Flat, Windy, and Worth It

The ride

Sunday afternoon. 17.05 miles. 67 minutes of moving time. 45 feet of elevation gain, which is basically a parking garage ramp.

Average power was 95W. My FTP (functional threshold power, the watts I can hold for roughly an hour) is sitting at 216W right now. So 95W is easy zone 2 territory. Aerobic, conversational, not taxing.

Wind was up. Speed averaged 15.4 mph, which feels about right when you're pushing into a headwind half the time and coasting the other half.

Why I still logged it

Because consistency matters more than intensity right now. I'm 103 days out from TheBayRide, and the goal at this stage isn't to hammer. It's to keep the legs moving, build the aerobic base, and stay in the habit.

I also pulled two PRs on this ride. On a flat, casual spin. That's not a reflection of fitness, that's a reflection of how infrequently I've ridden some of these segments lately. Something to sit with.

The boat

About halfway through, I rolled past a boatyard I've ridden by a hundred times. Today something caught my eye. A large wooden hull, ribs exposed, still being built. Someone is putting serious time and craft into that thing.

I stopped and took a photo.

There's something about watching a big thing get built piece by piece that I find grounding. TheBayRide is the same way. It doesn't come together on event day. It comes together in hundreds of small decisions over months. A training ride here. A logistics call there. Volunteers confirmed. Routes checked.

Today was one small piece.

Where I'm at

• FTP: 216W
• W/kg: 2.27 (watts per kilogram, a measure of power relative to body weight)
• Weight: 209.8 lbs
• Days to TheBayRide (August 29): 103

The goal is 135 miles around the Bay on August 29th. There's also a 35-mile option for those who want to ride from SF to Oakland. Most riders do the full loop.

Today was 17 miles at 95 watts. That gap is real. But the ride happened, and that's what matters today.

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