July cycling update

Another time for my quarterly cycling update. My previous one is here.

I participated in AIDS/LifeCycle ride. That was very intense, unforgettable experience. I wrote about that in length, and it was really disappointing that I wasn’t able to finish that.

Between the COVID recovery and increasing business/vacation travels, there are more and more days that I’m not riding. I still ride every day when I’m at home, and that’s my new bar. A flip side of it is that I get to experience different kinds of riding when I’m away. I hit the hotel fitness gym and experienced a cycling machine. There’s no free wheeling, no air to cool you, and no change of scenary, so I found it harder and less enjoyable. I experienced a rental ebike. That was expensive and the ride wasn’t enjoyable, but I like that I can get around the city and click pictures. I’ll do that more when I get a chance.

Back in home, I’m trying a new game that I call “block filling ride”. The idea is to ride every public road within a block, including all cul-de-sacs. I get to practice hard turns, as well as rapid acceleration & braking. My brain is constantly busy computing the optimal route to do this. And the result shows up in my Strava heatmap, so all in all it’s a nice change of mood. I shall see if I can fill the entire city this way, eventually.

I’m establishing my unique position in the Saturday ride group, as a resident photographer. It’s nice to be recognized and appreciated. I get to know other regulars better. I feel a stronger emotional bond with the group now, and so I’m attending more of their rides, which means I’m not getting enough solo picture taking big rides. Balancing those is a challenge.

One thing that bugs me is that my rides are becoming less intentional. I’m not really pushing myself very hard to, say, break a speed goal or a time goal. Most of the time, I’m just going one of my usual routes, at an OK pace. More things became more automatic. I don’t like that. I need to find a new goal to work toward, some changes to try, or maybe plan & execute some big rides.

(Pictures below. Click to flip)

Cycling 2022 May

Cycling 2022/06

Cycling 2022 Jul

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