For the Love of Bikes

Life is better on a bike!

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Daily Biking Challenge

May 4, 2015 /

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Transitioning from April to May means moving from the 30 Days of Biking Challenge to the National Bike Challenge.

The National Bike Challenge runs from May 1st through September 30th every year and is designed to encourage people to bike by People for Bikes. The idea is to get more people on bikes and encourage them through contests and activities. You can participate in the challenge and log your miles on the website.

Anything that gets people riding bikes is a good thing and worth supporting. For me personally it’s good as it gives me another platform or structure to continue with my daily biking challenge.

Since I began last month, April 2nd, I have ridden every day, about 300 miles worth. Things are going to get trickier later this week as I will be out-of-town and have no bike to ride. The place I’m visiting has an exercise bike so if worse comes to worse I can ride that I suppose, or possibly rent or borrow a bike. Anything to get my hands on a bike for a daily ride – short of stealing. Just so you know, I have my limits.

RideEveryDay

Spring Training

April 28, 2015 /

April is winding down and so is 30 Days of Biking. Yesterday was the biggest test yet for my allegiance to the cause.

It rained all day and evening, heavy cold rain. Cats and dogs kind of rain. I put it off as long as I could then donned my rain jacket and pants for a really quick spin on the bike. Just enough to call it a ride. Barely.

We had two nice days of riding over the weekend. Amazing how easy it feels on Rocket the road bike after the daily slogs on my nameless mountain bike or Condor the commuter. I decided to do all of my Monday – Friday rides on the heavier bikes and save my zippy road bike for my longer weekend rides. My thinking was and is to use the slower, heavier bike rides to build my fitness and the longer rides would be easier as a result.

It’s working. I felt the benefits of this strategy on both rides over the weekend. Both rides were noticeably easier than they were in March. Granted I’m riding more, every day now, and that’s part of it, but I think a bigger part of the improvements are from the daily training on the beefier bikes.

Some of it is mental – some part of everything is mental – and I’ll take it but there’s no question, in my mind at least, that it is easier to go fast and long on a road bike.

Don’t get me wrong, I love riding all three of my bikes, but for different reasons and purposes.

Anyone see it differently or employ a similar strategy for early season rides?

Nightrider

April 16, 2015 /

The approaching headlight of my husband’s bike. Pitch black on last night’s ride. #30daysofbiking

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Improving

April 14, 2015 /

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This graphic from Pinterest/Pro Bike Roma caught my eye this morning.

As someone participating in the #30daysofbiking challenge (all except for day 1, April 1st – because I forgot – April fool on me!) for another year, and understanding how it serves to kick into high gear my biking season, I can only imagine how much my fitness, well-being, biking prowess, etc., would improve if my “season” ran 365 days!

As I was setting my goals for 2015 late last year, I thought about committing to riding every day but wimped out. Even when just considering the times when I’m away, with no bike available, I knew it was highly unlikely I could ride every single day. I wish I’d said “so what”. Even if I was successful only 90% or 75% of the time I would be way ahead of where I am now.

Which leads me to think, suppose I just continue my April #30daysofbiking challenge to May, and maybe June or God help me through December?! I know I wouldn’t ride every single day, things come up, but how about a year when I rode more days than not?

Sounds like a good year.

Ride Every Day.

Anyone There?

April 11, 2015 /

I haven’t been around much lately. I’m still riding, just not writing or posting much here.

Although my love of biking hasn’t waned, my love of blogging has.

Blogging has often seemed too much like talking to myself and not enough like hanging out with other people who love cycling. For the Love of Bikes has never enjoyed a big readership but we did have loyal, regular readers. I would guess most have moved on. Hopefully not all – anyone there?

I plan to change that this year and we’re entering in to the prime time for bike riding so here I am: recommitting myself to riding and writing.

You can always find For the Love of Bikes on Facebook and Twitter.

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