Today was my first bike ride since September 2nd when we left on a 3 week vacation. I did not take my bike like last year so the legs and muscles had a long period of rest. I did use the fitness equipment at several of the hotels but not to the extent that I exercise while biking. The condition of the fitness equipment varies drastically from hotel to hotel. The best recumbent bike was at the Best Western B. R. Guest hotel in Zanesville Ohio. The worst was at The Comfort Inn in Chattanooga which had all of the buttons pushed in and I could not program anything other than to start and stop.

We started out with Hurricane Lee coming ashore behind us as we drove through Baton Rouge and up to Hattiesburg, MS. The rain stayed with us for a few days and while we were in Chattanooga they recorded the most rain in a single day: 9.85″. We visited Rock City while this was happening and with our yellow ponchos we walked the rock trails, wading through the puddles and soaking our feet. The next day we went inside to see Ruby Falls, deep inside Lookout Mountain.

All told we visited The Biltmore in Asheville, NC. From there we went to Pigeon Forge, TN for country attractions. Driving to Boston was the next destination and where we got the history lessons we forgot from school. It was different walking and riding trollies where these events took place. One of our tour leaders was Paul Revere as we went from Concord to Lexington. A different tour was to program the GPS for local roads only and pick a place along the coast. We visited and walked in Marblehead, MA, Glouchester, MA., and Rockport, MA. Manhattan was the next stop and then on to Ohio.

While we staying Chattanooga I noticed most of the bikes on racks were mountain bikes. One morning while we were getting ready to go a man and woman walked their mountain bikes through the lobby decked out in their riding gear so I am guessing they were not too far from a trail or other destination. In Asheville I saw a mixture of road and mountain bikes. There was a serious road biker on a street coming into Asheville as well. And then when we were in Boston out trolley tour went by MIT. Almost every building entrance had a sea of bikes waiting for their rider to return. In Manhattan I saw many people riding Dahon folding type bicycles probably because space is a premium in most apartments.

Back to today’s ride I was planning on a 28 mile ride but between my muscles complaining and a time limit I decided 25 miles was a better goal. So I ended up going 24.88 miles at an average speed of 14.8 mph with a max speed of 20.5 mph. This was pretty good considering that I have not ridden for so long. My average cadence was 78.6 RPM.

With the amount of time gone I was hoping the temperature had moderated some but after my ride my home weather station was showing 101 degrees. My ride though was somewhat cooler at 96 degrees when I finished. Partly cloudy skies and an 8.6 mph southwest breeze helped it feel plenty warm. It did feel like fall though. Later this week the temperature is supposed to let up some. Rain seems to be a forgotten event in these parts.

9-26-2011 Biccle Ride Data and Route Map

9-26-2011 Home Weather Finish

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