very worn, from small movements against the inside of the tire, and it looked like the pin hole was at a wear mark. My tire worked fine, but I think I should get a new tube asap.

I rode a very similar route as last time, but cut out a more aggressive part in Webster Park. I wasn't feeling 100% but I did fine for my current level.

I rode 5.2 miles.

Back to Webster Park

This afternoon I again rode at Whiting and then ventured into Webster Park just like the good old days. I rode my KH 24 this time. As expected it was little slower but easier that my fat tire 26.

The KH 24 is way more maneuverable and that makes it more fun to ride in technical situations. Hill climbing was easier but I'm still out of shape and out of practice. I'm not used to the quicker cadence of the smaller wheel and it threw me off a bit. I had a lot of dismounts due to fatigue on hill climbs.

Also it seems like the trails got 25% more rooty in the past few years. This actually may be true due to erosion. Certainly some lines on technical trails have changed which I especially noticed in Webster Park. That place really is great for muni. Overall I was impressed with my riding but I have a long way to go.

I rode 5.74 miles

I brought a "Pulse Oximeter" with me and checked at several points: at home, in the parking lot, during my ride, and back at home. My oxygen went from 98% before the ride to 96% during and after. My highest pulse that I checked was 156 bpm.

Whiting Has Changed

Look at me, getting out again for a ride!

I went to Whiting. Wow things have changed a lot since I was last there. Both the trails and myself!

There's a new (to me) Black trail branching off from Blue and cutting across the Orange loop, leading to the new (to me) Pink trail. Black seemed easier and has a several bridges and one boardwalk, if I recall. Pink is more difficult with some root covered steep sections. The Pink trail has a lobe that's still considered Pink that I did not try. The small part I saw at a glance looked even more challenging.

I rode the Blue, Orange, the easy portion of Yellow, Black, and Pink. I rode 3.5 miles.
MapMyRide

Orange and Pink really showed how out of shape I am. How did I ever climb that big hill on Orange?!! I could hardly even give it a real try. Although there were still a number of respectable climbs that I did accomplish. Like a different one on Orange that a mountain biker apparently witnessed from the bottom. A minute after I made it up, as I was stopped leaning on a tree to catch my breath, he pass by and said "That was impressive!". Well ok, but what is impressive to me is past Buzz being able to climb that hill and ride on without stopping to rest.

I think I may have found what will drive me to continue muni and get into shape. I really want to get back to being able to climb these hills, and also not puss out on some of the scary downhills.

To maybe give myself a little credit, I was riding my fat tire muni. That's a 26" tire but measures 28". My 24" muni measures 24" and is what I would normally ride at Whiting in the past. A bigger wheel is like a higher gear, making it harder to climb with. On the other hand the fat tire muni has 165mm cranks versus the 137mm cranks on the 24", and longer cranks should help in climbing.

Big Field Again

Once again I let weeks go by and I haven't ridden. Work, home, and family keep me busy.

Today I combined riding and family at the Big Field. Amy and Kessa joined me on bikes.

They were faster than me and waited a few times in the shade for me to catch up.

I may have even pushed a little more to try to keep up, but alas.

My MapMyRide app was the worst as it would not respond when I started or even after restarting my phone. It did allow me to start a few minutes into my ride, but then at the end I couldn't finish it! Grrr. At home the website showed my ride, so that's good, but it added in my previous ride's mileage. Ugh.

Anyway, we rode two laps and then I rode and the ladies hiked to accompany me to the more difficult side trail.

MapMyRide

The side trail was easier for me than last time, in terms of cardio. I wouldn't have expected that after waiting weeks between rides.

Quick video of a hill climb: