Monday, November 7, 2022

About Those 25 Weekly Rides...


Sometimes you just gotta set a lofty goal and go for it.

After all, anyone who has ever trained for a big event (say, for example, a half marathon or longer) usually makes the commitment well in advance of the actual event itself. Often times, it's the commitment that fuels the fire to put in the work to reach your goal. 

Such was the case with these 25 Weekly Rides of 2022...

First off, you may recall that it was in the summer of '21 that these weekly rides first began. My friend, Amy, had asked if I was interested in meeting up after work to ride out to the lake (situated at Rock Creek State Park). While she and I (sometimes with our spouses) had ridden this hilly bike path numerous times, we'd never contemplated it becoming a weekly ritual. That first post-workday ride (on Wednesday, 6/16/21) happened, and we decided to meet again the following week. Before we knew it, we'd been doing this ride, every week, for several weeks...thus, it became a quest of completing 20 consecutive rides, on this very path, before Summer of 2021 ended.  

So, when the 2022 "riding season" rolled around, it was a given we'd resume this weekly hilly bike path gig. Only, we decided to start the weekly rides much earlier than we did in 2021. These five bonus weeks not only gave us a jumpstart on the riding season, but also made the much awaited century ride  a reality several weeks later, (due to the extra training we were doing by default).

Our first HBPR (Hilly Bike Path Ride) of 2022 was christened on Wednesday, May 11th. Momma N blessed us with warm weather, but she also "sweetened the deal" with plenty of obnoxious wind. I'd also recently traded/upgraded my hybrid (Fritz) for a very similar (but slightly "taller") version...and this ride served as Krystal's baptism by fire.

 


Just like last year, these rides were met with (almost) equal parts eager anticipation and dread each week. What can I say? Hills keep all of us humble. It's one thing to climb them on a hike or a run, but quite another when you're on wheels. Let's just say gravity is even tougher to fight when the wheels on the bike want to go the opposite direction. BUT, that feeling of euphoria, upon cresting the final hill, is like none other.  

Much like with running, stalking the weather took up a great deal of time. Most of our rides happened on Wednesdays after work, but we did have to switch our riding days around a few times due to rain or  excessive wind.

My ride on August 20th "showered" me with rain in the final miles

Speaking of the weather, it was a bit of a guessing game on what to wear when the weather was iffy. Typically, it feels cooler on the bike than the actual temps (since you're moving at a good clip, you'll feel a decent breeze from the air flow). Add in some wind, though, and it gets complicated. Even though you'll have a more generous breeze, you'll have to work harder to stay in motion against the wind. Needless to say, in terms of heat and cold, we experienced a little bit of everything, over the course of those 25 rides.

fighting the late-season cold temps with capris, windbreaker and a headband

The bike path takes us out to Rock Creek State Park, where we loop around a parking lot (alongside the lake), and then head back. The lake was always a beautiful sight to see, whether is was sunny, windy, or cloudy. We also got to see all the trees in full bloom, with changing leaves, and with bare branches.

the lake...

Most of these rides were with Amy, but Barb joined us for a few as well. I even had to do a couple of them solo (when Amy was out of town). Krystal (my hybrid) was the obvious bike of choice as she is much lighter in weight than Gustavas (my mountain bike). There were a couple rides, though, that Gustavas had to fill-in when Krystal was in the shop (getting a tire repaired) and when her tires were flat and I couldn't find the air pump. Yikes, I'd forgotten how much harder those hills were with a much heavier bike!

climbing the first hill, on the return trip, back from the lake

Each week, these rides were usually 15 miles in distance. The route, out to the lake, is about a 13-mile round trip from my driveway; more often than not, I added on a couple of bonus miles afterwards as a bit of a cool-down. Doing the math, these weekly rides added 375 bonus miles to my summer biking (total "summer" miles, May through October, were 1,626). If we add in the elevation, that's another 699 feet of climbing each week (or 17,475 feet of climbing from May through October...just from these weekly rides). Not bad, huh!

So, yeah. We made it to 25 continuous weeks of hilly happy hour fun, via our bikes. The bar had been set pretty high, last year, with 20 rides. Now that we've made it to 25 rides, we'll definitely set our sights on repeating that quest in 2023. Or, maybe we'll entertain the notion of 30 rides. Hmmm, the idea has merit. Stay tuned!

Related posts:

Have you ever set a somewhat far-reaching goal, in regards to fitness? How do you feel about hills, on foot or on wheels? Do you utilize biking in your fitness regimen? 

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

By the way...are you following me on social media?  
Let's connect : Facebook Instagram  Pinterest Twitter

23 comments:

  1. Well done on the 25 rides, Kim! That's some decent mileage and elevation for the summer 2022!
    Yes, you've set the bar high for next year. 25 looks like a nice, round and summery number - I would stick to that as a goal and treat everything else as a bonus.
    I used the mountain bike a lot in Switzerland. We have a hill that we call the "Sick Hill" because we're nearly sick by the time we're at the top. It had a stretch of 3k where we climbed 750ft. An awesome workout!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's quite a hill! There were a couple of really big hills on the RAGBRAI ride I did (end of July), and your Sick Hill sounds a lot like them. They make for a great conquest, but UGH, they are tough while in-motion getting to the top. I agree, "25" does sound like a nice number ;-) We had great weather last Wednesday, and I thought about doing ride #26 (you know, exactly half of a year, LOL), but the wind was off the charts, so we walked instead.

      Delete
  2. I don't know... I think I would shoot for 30 next year! Of course, the weather might have something to say about that. I love the idea of this- doing the same ride every week and seeing the seasons change.
    I know I'm always saying this, but we don't have hills here in South Florida. I wish we did! Flat sounds nice, but it gets really boring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha...30 rides would be a very lofty goal, given our summer season here. We could, though, shoot for 30 total rides over the course of those 25 weeks...that would involve five extra bonus rides to the lake on occasion.

      Delete
  3. Congrats on each and every HBPR! Those hills really make us stronger and while in Maine and Vermont I appreciated the weekly climbs I'd done during the summer in preparation. BTW, the February bike trip in Florida got canceled due to a couple of people (including the outfitter) needing medical procedures during that time. Bill and I are now trying to decide if we want to plan some other trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, all that climbing really paid dividends...for our century ride, and also for the day of RAGBRAI riding (which had two enormous hills).

      Delete
  4. Great job! That sounds like a fun but challenging goal. I bet you will get to 30 next year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The more I think about it, I do want to get 30 of these hilly rides in next year, but I may have to sprinkle-in a few extra rides now and then to allow for the "short" Iowa summer season.

      Delete
  5. Congrats! What a challenge. It also helps to have a companion in your goal.

    No lofty goals now. At one time, it was one half marathon a month but then COVID came.. also it is hard to find halfs in the summer & winter months.

    I did hike 100 new trails in 2020... not a goal but a way to deal.

    My bike is idle both indoors and out. I just don't enjoy it or have company. I definitely would not like hills. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The hills are tough, no doubt, but that final hill feels like the ultimate euphoric finish line ;-)

      Delete
  6. Congrats at battling that wind and getting to the 25 rides! Heck, right now just running the half was a commitment for me and it wasn't easy dancing around all my mom's needs. I'm glad it happened!

    I can definitely see you getting to 30, potentially. I just hopped on my stationary bike for the first time in the longest time since I ran in my neighborhood. I think I have to investigate other trails since they seem to keep paving the short one I like!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I should have logged how much wind we battled! I think we had crazy wind for at least 21 or 22 of these rides...

      Delete
  7. Good for you all for setting a goal and going for it. you have logged some serious cycling miles this year

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cycling has really come full force in my fitness routine. I wish I could continue outdoors through the winter, but I'm grateful for the indoor bike.

      Delete
  8. you are the queen of setting goals and then crushing them. Awesome job #kimtwin!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kim!!! This one seemed really intimidating (back on that first ride), but that also made it very enticing!

      Delete
  9. Congrats on the 25 rides! It has to feel good to meet that goal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It certainly felt great, especially considering all the wind and hills we had to battle to get there!

      Delete
  10. Great job, Kim! I think next year you should go for 30 rides.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We shall see!! I have a few months to ponder the possibility ;-)

      Delete
  11. Those rides sound great. So nice to have a friend to join you too! For sure, up it to 30. I'm sure you'd be able to do it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Something tells me these rides will resume in 2023 with the goal being 30 rides this time! Well done on tackling this goal and being so consistent. 25 weekly rides is no small feat, especially taking weather and life into consideration!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops! That anon comment was mine - pressed send before I had entered my details!

      Delete