Cycle Blog 12/24: Bryan’s Sights on 13 Miles

By Bryan Mewes for the San Diego Century.

Bryan Mewes is a cycling blogger for the San Diego Century and Bike the Coast - Taste the Coast.  He is preparing for the 37 mile route at the San Diego Century (though we’ll try to get him to upgrade to the 66 or 103 by May).  Along with the San Diego Century he has a full schedule of 2011 events.  To follow his training and stories from the road stay tuned to his regular blog posts at http://sdcentury.com and http://bike-the-coast.com

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12/24/10

It has been raining nonstop for at least nine days.  I’m in Orange County, California, that is way too much rain if you ask me.  Not to mention it is putting a serious damper on my riding.  There have been a few breaks in the rain, either not raining at all or just a real light mist and I think “hmmm maybe I should go for a run, keep my cardio up” but that thought quickly passes.  It’s so easy to be lazy in the rain…and feels so good.  I’ve been checking the weather forecast every day.  Making sure that the promised sunny Friday is still going to happen.  I woke up nice and early, and by nice and early I mean 10:30, to find a sunny sky.  It has been two weeks since I was last on my bike and I can’t wait to get back out there.  The plan was to ride for an hour, hour and a half up PCH, but its Christmas eve so that didn’t quite happen.

I’m training for the Desert Triathlon Sprint which will have a 13 mile ride.  About 20 minutes in I got caught at a light, as I was slowing down I saw that my cyclometer was at 6.5 miles so I decided to turn around and hit an even 13 miles.  I was lagging a bit on my way back until I saw three guys start to come up behind me.  I was about 6 miles out and kicked it up to make sure they didn’t catch me.  Luckily they were cruising at an easy pace so I was able to say out in front of them and wrapped it up with a little climb.

My time was 44:45 with an average mph of 18.  My average mph is still below what I like.  If it wasn’t what would be the point of all this hard work?  I have to have goals to break.

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About the San Diego Century Bicycle Tour

The San Diego Century Bicycle Tour is a choice of 37, 66, or 103-mile bicycle ride starting and finishing with food, fun and music at MiraCosta College in Cardiff, California on Saturday, May 21.  The cycling courses provide riders with an opportunity to taste the hills with both varying elevation gains and tasty cuisine at the Ramona aid station and finish line.  Hills on the courses range from moderate on the 37 mile course to challenging on the 103 mile course.  Proceeds from the ride support the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition — www.sdcbc.org — a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to making bicycling better in greater San Diego.  Registration Info>>