“Ride #66: Everything's a Blur”

This was my standard training ride of ~30 miles... but not at my "standard speed".

I had planned on riding an extra long route today, but decided at the last minute that I need to get back into riding regularly, instead of in spurts like I've been doing this month. (Though it was mostly caused by August's terrible weather, the point is that my rides haven't been consistent.) So, thirty miles, and this way I'll have something left over to ride again on Sunday (and then rest up on Monday for Tuesday's half century).

When I reached downtown Mystic -- one third of my route -- I knew I would have a good finish, as my average speed to that point was a little over twenty-one miles per hour. Unfortunately, the drawbridge was up, and so I ended up just sitting there for five minutes, cooling down. Only a few seconds of the time I sit there counts towards my average speed, but I have to start up again from zero miles per hour, plus I have to warm up again (which doesn't take so long this time).

For the first time this year, my average speed never dipped below twenty miles per hour (after the first warmup).

Stats: 30.09 miles (48.44 km) in 89' 6" for an average speed of 20.26 mph (32.62 kph). That's a new personal best!

If the bridge hadn't been up, I think I'd have exceeded 20.3. I'd still like to reach 21 sometime this year...