38-I Am the Night Rider! 200 Miles on the Schwinn!

Success!! Day 38

Weather: 42 deg F. much cooler, a little headwind and crosswinds

Time I left my house: Really Late! 8:25 am

Time I arrived at work: 9:00 am

Distance: 8.07 miles

Avg. Speed: 17.0

Max Speed: 24.1

Time: 28.39 min.

Pre-game: Scrambling to get out- thought I had a good time going, but when I left I looked at my watch and saw that it was 8:25! I blame the cold weather and bundling up. I also had to get my reflective Amphipod vest in my panniers so people can see me tonight. First night ride!!

Not a bad ride today, although I was hurting from yesterday’s workout in the gym- I made the mistake of doing squats with some heavy working sets (I’m trying to add some muscle to my girlish figure) and some other compound exercises. I did have some success before with my mass gaining workouts in the past, where I went up 20 lbs. (albeit, I put on some fat as well, which is usually the case) to 185. It will be interesting to see how this works with my cycling regimen as the workout notes that cardio should be a minimum as to not burn as many calories. Alright for you non-gymrat types…. Seque to: So my legs weren’t up to par today, although I still made it under 30 minutes with 17 avg.

UPDATE: The ride home. AT NIGHT!!

Weather: 47 deg.F cooler, a bit of headwind

Distance: 8.47 miles

Avg. Speed: 15.2

Max Speed: 24.1

Time: 33.23

It took a little more time to get my Amphipod reflective vest on and turning on the lights, but when I got going, it was pretty cool. I kept the PB Phase 1 Headlight on blink most of the way and the Superflash was on the whole ride. The headlight on blink was almost like a laser-gun- I felt like an X-wing fighter shooting down some Imperial Tie-Fighters (for all you Star Wars fans out there…) and as I got faster, it really was some show. I’m curious to know what cars see with me coming down in the side/rear view mirrors. This is the kind of strobe light that’s prone to give people seizures. That said, I don’t think folks had a problem seeing me. The cool thing about the headlight was the opportunity for the light to shine on the side- two little slits for the light- so people can also see me from the side. The only thing were the shady spots when there was no light and I had the blink on… it was sufficient enough, but I felt I needed more. I had to wait for either another car’s headlights or for some more streetlights to come on. The thing I like about night riding are seeing all the cars lights in the distance on other parkways and roadways … usually from the perspective from the top of an overpass. But when it was silent, no cars around, just me and the blinking light and the road in the dark, sort of surreal feeling. I wonder what it’s like to go riding on a trail at night, which would probably more of the same. Such a cool feeling.

Kudos to Planet Bike for their lights!!

37-One of the Best Reasons For Bike Commuting: Traffic on the LIE

Success!! Day 37

Weather: 46 deg F. much cooler, a little headwind and crosswinds

Time I left my house: Early! 8:09 am

Time I arrived at work: 8:37 am

Distance: 8.07 miles

Avg. Speed: 16.8

Max Speed: 24.6

Time: 28.52 min.

Pre-game: Fridays Rule! Took my time again today. Left at a decent time and had time to lag too.

Pretty nice ride today. Sunny without too much wind. I bought a fleece Columbia vest from Sports Authority, which helped out my core temps when I rode. That and my armwarmers did the trick.

On the way, there was a lot of traffic on the service road. For those of you reading (or for me, reading this as I’m sure there are no readers) who live outside of Long Island, NY, whenever there’s an accident or the Long Island Expressway (LIE) is backed up, the service road serves as a detour. However, that becomes a parking lot eventually so other options are limited once there’s a backup on the LIE. So, it was with extreme pleasure that I whizzed by all those cars for a few miles as they inched up to the light. It was so nice looking at everyone just sitting in there cars. The freedom of Bike Commuting at its finest.

UPDATE: The ride home.

Weather: 54 deg.F cooler, a bit of headwind

Distance: 8.45 miles

Avg. Speed: 14.8

Max Speed: 22.5

Time: 34.16

Nice Friday ride home… was hurting since it’s the second consecutive day in a row that I’m biking, so I’m a bit slow. Changed the lenses in my sunglasses to clear since it was windy and kind of dark. Had the Superflash on again as a precaution. I felt like I was going 2 miles an hour at some points and when I looked at my time, it definitely showed. Very curious to see how night riding’s going to be next week!

36-Riding With a Blinky and Showing an SUV Mom The Way

Success!! Day 36

Weather: 47 deg F. much cooler, a lot of headwind and crosswinds

Time I left my house: L-a-t-e! 8:24 am

Time I arrived at work: 8:54 am

Distance: 8.08 miles

Avg. Speed: 17.5

Max Speed: 24.4

Time: 27.46 min.

Pre-game: Had to scramble out the door again- little one wasn’t eating as fast as usual, so I got out longer than expected.

Not a bad ride today. I’m convinced my new detour is cutting a few minutes on my time and helping my avg. speed. Used the new Planet Bike Superflash rear blinky- since there was overcast and fog. A little sense of security there.

I’m considering a windproof vest, since I wore two coolmax type t-shirts that did really nothing to insulate my core. And it was pretty chilly. Twenty minutes in I was OK, but the first couple of miles were chilly willy.

Funny incident at a red light today: I was barreling downhill on the service road to a red light, there was a SUV mom who was certain she was going to hit me as she was coming from my left on the intersection, but I guess she was surprised I could stop on a dime much easier than any car going down that hill. Besides, she was off towards the on-coming traffic lane, so I pointed to where she should go, and she shot me with a look of both shock and annoyance. And what’s funny is that she had a bike rack to the rear hitch.

UPDATE: The ride home.

Weather: 57 deg.F cooler, a bit of headwind

Distance: 8.45 miles

Avg. Speed: 15.8

Max Speed: 23.9

Time: 32.12

Nice ride home. Turned on the Superflash once I was at a light as I left a little later from the office and the twilight was going on. It got dark quickly out and I went from shades to no shades halfway home. I’m curious to know how the Planet Bike Superflash looks from the car’s perspective. Just looking at it from my bike is annoying enough, which is a good thing. Next week Daylight savings returns which means riding in the dark. I’ll have to get my reflective vest on soon.