Weekend Ride Reports

[mtnbiker]

Nice... PAC's legendary sway with Caltrans (and NDOT) just continues to grow.

[Borg]

Saturday - Salt Lake Century - 105 miles. 6hrs, with an average of 17.5 miles per hour.

Has been raining in Utah like it was the Pacific Northwest. But today, was perfect for a nice ride. Thought I would just be gassed for such a long ride, and have to cut it short, but...was along with a good friend, and we made such good time, we decided to go for it. Glad I did. Good times. Summer riding is officially "on" now that I've knocked out a century.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Saturday - Salt Lake Century - 105 miles. 6hrs, with an average of 17.5 miles per hour.

Has been raining in Utah like it was the Pacific Northwest. But today, was perfect for a nice ride. Thought I would just be gassed for such a long ride, and have to cut it short, but...was along with a good friend, and we made such good time, we decided to go for it. Glad I did. Good times. Summer riding is officially "on" now that I've knocked out a century.

Congrats on such a strong ride. I noticed that in the three weeks leading up to the ride you had only four rides, the longest of which was around 30 miles. No way could I have done that (or at least I don't think I could). If you're even ambulatory today I'm very impressed.

[mtnbiker]

Good job, Borg! Yesterday was only my 2nd road ride of this year, a 26-miler. There was no way I was even going to think about a century with that little mileage. The weather has been crazy this spring.

[Borg]

Thanks Pac/mtnbiker -

Ha! Yes...it was fun/bruatal all at the same time. Pac - you are right...only a few rides and 30 miles was the max distance I had gone at that time. But, I've linked back up to some local, long time friends I went to high school with, and one is in training for an Iron Man and he and I were the only ones to show up! So, of course, I couldn't let my long time friend put the hammer down on my in his first ever century ride.

So...I'm ashamed to say, "pride" pushed me on especially in that last leg of 18 miles. We hammered about a 21 mph into the finish line! Crazy...I would have taken it much easier if he hadn't been there...but glad he was as I finished stronger than I ever have done in the past.

Good times. I sure hope to make the CUF Tour of 2011. <<sigh>>

[bluegoose]

Last night while I was riding home from the kids' swim practice, I saw a cyclist by the side of the road who looked a bit lost. Turns out he was, as he was visiting town for work and had taken off for a quick 20 miler. I gave him some quick directions for a nice route, for which he was really grateful.

As we continued talking, it was clear that he was hoping to get some good riding miles in this week, so I invited him on our little group ride planned for this evening. Not knowing what kind of a rider he was, this was taking a bit of a chance that he would either a)drag the group overall average because he was slow, b) take the risk of crashing out because he is a squirly rider, or c) resign us to 90 minutes of boring conversation.

Turns out I was wrong on all accounts. He was a very, very strong rider, who showed up in his UN-Reno wolfpack jersey, who also happened to active LDS from Fallon, NV. His wife also served in my mission, just a few years before I was there.

We hammered it pretty hard for 33 miles, battling a slight headwind for a good portion of the ride. Overall average approached 20mph toward the end of the ride. Temps were about 85 degrees, which was a drain for me, as I am used to riding in the early morning. But, overall it was a most excellent ride and the pasta salad that was awaiting me at the end tasted all the better after burning close to 1500 cals on the ride.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Last night while I was riding home from the kids' swim practice, I saw a cyclist by the side of the road who looked a bit lost. Turns out he was, as he was visiting town for work and had taken off for a quick 20 miler. I gave him some quick directions for a nice route, for which he was really grateful.

As we continued talking, it was clear that he was hoping to get some good riding miles in this week, so I invited him on our little group ride planned for this evening. Not knowing what kind of a rider he was, this was taking a bit of a chance that he would either a)drag the group overall average because he was slow, b) take the risk of crashing out because he is a squirly rider, or c) resign us to 90 minutes of boring conversation.

Turns out I was wrong on all accounts. He was a very, very strong rider, who showed up in his UN-Reno wolfpack jersey, who also happened to active LDS from Fallon, NV. His wife also served in my mission, just a few years before I was there.

We hammered it pretty hard for 33 miles, battling a slight headwind for a good portion of the ride. Overall average approached 20mph toward the end of the ride. Temps were about 85 degrees, which was a drain for me, as I am used to riding in the early morning. But, overall it was a most excellent ride and the pasta salad that was awaiting me at the end tasted all the better after burning close to 1500 cals on the ride.

How are you burning < 1500 calories if you're cranking along near 20 mph for nearly two hours? Using both Garmin and the HealthStatus table on the CUF Challenge page, I burned >3500 by averaging just over 14 mph. I spent twice as much time on the bike as you did, but obviously at a much slower pace (although Patterson Pass is one nasty climb). Do my additional pounds account for the diff?

[bluegoose]

How are you burning < 1500 calories if you're cranking along near 20 mph for nearly two hours? Using both Garmin and the HealthStatus table on the CUF Challenge page, I burned >3500 by averaging just over 14 mph. I spent twice as much time on the bike as you did, but obviously at a much slower pace (although Patterson Pass is one nasty climb). Do my additional pounds account for the diff?

I think the Garmin calorie calculator is not very accurate. I think its too high for cycling and too low for hiking. Running seems to be fairly accurate.

I have been using myfitnesspal.com for my food and exercise log. While not perfect, it seems fairly close to what it should be.

I also just plugged my numbers into a calculator that I made several years ago (but rarely use) that is based on Metabolic Equivalents (Mets). It gave me 1584 for 100 minutes at 165 pounds at 19mph. myfitnesspal gave me 1497. healthstatus doesn't go any higher than 14-16mph for cycling, but it gave me 1320 cals at that speed with the same numbers.

So I may be getting ripped off a little bit on the competition, but as I am trying to drop a couple of pounds, I would rather shoot a little low on the estimate so as to not automatically reach for the Tillamook ice cream every night because I see a huge calorie deficit on my log.

[PaloAltoCougar]

... I would rather shoot a little low on the estimate so as to not automatically reach for the Tillamook ice cream every night because I see a huge calorie deficit on my log.

Word. After racking up a mega-calorie burn yesterday morning (using even the more conservative measures), I ate a trough of ice cream last night that resulted in Mrs. PAC having to transport me to bed with the use of a hand truck. 3,000 feet of climbing negated yet again by the Brothers Ben & Jerry.

[John McClain]

Somebody help me! Because of the huge Wallow Fire in Southwest Arizona, Albuquerque has been subjected to its worst air quality in history (due to the smoke plume that wends its way into central New Mexico). This entire week has been a bust for any bike riding or running as health officials warn against any outdoor activity. Everything smells like a campfire. Geez, I'm starting to understand what Utah denizens are up against in the winter when they can't go outside to ride.

[RC Vikings]

I think the Garmin calorie calculator is not very accurate. I think its too high for cycling and too low for hiking.

It's messed up. I don't think their is any way I can burn more than 1000 cals in an hour but it routinely gives me 1500. Yesterday it gave me 1549 for a 21 mile ride and tonight it gave me 2343 for a 42 mile ride. My goal in the gym was to break the 1000 cal mark for an hour on one of those stupid moving stair machines and I couldn't do it. I got up to 950 one time and about died and I never feel like that after an hour on the bike and the 1500 total.

[ERCougar]

I think the Garmin calorie calculator is not very accurate. I think its too high for cycling and too low for hiking. Running seems to be fairly accurate.

I have been using myfitnesspal.com for my food and exercise log. While not perfect, it seems fairly close to what it should be.

I also just plugged my numbers into a calculator that I made several years ago (but rarely use) that is based on Metabolic Equivalents (Mets). It gave me 1584 for 100 minutes at 165 pounds at 19mph. myfitnesspal gave me 1497. healthstatus doesn't go any higher than 14-16mph for cycling, but it gave me 1320 cals at that speed with the same numbers.

So I may be getting ripped off a little bit on the competition, but as I am trying to drop a couple of pounds, I would rather shoot a little low on the estimate so as to not automatically reach for the Tillamook ice cream every night because I see a huge calorie deficit on my log.

I've been saying this for a long time. It's messed up, although it seems a little bit better than it used to be. It's always way higher than any of the other calculators (or Cardiotrainer on my phone, which tracks speed, altitude and all that). It seems about right (or at least agrees with other calculators and seems about right effort-wise) when it comes to mountain biking though, although I fully realize that mountain bike rides can be all over the map when it comes to effort.

[bluegoose]

I had a good 44 mile ride this morning. My legs were still pretty tired from earlier in the week, so by the time we hit about 30 miles I was pretty cooked. Longest ride of the spring/summer for me.

One thing happened on the ride that gave me a good laugh. We had just finished a really hard section while working our way back to town and were passing through an intersection out in the middle of basically nowhere. Strangely, we had just seen 2 different cars filled with friends of ours heading up into the mountains. After saying hello to them, a third truck pulled up along side us. He had obviously seen my BYU jersey that I was sporting. Thinking that we might just be seeing someone else that we know, we then heard some rough looking guy leaning out the window yelling, "BYU sucks! Oregon Ducks Rule!"

As he pulled away, there in the back of his truck were 2 caged goats. They both started loudly bleating at us as they accelerated down the road. It was as if they were his little toadies following his lead of derision. I've never been openly mocked by goats before. I guess there is a first time for everything.

[DU Ute]

I like sports!

Someone's trying too hard. I know those years at BYU were oppressive, but this is a safe place.

[RC Vikings]

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92500628

Our Tuesday night group rides keep getting faster and faster and I keep getting older and fatter. I try and take my turns at the front but it's seems like I'm just trying to hang on anymore. I do look forward to it every week and it really does help keep me motivated. I would just encourage anybody who wants to get faster to find a group, it's a good time.