23 October 2007

Weekday morning ride

So I rode on a weekday morning before work for the first time. It was cool enough that I wore a windbreaker. I did the UCSC loop four times, just like on Sunday afternoon.

The academic year was in full swing as students thronged the bus stops on Hagar, and I had to maneuver around buses at the stops several times on the climb. The view to the left on the descent of the city and the bay was nice, but I was concentrating on pedaling more than the view.

My times on the loop were about a minute slower than on Sunday, or close to 11 minutes. I was about 15 seconds slower on the descent, which I attribute partly to wearing the windbreaker that was flapping in the wind, and partly to the colder, denser air, and partly to just being slower. That means I was almost 45 seconds slower on the climb.

On the descent after the sharp right, I shifted into the 11t cog, I think, and found it too big a gear, and shifted back down to the 12t immediately.

I'll see if I get stronger after doing this loop more on weekday mornings before work.