Anyway, last Wednesday I did a 45 minute trainer ride with my new pedals and shoes. I had wanted to get outside and hit the roads, but it was extremely windy that day, and I didn’t want to risk my life battling the winds, just to break in some shoes.
The trainer ride was fine, and the shoes didn’t bother my feet at all. I did a short warmup, then did repeats of 5 minute hard gear, slow RPM followed by lower gear high RPM, follow by medium gear, normal RPM. The last cool down session felt good too.
On Saturday I ended up riding alone. I had wanted to get a 4 hour ride in and I wanted to get on Munns. Munns hurt more than normal due to my cold, but I still managed a good time from the Burnside Rd turn onto Prospect Lake Rd, all the way to the Ross Durance Lk Rd turn onto Willis Pt Rd (44 minutes).
From there I headed out around the airport, then back along the water (with a slightly modified route to avoid a few hills).
I was ecstatic with the ride. This was the first time I had done a solo 100 KM ride. I felt pretty strong the entire way, and I managed to maintain a pretty decent average speed. Also, my feet felt great the entire time. The shoes didn’t cause any discomfort, in fact, I could feel a difference in power going up some of the steeper hills. Good decision to get the new shoes when I did.
The one odd thing that happened on the ride was along Central Saanich Rd I was passing a field when something caught my eye. I glanced at it, but it took a couple seconds to register. I hit the brakes and turned around to go back and see two hawks on the grass in a field. I wanted to get a picture, but as soon as I stopped they took off.
This weekend I will have a bit shorter of a ride, then the weekend after will be a recovery weekend. I will get in a couple more long rides in June before the big day. It feels so close now. I can’t wait for the ride now.
View Tour de Victoria May 12, 2012 in a larger map
Total distance: 101.10 km (62.8 mi)
Total time: 4:14:22
Moving time: 4:06:44
Average speed: 23.85 km/h (14.8 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 24.59 km/h (15.3 mi/h)
Max speed: 68.68 km/h (42.7 mi/h)
Average pace: 2.52 min/km (4.0 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 2.44 min/km (3.9 min/mi)
Min pace: 0.87 min/km (1.4 min/mi)
Max elevation: 250 m (820 ft)
Min elevation: -19 m (-62 ft)
Elevation gain: 1748 m (5734 ft)
Max grade: 39 %
Min grade: -23 %