So I finally did it. I purchased a pair of full leg warmers so that I could get back out on the bike and put in some time. I got out there and started riding and it felt really good. I can’t say that it was a good ride…more on that in a moment…but it was great to finally be on the bike again.

Here are the ride’s stats:

My First Trek Back on the Bike
Time: 00:56:39
Distance: 14.19 mi
Avg Speed: 15.0 mph
Max Speed: 28.6 mph
Elev. Gain: 353 ft
Avg Heart Rate: 174 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 194 bpm
Avg Cadence: 70 rpm
Max Cadence: 98 rpm
Calories: 1,244 C

So about that ride. It was a good ride, but not a great one. Mainly because I could really feel both the time off the bike and the atrophy that has occurred in my left quad. I held horrible lines, especially uphill. My bike would constantly be pulled to the right due to the amount of power my right leg could perform over my left. I also wore myself out much sooner. As you can see it was only a 1 hour ride. That’s about a third of my normal time. I knew I couldn’t do a full length ride, but really wanted to put closer to 2 hours in. I was so tired by the end though, I doubt I could have kept it up for another hour. This ride was interesting though because it was the first time I really paid attention to my Heart Rate over everything else. I fought to keep it under 185 as much as possible and did pretty well at that.

It was great to get on it again and I look forward to a number of more rides as the weather warms up.