Music To My Ears and Riding Update

Here I am once again...finding it hard enough to find ride time around all the other commitments of family life while not allowing this blog to wither and die on the vine. I need to find a way to ride AND still have time to blog! As a result of my latest lapse, this post is not exactly the most timely with respect to its main topic...the music.

Yes, the music to my ears....an enduring seasonal chorus I look forward to hearing each year as much for the sweet sound as for the emergence of the Spring renewal it represents. This year, I first heard them the night of my daughter's birthday (date of my last post) as the in-laws were leaving. On my next ride 2 days later, I passed a spot in Plainville where the music was deafening...a roadside vernal pool perhaps. I'm talking of course about the spring peepers...also known as pinkletinks on the Vineyard (a fact I just learned). After our long and lingering winter, it's been good to hear them on my rides including my ride tonight...a nice reminder of the fact that warmer weather WILL arrive eventually.

Click on picture to hear the "music".

As for my rides, here's a summary of my mileage and average speeds since my last post:

• Fri 3/27 - 18.3 mi - 15.7 mph
• Thur 4/2 - 14.4 mi - 16.0 mph
• Sat 4/4 - 17.1 mi - 16.0 mph (strong wind)
• Sun 4/5 - 22.6 mi - 16.0 mph (strong wind)
• Wed 4/8 - 20.1 mi - 16.3 mph

IMO, not too bad, but not too good either. I like to think of it as the "ramping up" phase. But once I start the training schedule with after work rides I try very hard to keep the momentum going. That means adding miles and riding days. Right now I'm only shooting for 3 to 4 rides per week with the max distance ranging into the 20s. I'd like to get to the point where I'm riding 5 days per week with after work ride distances ranging into the 30s and at least one long weekend ride in the 40-60 mile range. We'll see how it goes, but it's good to know that it will get easier as the temperatures warm up and the daylight hours grow.

Today's ride was a good example of keeping the momentum going. It would have been so easy to bag today's scheduled ride given the cold and wind and snow flurries my wife saw at work. I was really in no mood to ride all day, but I left work like I was going to ride and when I got home the wind had mostly died down. I started feeling better about riding and lo and behold I ended up doing a 20 mile ride and felt great doing it.

I didn't think I would be wearing my PI InsulaTour winter riding jacket again until next Fall, but the 44 deg temperature at ride time demanded it as well as the winter tights. Good call...I was never cold nor overly warm during the entire ride. The InsulaTour jacket has worked out well with temperatures in the 30s to mid-40s. When I wore it once or twice with temperatures in the 20s I found that I couldn't stay warm enough for an entire 12-16 mile ride. The cold too easily penetrated the back of the jacket, especially the back of the sleeves, which by design have no wind break material for breathability/water management.

I was looking at the NBW ride schedule a few weeks ago and noticed that the Triboro ride in my area was scheduled for this coming Sunday. I figured I'd join them for the 35 mile loop and get to know some of the club members. Now of course I realize that Sunday is Easter and I'll be lucky if I get any type of short ride in with all the egg hunts the family is preparing for the kids. Oh well...it's always something!