Wanderings and Maunderings

So I've been counting four hills on my ride to work, because there are four hills on my ride which I have had to push the bike up because I am too much of a wuss to ride all the way.

But it occurred to me this morning as I cranked my way through the International District that the ride up Jackson and King streets from the ferry terminal to 12th Avenue is also a hill, even if it hasn't managed to beat me yet (largely through being the *first* hill I encounter in the morning, and thus the one I hit with maximum energy).

I decided based on this realization that instead of having been 0-for-4 last Monday, I had actually been 1-for-5, and while .200 is still a sad and pathetic batting average, it is still much more palatable than .000, especially this late in the season. And if I could manage to get back today the two hills I managed the week before last, I would be batting .600, and could enter the day feeling like skipping on Thursday had been a good choice.

Imagine my pleasure, then, when I managed to crank up all five of my hills this morning. It hurt, and I got to work quite a bit sweatier than I have on previous days, but I managed it. There were noticeable salutary effects on my time, as well. We'll see how Thursday goes, whether this was a result of the extra few days' rest, or of an actual newly increased capacity.

Trip eight.

Dx: 11.24 miles, delta +.04 miles. I think the additional distance is likely from weaving up the hills, rather than taking the straight-up course I do when pushing.

Total elapsed time: 1:12, delta -6 min.

Total time RIDING: 1:04:53, delta -1:31. 7 min stopped, delta -4.

Average speed (excludes time stopped): 10.3 mph, delta +.2 mph.

Max speed: 29 mph, delta -3 mph.

5-for-5 on the hills today, delta +4.

Trip seven. At some point this will become a meaningless statistic, even to me.

Dx: 11.20 miles.

Total elapsed time: 1:18, delta 0.

Total time riding or pushing: 1:06:24, delta +32 sec. 11 min stopped, delta +4.

Average speed (excludes time stopped): 10.1 mph, delta -.1 mph.

Max speed 32.0 mph, delta +3 mph.

I was 0-for-4 on the hills this morning, but I blame poor sleep last night. My brother needed a ride down to the bus stop (I originally typed "bust stop" there, which is a place I would be happy to visit, but probably not with my brother) so I had to get up an extra fifteen minutes early, the knowledge of which was just enough disruption of my routine to keep me from getting much past dozing all night, and thus I kept waking up convinced that I had forgotten to reset my alarm and was going to be late to pick him up or to the boat or both. My brain hates me, or as the boy would put it, "MBHM".

Got a new rack for the back of the CR-V. Previously I'd been throwing the bike in the back, which necessitated removing the boy's car seat so the rear seats could be folded down. The rack, obviously, alleviates that hassle, but I think it costs me an extra minute or so in the morning because I can't preload the bike the night before (the garage door won't close with the bike rack extended, let alone loaded). Also I need to look at one of the screws on the rack; it feels stripped. Probably my fault for overtightening it, but it needs attention in any case.

ETA: My new riding shirt has three pockets in the back, which I cannot reach while sitting stationary in my chair at my desk, let alone while trying to balance on a moving bicycle. And I must have looked a complete tool wearing this "Campagnolo Racing" shirt while pushing the bike up those four hills. :/

Fifth trip.

DX: 11.20 miles. Delta +.08 mi. I think I've found my ideal route.

Total elapsed time: 1:13. Delta -2 min.

Total time riding or pushing: 1:05:02. Delta -2:15. 8 minutes not moving, delta 0.

Average speed (excludes time stopped): 10.3 mph*. Delta +.4 mph

Max speed 32.0 mph. Delta -.5 mph, but I didn't push as hard down the big hill.

Hills pedaled up for the first time: 2. Hills still pushing the bike up: 2.

*If you'll recall, breaking 10 mph was a goal for me. Next step, no pushing and/or getting the total time elapsed under an hour. Oh, and keeping the average over ten, obviously.

ETA: On the down side, one of my saddlebags fell off the bike as I was riding along Bellevue Way, and now my laptop screen has several cracks across it. It still seems to work, though (except for the touch-screen functionality, which I didn't use all that much), and given that a new screen looks to cost about $1900--which is only a couple hundred bucks less than I paid for the whole damn laptop--I think I'll be living with it.

Got to track it somewhere, might as well track it here, where it can server double duty by fising for compliments and/or sympathy. :)

Distance: 11.68 miles--tried out a couple of different paths to reduce the pain of getting across Mercer Island. Some worked, some didn't, but I managed to eliminate two hills I'd previously had to push the bike up, and I won't make the wrong turns next time. Delta +.51 miles

Total elapsed time: 1:15. Delta -5 min. Particularly nice given that the total distance actually went up.

Total time spent riding (or pushing): 1:11:10. Delta +9 seconds. Which means I spent 4 minutes not moving at all; a number I can plausibly mostly chalk up to waiting for traffic. (Delta on "not moving" time is something like -10 minutes.)

Average speed: 9.7 mph. Delta +.4 mph

Max speed: 29.5. Delta +3 mph.

I hurt, but it's a good pain, and not in the John Cougar Mellencamp "I have psychological issues" hurts-so-good way. And is going away thanks to application of ibuprofen. :)

ETA: Also, I am hungry. I don't get hungry.

...on the occasion of riding my bicycle (part of the way) to work:

Alternate title: "What Do the Feeble Folk Do? (To Get to Work)"

( Am I sure I typed that right? )