First Day Out

The Colnago EPQ had been waiting for a long time in the hallway of our home. I would walk by the bike numerous times each day. There it sat, patiently waiting for winter to come to an end.

Although I was somewhat doubtful, I did get my first outdoor ride done in March. With a colder than expected spring, coupled with some late snowfall, I thought I would be spinning indoors until mid-April.

Friday was actually a marginal day. I debated for a few hours about whether I should take the bike out. Reluctantly, I went downstairs and spun indoors.

Saturday was different. Sunny. Somewhat milder at around 10 to 12 Celsius.

Open road. Finally.

I did a 42 km loop in 1 hour and 32 minutes. I maintained an average speed of 27.2 kph, an average heart rate of 141 bpm. I burned somewhere around 1,300 calories.

Last year, my first 42 km loop came after a week of outdoor riding. That longer loop happened quite a bit earlier on March 18th, 2012. The temperature was 20 Celsius. A year ago I managed an average speed of 24.7 kph and I burned somewhere around 1,400 calories.

The winter training this year made quite an impact as my first ride was longer than my first ride last year — last year the first ride out was only 22 km. And my pace on the first longer outdoor ride of the season was up 2.5 kph despite much colder temperatures and stronger headwinds. And despite a punishing interval indoor set taken the day before.

It was simply awesome to be out on the roads again.