Sara and I have been enjoying fall here in Loveland Colorado. With sunny skies, changing leaves, and warm temperatures it's really hard not to ride till our legs beg for mercy. It looks like I will exceed 45 hours of training time for October which would make it my most productive training month of the year. So far, just one or two frosty morning commutes. Most mornings are in the 40's and most afternoons are in the 60's or 70's. I have yet to find a weekend club ride because Sara and I have been to busy plotting our own solo adventures. I am still on track to log more than 4,000 miles this year even with the setback of moving so I'm stoked for that! Sara passed 500 and hopes to reach 750. Go Sara go!
Sara enjoying the ride to Boulder:
This heavy Chinese singlespeed has over 700 miles on it now and at last feels dependable and comfortable. Manny more miles to come! The point of this bike is to reduce maintainable and keep the wear and tear down on my carbon cross bike which I have had about 11 months and I have personally put about 3,500 miles on it and I bought it used. Most bikes seem to last 5,000 to 20,000 miles depending so it's something to consider for people like me that like to ride every day.
Sara and I decided to make a ride from Longmont to Boulder and back. Sa it turns out, the trail isn't paved and we brought road bikes so we took the highway most of the way after getting lost. We logged over 35 miles, Sara's longest ride yet!
We also took the river trail west through Windsor to Greeley and back which was over 44 miles. Another new record and a lovely ride for myself, Sara, and Suki!
I have been craving a good cross race but with this nice weather, I don't need an organized race to give me an excuse to ride in a downpour. My legs have been plenty tired without it. I do need to get at least one cross race in this season. I would love to race in the snow, I think that would be a hoot!
I made some upgrades to my committee singlespeed so it can deliver 100 miles plus a week, problem free. The tires and chain were worn already after 500 miles. The $10 freewheel was also making qite a woriesome racket. The 46 x 16t gearing was a little tall for all but my best days so I changed to a 44t ring. I am actually faster by far with this gear so it was a good change and my legs feel less tired. I installed a new KMC chain and my drivetrain is looking good.
The bike fence along Lovelands City trail:
I'm looking forward to a long cold winter of cycling to come. I joined a group on Facebook and Strava called the Ice Bike Challange so I won't be alone! The goal is to ride to work at least 50 times between October and April. I expect to hit that by January at current rate but we will see!
