Monday, June 01, 2020

May Progress on #5000MilesIn2020

It's June. If not for the whole COVID situation, I would be starting my Great Cycle Challenge today.

But, with the whole COVID pandemic a reality ... the Great Cycle Challenge has been postponed until September.

I'll still be cycling quite a bit in June, as I still am trying to log #5000MilesIn2020.



As you may remember from April Progress on #5000MilesIn2020, my May goal was to ride 600 miles, but I was [secretly] actually trying for a bigger number to fulfill a Strava challenge.

Well, I got the bigger number. I logged just over 819 miles in May.


That puts me at 2,606 miles for the year. Feel free to disagree, but that is a lot of miles to bike in 5 months.

Not only did I ride more than 800 miles in May, but I also climbed over 43,150 feet in elevation gain in the month.

The top of Mt. Everett is 29,029 feet above sea level. Just saying.

So, my #5000MilesIn2020 goal is on track. Actually, I'm well ahead.

My June goal is 800 miles. Considering I got more than that in May, it sure doesn't seem too terribly out of the question that I'll hit that goal.



Another note ... we bought my wife (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model) an e-Bike. She's been joining me for some of my rides this month.

With her on an e-Bike and me doing ridiculous miles on my regular bike, we're actually pretty close on our abilities.

It's been pretty fun.


I've also finally gotten myself clipless pedals for my bike. While I feel like some people over-state the power efficiency gains of clipless pedals, I do think they are helpful.

I didn't realize how much I'd like the security of having my feet attached, and so far I have not had problems forgetting that I have to un-clip and falling down.


And ... I decide to go ahead and purchase a bike computer. I bought the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt.

I really like this purchase too. It means I don't have to use my phone battery to log Strava miles, and it is also attached where I can see it, whereas my phone was usually in my pocket.

The route function also really helped me navigate a couple of rides where I wasn't real familiar with the areas I was in.


As you may remember from Grapevine Loop From Morrison, I'm trying to improve my climbing ability.

The fact that I climbed over 43,150 feet in May is an indication that I'm working on it.

I'm still 6th on the Grapevine Loop from Morrison segment, but I've improved my time by over 5 minutes, and I passed one guy. There is a new guy who got the KOM on this segment.

I also decided that it is nice to work on the Grapevine Loop, I would rather concentrate on the climbing part, so I created a new segment in Strava and am working on improving on it rather than the whole thing.

Currently, I'm #10 on that segment. I think I can pass up at least a couple people before the end of the summer.




I feel like both the clipless pedals and the new  Wahoo Elemnt Bolt helped me improve on the segment.


Anyway, if I stay healthy and my bike doesn't develop any major mechanical issues, I am well ahead of the pace I need to hit that #5000MilesIn2020 ...

Month        Miles        YTD
January        314 miles        314 ytd
February        378 miles        692 ytd
March        489 miles       1181 ytd
April        606 miles       1787 ytd
May        819 miles       2606 ytd
                
Month        Goal       Goal ytd
June        800 miles       2800 ytd
July        700 miles       3500 ytd
August        600 miles       4100 ytd
September        600 miles       4700 ytd
October        300 miles       5000 ytd
November            0 miles       5000 ytd
December            0 miles       5000 ytd



If you want to stay up-to-date on my updates, bookmark Sheppy's Blog: #5000MilesIn2020.

Stay healthy, everyone!

1 comment: