Tuesday 1 January 2013

December and Year End Ride Stats

My first zero miles month since I started cycling over three years ago.

Christmas is always a low miles month for me so no big surprise, last year I only managed 119 miles, the year before that 32 miles.  Significant personal commitments plus the bad weather meant that the one or two times I found a window to ride, the weather was awful - strong winds or driving rain, so I ended up not riding.

Resultantly, my year end mileage stats remain unchanged at just over 3,000 miles.  Last year I did 3,545 in total and the critical period has been October to December.  I managed only 143 miles compared to the 639 the year before, completing only four rides vs.15 over the comparable period the previous year.

It's had a huge impact on my fitness.  I was determined to go out today and put in some New Year miles, so I'd earmarked three hours to kick things off positively.  Strong headwinds made the going really, really tough.  My heart rate was right at the top of zone three (150bpm) as a ride average for the three hours and my average speed was a paltry 13.4mph as I got home, I can put some of that down to the strong headwind and gusts, however the rest is down to the drop in fitness.

To give you some idea, I did the almost identical route in early September and my average ride speed was 16.1mph, with an average heart rate of 144bpm.  This is a difference in average speed of 17% (faster) with a heart rate 4% lower. 

When I review my 2012 mileage, I'd completed 1,056 miles in Q1, 1,140 miles in Q2, 733 miles in Q3 and 143 in Q4.  Those missing 500 or so miles from Q4 really have made the difference, it clearly goes to show that to maintain a base level of fitness, it's good to have around six hours or so a week in the saddle if time affords it. 

It's all about re-building for me now - some good base mile rides in January will soon see to that.  I've got some events booked already as additional milestones to aim forMy cycling objectives are much simplified nowadays and focus on enjoyment, weight management and relaxation. I'm less focused on the miles in terms of year on year gains, however it seems that around 3,500 per year is where I need to be at and the account got opened today. 

YTD
Mileage- 3,087 miles
Ride Time -206hrs 37mins
Climbing - 80,887 ft
Avg. Speed - 14.7 mph
Avg. HR - 140bpm
Avg. Cadence - 82rpm
Calories (estimate) 118,192
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) -   26.3

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