4th Consecutive Day Commuting on the SS

I have commuted 4 consecutive days previously to work by bike. But until today I had never done so on a singlespeed. Yeah it hurts. Actually, it really only hurts bad on the way home when I have to climb back up a few hills near home. Hate those hills.

My gearing on the Voodoo singlespeed is 42 x 16. This is great on Day One and I had tons of power and spring in my pedalling. It hurts quite a bit climbing up the last mile or so to the house on Day Two. Day Three I decided to take a detour home that added an extra mile or so to my ride just so that I can avoid crying out in pain while climbing up the last couple of hills on my normal route ('cause there is no way I would get off the bike to get up those hills). Day Four is best described as the ride when my legs felt like they had been been Frankenstein's, because they were pretty dead. They had no "umph" in them to speak of. I took the same elongated route home but it still was miserable at times.

But I am going to get stronger. I already am. I could not have done four days in a row on the singlespeed a few weeks ago. And tomorrow I go for five. Luckily, I doubt it will feel any worse than today.

I am going to keep killin' it out there in the near freezing temps so that once the weather turns nicer, I will be better shape than in years past. I am grateful that the weather here stays above freezing for the most part. When we lived in Utah my lungs had a hard time with long workouts in the frigid winter air. This is much better in comparison. Still, riding home when it is windy and 33 degrees is a little rough.

I need to mix in some runs and swims into my training. For now, I like where I am at...except I need to lose my holiday weight gain. It would be really great if I were still in the 188 to 191 range instead of 195 to 197 range. That part sort of pisses me off. I have been back on the wagon again with the exception of the bit of Spam a couple of days ago and probably a few too many peanut butter sandwiches when I get done riding.

Oh, and the coolest part about the ride in to work today is that I rode the whole 12.5 miles there without dabbing or clicking out of my pedals once. There are 42 signals I pass on the way to work and I probably had around a third of them that caught me on a red light. I was able to track stand at those lights adequately, if not perfectly. It may be silly, but I was quite proud of myself today for that. I may be getting older, but I really feel like I am a better rider than ever.