John’s Ramblings

I’ve been logging quite a few miles these past couple of weeks. Nothing huge. The longest ride was 38, a Black Diamond Bakery/Green River Gorge ride for Cascade Bicycle Club. It has been a “20 miles here, 30 there” kind of time. Putting these together with my RAW mileage and I have a whopping 685 miles for the month of August. I bet you can’t guess who’s going to go out today for the sole purpose of riding 15 miles, can you?

Mr. Milestone’s biggest prior month was July ’06, where I logged 662 miles. Whether I actually ride 15 miles doesn’t really amount to much in terms of my fitness, but whatever keeps me motivated, I guess.

The last couple of rides this week have been informal group rides, one with the group from the local gym, another with the Green River Riders. I’ve let myself fall into a “solo-training” mindset for the past couple of years because of differences in pace (I felt too slow), style (how many hills are you planning to do today, anyway?), and timing. I’m finding now that I am able to push myself harder when riding with a group than I do when I’m riding by myself. While group riding lacks the structure of “3 x 12 minute intervals in Zone 4″, “10 minute pulls into a 12 mph headwind at 20″ get’s the ol’ Polar chirpin’ as well. So while riding in the early evening may not be the most convenient for my calendar, I’m making an effort to attend these group rides more often.

3,835 miles ytd.

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