Better Biking

I'm steadily improving in my cycling, getting stronger and faster. Today I took a mid-morning ride, about six and a half miles long. I had my best time for that route yet, shaving a minute off my time and averaging over 12 miles per hour; it was one of my better rides ever considering the hills on that route. There's one hill that is just long enough and just steep enough to really get me, almost stopping me each time.

I've only been biking for two and half weeks but I'm really pleased with the progress I'm making. I'm a pretty big guy but I've gone almost 75 miles and burned almost 6000 calories. I'm sure that if I can keep this up, a little six mile ride would make a nice warm-up rather than be the devastating workout it is now.

My first major goal is to ride around Wyandotte County Lake, which is pretty hilly and bit longer than most of my current rides.

My iPhone's GPS tracks the route and gives me my speed and location and all the averages, including splits by mile or by time. It maps my ride on Google and then sends me a link via email. Having this kind of information (and communication – it emails my wife as I ride) is really helping me enjoy the sport.