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f4f3Working from home yesterday meant I could sneak in some exercise at lunchtime.
So I decided to find out how far I could cycle on my new, lighter bike in one hour.
I always thought my average cycling speed was around 10 miles an hour. Then I went for my three day ride up hill and down dale, and it turned out to be about 8 miles an hour. We live and learn.
That was on a touring bike, though, with panniers and, as mentioned, some pretty steep hills. I was curious to see what I could do on the flat, more or less, and carrying no luggage.
Luckily, Great Western Road passes near my flat. It's a wide, though busy, road that goes by the name of The Boulevard or, if you're being romantic, The Road To The Isles. It goes from the centre of Glasgow out to Loch Lomond and then all the way north to Inverness. I didn't think I'd get that far, not during my lunchtime, but I set my trip computer and set off to cycle for 30 minutes then turn around and come home. I had no real idea how far I'd get. There's a shopping centre about 5 miles away, and I hoped I'd get as far as that. As it turns out, I did a little better and managed almost 13 miles in just under an hour. My average speed was 12.9 mph which was a tiny bit frustrating since I like round numbers.
I'm fairly pleased with that. I think I can go faster, since the run was pretty much stop/go with all the traffic lights, and I didn't really keep up my momentum. On the other hand, I felt pretty knackered when I got back. This is pretty reasonable - although the new bike is a few kg lighter than the old one, all the motive power is still coming from me, and I'm obviously burning the calories faster the more quickly I ride.
Next plan is to get the bike to Arrochar, and ride down the side of Loch Lomond for an hour. The stretch from Tarbet to Cameron House is 16 miles, more or less, and though it isn't as flat as the Boulevard, there are no traffic lights.
That will need to wait until this weekend, though, and I really should get to the gym before then. My weight has started to creep up again, and I know fine well that exercise is the only thing that gets me lighter in the long term. I'm still a stone less than I was at my heaviest, but I'd be happier if I dropped another stone. So hey, ho, and on with the cross training...
So I decided to find out how far I could cycle on my new, lighter bike in one hour.
I always thought my average cycling speed was around 10 miles an hour. Then I went for my three day ride up hill and down dale, and it turned out to be about 8 miles an hour. We live and learn.
That was on a touring bike, though, with panniers and, as mentioned, some pretty steep hills. I was curious to see what I could do on the flat, more or less, and carrying no luggage.
Luckily, Great Western Road passes near my flat. It's a wide, though busy, road that goes by the name of The Boulevard or, if you're being romantic, The Road To The Isles. It goes from the centre of Glasgow out to Loch Lomond and then all the way north to Inverness. I didn't think I'd get that far, not during my lunchtime, but I set my trip computer and set off to cycle for 30 minutes then turn around and come home. I had no real idea how far I'd get. There's a shopping centre about 5 miles away, and I hoped I'd get as far as that. As it turns out, I did a little better and managed almost 13 miles in just under an hour. My average speed was 12.9 mph which was a tiny bit frustrating since I like round numbers.
I'm fairly pleased with that. I think I can go faster, since the run was pretty much stop/go with all the traffic lights, and I didn't really keep up my momentum. On the other hand, I felt pretty knackered when I got back. This is pretty reasonable - although the new bike is a few kg lighter than the old one, all the motive power is still coming from me, and I'm obviously burning the calories faster the more quickly I ride.
Next plan is to get the bike to Arrochar, and ride down the side of Loch Lomond for an hour. The stretch from Tarbet to Cameron House is 16 miles, more or less, and though it isn't as flat as the Boulevard, there are no traffic lights.
That will need to wait until this weekend, though, and I really should get to the gym before then. My weight has started to creep up again, and I know fine well that exercise is the only thing that gets me lighter in the long term. I'm still a stone less than I was at my heaviest, but I'd be happier if I dropped another stone. So hey, ho, and on with the cross training...
