Thursday, July 01, 2004

Washington Park Conquered

I think I mentioned a few weeks ago that the evil roads in Washington Park ate my bicycles rear wheel. (of course, operator error had nothing to do with it, heh-heh)

Well, I took the wheel and hub apart, cleaned up the chewed up metal on the hub with a Dremel tool, and rebuilt the drive side of the wheel with "new" spokes from my stash of used-but-not-forgotten spokes that are scattered all over our storeroom. So, the wheel is not exactly as good as new, but it is rideable.

I drove to the Park last Saturday and rode around the 18.4 mi. loop as fast as I could. By driving to and from the park, I cut my total biking mileage in half and was able to ride much harder in the park.

I chopped my time from an hour and 45 minutes to a little under and hour and a half. Ta-da.

That's probable as fast as I can go, without some serious hill training. I chopped the 15 min. off of the first half of the ride going in to Slagbai. Riding out in the rollercoaster hills took just as long as usual.

I'll probably try another record attempt next December when the weather is cooler. Overheating in the broiling sun keeps me from going faster at least as much as lack of fitness.

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