I went out today to see how I have improved over the last 6 weeks. My second ride on Daunell's trike (https://ridewithgps.com/trips/14588357) was this route. I wanted to see if I had improved much.
I set out and determined to do a steady pace but no blow myself up. I was hoping to have improved by a significant amount.
The road was rough and I wished I had tires that were much lower pressure - just like I did on that second ride on this trike. I was pushing myself at a rate that was sustainable, but working hard.
When I got to the end of Speedway, I took a couple pictures, switched water bottles and started back.
When I turned up Ridgeside, I had a mess with getting into a proper gear. But, then I rode up the hill - most of the way in the second lowest gear. I avoided granny because it is a huge drop. Second gear was doable. When I got home, stopped my recording and went to get the bag off the back, I saw that I had lost the water bottle that was in the water bottle cage on the back of the seat. Oh well. I could go back over the almost 10 mile round trip and try to find it, but that seemed too much. Besides, that would put me late for work.
I did enjoy the ride, but looking at the amount of time I took and the average speed, it doesn't seem like much of an improvement. I calculated the percent change and it is about -7.68%. If I were an elite athlete, that would be a huge improvement. But, I am going from pretty sedentary to exercising, so I was hoping for more. But, I think that is probably unrealistic expectations. If I divide that by the 6 weeks in between, that is 1.28% per week. That is enormous! I am now pretty psyched about it!