14th ride

Today's ride was a good one for where I am in my current state of development. I left just past 7:00 a.m. in still brisk conditions (32 degrees, so I was very glad for my coat and gloves) and rode an 11.5-mile circuit that I'm calling the Carpenter Big Block - up to Eisenhower, then a long stretch east on Eisenhower/Packard to Carpenter Rd. in Ypsilanti, down to Ellsworth, and back home. I had run it once before, back on Saturday morning, April 11, 2008, in 1:57. That was my peak year for fitness and a good year for mileage, as I ran 1000.2 miles in 2008. Today, I rode it in 1:21 (a relatively slow ride of just over 7-minute miles) - interestingly, though, given my relative fitness in 2013 and 2008, I'd judge it to be about equally physically challenging to ride that distance now as it was to run it then. At least I keep building, though, which is all I can expect at this point.