Two Wheel Blogs

Wouldn't it be great if you could go out every day and do a personal best? That's the great thing about measuring power output, you almost can. There are so many potential personal bests to set, you can, and probably should go out and try to set a PB every time you ride.

Every time you ride hard, that is. Let's not forget those recovery rides.

I rode hard again today. This time though, I extended the duration of the AC intervals just a little to try for personal bests in the range right around 3 minutes. The result was good news and sort of good news. I once again set best average power for the heart of the 2 minute range, bumping the watts by another 3-6%. Unfortunately my hill ran out on me before my 3 minutes were up. It's really hard to hold on to those extra 10-15 watts when steep turns to flat and your lungs and legs are screaming. I either need a longer hill or a nice long flat spot to lay it down for 3-4 minutes.

Speaking of laying it down, at the end of my workout I put it in the big ring and bumped my all time Average Power in the 5-10 second range by and average of 3%. If I make 1000 watts for about 8 seconds I can get my bike and me moving nearly 35 mph. I don't think I'm what you'd call a natural born sprinter by any stretch of the imagination.

Finally, I think it might be a record year for deer around here too. In the past I've seen them around on rides. Today however I not only saw them but they saw me; and they stood there on the side of the road and watched me approach. I'd have expected them to run off; but they just stood there. I yelled at them as I rode up because I was afraid they might decide at the last second to run right into my path. In the end they did run off, and sure enough they ran right across my path. I don't know if we have record numbers of deer, but the ones we have are setting new standards for stupidity.