How far did you ride?

Editor's note: The following was supposed to be in the January newsletter, but wasn't. It's sort of water under the bridge now, but as a spur to get those miles in this year, record your mileage, then send it to me as soon as 2006 ends. At a minimum, I can mention in the January 2007 newsletter how many miles members rode in 2006, and maybe we can come up with a prize to present at the 2007 winter meeting.

Mileage will have to be on the honor system, and since I'm making the rules, "road miles only."

I think this started when when I (Mike Eliasohn) included this in an e-mail to Wally:

It sort of looks like the cycling season is over. I reached 1,020.8 miles on Nov. 20. My goal for the year was 1,000 miles, so if I don't get on the bike again this year, I'll be satisfied. I had some obligations this year on vacation or weekend days that were good cycling weather; otherwise, I'm sure I would have reached 1,100 miles. This was the first year since 1997 that I rode more than 1,000 miles. (Update: I finished 2005 with 1,024.8 miles.)

Wally e-mailed me back the following on Nov. 30:

This year was a personal best for me. Previously it was 1,600 miles. This year I have 2,100 miles. The increase is not because I rode more often. It is because I average 5 mph more per ride (on his F40).

Wally also asked others on his e-mail list how many miles they rode, which got the following response from Mike Mowett:

2850 miles outdoors
515 miles indoors
3365 miles so far....
I hope the winter stays "mild"

Paul Pancella, who is on Wally's e-mail list, read that and asked for an explanation of how Mike rode 515 miles indoors. Here's Mike's response:

I keep track of mileage from every ride indoors or out.  I started the year on a 12-mile group ride through soggy muddy/snowy trails on a moutain bike.  Then rode 175 miles with my bike on a training stand.  Then 215 miles in February, only 53 miles in March.  From April on, its been all outdoors till this past few weeks, where I've got another 60 indoors.  I have a Cateye CycloSimulator that I acquired during my days working on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers HPV team at my school.

Oh and I actually did ride a variety of 'bents indoors around Garrie Hill's spacious factory in the dead of an Ohio winter.  About five of us went to his three-day workshop in January.  Fun fun.  We all took turns zipping in and out of rooms and around huge cement support pillars on his second floor. This was in an "abandoned" area of the factory, which is also Garrie's play-area.

Last year, anything cooler than 55 degrees was too cold for me to ride in.  The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I did a 52 mile ride outdoors, half in the dark in temps as low as 45 degrees.  As long as the ice stays off the road - or the local road commission puts a lot of rock salt down, riding outside is bearable.  I used to pedal newspapers in 15 to 20 degree temps in snow and wind.  At that point, its not about training anymore, its more about surviving, and being stupid.

I feel indoor training is harsher than outdoors - my legs just burn to keep the same speed as outdoors even on the easier resistance levels.  One reason is that there's no coasting on a trainer.  Another could be the greatly reduced cooling effect, unless you have a good powerful fan on you to cool you off.  Also, even the same seat position doesn't feel the same as outdoors - just because you are stuck so still, without any moving about that could relieve pressure on your back, hands or neck.