Climbing on the Commute

Today I did my 23 mile morning commute version with DKW. We had a bit of a headwind (13mph) but it was a good ride. One of the things I have noticed is that I have more reserves now. While crossing a flat bridge in Kenmore in front of traffic I pushed to 27mph, I normally hit 20mph here but now that level of recruitment is putting out more power. There were a number of intersections where I pushed through at 12mph on an 8% grade as well. I really like this, I am feeling stronger and I can push when I need to. I now push myself when nearing the crest of hills which is very new to me, I used to rest and crest at 4mph, now I crest at 10mph or so.

I like that I have these reserves as well, it makes me feel safer. When I need to I can recruit more power and pass obstacles or get out of the way of traffic. This is one of the benefits of my training. I am very glad to be riding with DKW as well since it motivates me and we compete on the ride. Plus it is nice to be able to talk to someone and share the observations of the ride. For instance the rain forecast today really cut down the number of cycle commuters and joggers we saw on the trial. I saw three or so more roosters, I think the family who keeps the chickens near the Sammamish river trail must have gotten more chickens. We saw some goslings with their mother geese as well. And two rabbits were brave enough to cross the trail in front of us today.

I love my long version of the ride to work, it is a much nicer day when I start with 23 miles of scenery.