First Ride Back. Bike Needed Work.

The bike sat too long

I left it covered outside for a few months. Covered, but not sealed. It got wet. Chain was rough, shifting was off, and I knew within the first block that a tune-up was coming before the next ride.

Still went out anyway.

The numbers

• Distance: 10.24 miles
• Moving time: 39 minutes
• Elevation: 114 ft
• Avg power: 109W
• Avg speed: 15.8 mph
• PRs: 6 (the bar is on the floor, so take that for what it is)

109W average. For context, my FTP (functional threshold power, the highest average watts you can hold for roughly an hour) is currently 216W. That puts this ride at about 50% of threshold. Easy spinning. More of a systems check than a workout.

The 6 PRs are not something to brag about. When you haven't ridden a segment in months, almost anything sets a new personal record. It just means I showed up.

Why this matters

I started sharing my training publicly four months out from TheBayRide on August 29th. The ride is 135 miles around the Bay. Most people who sign up do the full loop. Some do the 35-mile option from San Francisco to Oakland. Either way, neither happens without starting somewhere.

This is my somewhere.

Fitness doesn't come back all at once. It comes back in rides like this one. Short, a little awkward, nothing to post on a highlight reel. The bike is in the shop now. Next ride it should actually shift properly.

What's next

I'm not going to pretend 10 miles means I'm back in form. My W/kg (watts per kilogram, a measure of power relative to body weight) is sitting at 2.27 right now. Peak was 3.17 back in 2022. There's real ground to cover between here and August.

But the season is open. That's something.

If you're also just getting started, or getting started again, you're not behind. You're just early. Registration for TheBayRide is open at TheBayRide.com.

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Ride on Strava ↗