18.6 miles

18.6 Miles, 73 minutes.

Wednesday night I went on a 29.5 mile ride, averaging 16.4 mph. Very hilly. Attached is route, cue sheet.

Went on the Monday night ride again this week, same route as last week without the "extra credit." My legs were mighty sore from the past few days, but I stayed near the front all the same. I'll be dead tomorrow :)

Rutland State Park

Again, I went mountain biking at Rutland State Park this morning. A much faster pace than yesterday, and covered a lot more distance. How far, I'm not sure, because my dad didn't go, and as such, I didn't have a computer on the bike. I took his bike though, was actually able to ride instead of trying to keep the chain on! It was really nice. Listed as Intermediate/Advanced; yesterday was Beginner. I feel like I'm getting in much better shape.

Injuries:

- Cut on back of right calf, three of them, from the chainring
- Left shoulder; I hit a tree going about 12-14 mph with my shoulder while going down a hill. It seems okay... but I'm icing it just to be sure.
- Various cuts on legs from thorns.

It was a great day, all in all!

Rutland State Park

I went mountain biking in Rutland State Park this morning, with my dad, Rick, Donna, and Bill. A good ride, 12.5 miles over a couple hours. My bike though... chain keeps skipping, falling off, etc. Maybe I need a new rear derailleur, though I've tried two used ones so far and nothing changed. To date, here is what I've done since I started having the problem:

Multiple new chains (they broke)
New rear cogs
New rear wheel
Two used derailleur (one came with bike, one came with old bike)
New Crankset
Aligned the hanger

So.. all this leads me to think that the frame might be damaged. I'm now officially in the market for a new bike.

Today: 17.5 miles, at an average of 16.8 miles per hour, according to a cycle computer.

Started off at the Old Stone Church in West Boyalston. Rode past the Sterling airport, and into Sterling. David's chain then broke, so we repaired it as best we could and headed back, knowing the repair was far from permanent. The ride was cut short (the plan was somewheres between 25 and 28 miles), but still enjoyable.

Shame on me

Shame on me for not keeping up with this. All the same, here it goes.

Today: 14.75 miles, about 50 minutes. I started off at Barney's Bike Shop on Chandler Street, and apparently rode around the Holden Reservoir to Salisbury Street. I kept up with the leaders in the group, though it was tiring for me (much more than it was for them). I guess the two in the front like to do "extra credit" bits, and they didn't realize I was right behind them, keeping up. The rest of the group was a few minutes back. Well, all of a sudden, going about 23mph down a hill, they turn abruptly. I was not expecting that, and they were not expecting me to be there, and there was almost a really bad crash. I was able to manage though, and got complimented on my technical skill, and my ability to keep up. It felt good. :)



Saturday: About 30 miles, 15 each way, to hubbardston for a social. It rained, a lot. :/ Leisurely pace.