I'm pleased to see that my performance has been steadily improving since I started riding in April.

Here's a graph of my performance, rated only by the average miles per hour of each ride. It doesn't take into account the number of miles I rode, what I had to eat, how hot and humid it was, or anything else that affects performance, so it's not quite as informative as you might think at first glance. Still, you can see that generally, my performance has been creeping up from the very beginning.

Note that this month I've been riding a new route, which is 26 - 28 miles long, versus last month's regular route which was only 18 - 21 miles long. So, while there was a slight drop in performance this month versus the end of last month, I think I'm still improving.

See the summary of my Cyclist's Diary, and the Cycling in August page, for more details. I'm 5 for 8 so far this month (remember my goal: 20 out of 31 by the end of the month).

While my performance curve is still on the incline, the last couple of rides have shown a decline. Today I have an excuse: about 2 miles out of the 26.5 were under heavy construction, with the blacktop completely ripped up. This happened since my ride yesterday, which was quite a surprise! Anyway, it's very hard to get any decent speed with a road bike on loose dirt. In fact, it's dangerous to even attempt it.

The construction wasn't the only problem, though. I've done three longish rides in a row, and I need a break. I think I'll take tomorrow off. I've ridden six times so far this month (out of nine days), so I think I can afford to take one day off. It's close...

Eh. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. No matter what, though, I'll have to avoid that construction. Ick.