Two Rides, One Day

The day in two pieces

I didn't plan a big training day. It just worked out that I rode both ways.

First ride was mid-afternoon. About 7 miles, 278 feet of climbing, 33 minutes moving. The name I gave it says everything: outdoor riding is harder than indoor, but I couldn't really get out of the saddle. Something in my back wasn't cooperating. So I stayed seated, kept it steady, and just moved. Averaged 110W and 13.1 mph. Not impressive numbers. But I got outside, I turned the pedals, and I didn't skip it.

The second ride came a little over three hours later. The commute home, heading east. 6.76 miles, 120 feet of elevation, 26 minutes. Lighter on the climbing, and I moved a bit faster: 15.3 mph average. Still 110W. Picked up two PRs on that segment, which I'll take.

What the day actually added up to

• Total distance: 13.95 miles
• Total moving time: 59 minutes
• Total elevation: 398 feet
• Total work: 393 kJ
• PRs: 2

Neither ride would win any awards. But two rides in one day, back to back across a few hours, with a body that wasn't fully cooperating, that's something I want to document.

Why I'm writing this down

I've been sharing my training publicly as I build toward TheBayRide on August 29th. My FTP right now sits at 216W, down from a peak of 295W in 2022. The gap is real. The only way to close it is to keep showing up on days exactly like this one, when the conditions aren't perfect and the numbers aren't big.

Thirty-three minutes in the afternoon. Twenty-six minutes on the way home. Neither one felt like training. Together they add up to an hour on the bike and almost 400 feet climbed.

That's the job right now.

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