Though I am still not permitted to stand up on the pedals - essential for climbing in anything but the lowest gear - I surprised myself yesterday by accidentally choosing a cycling route with 2 x category 5 climbs. (>1mile each, with an average grade >3%), so I realized that I maybe ready to do one of my favorite rides that has a good amount of climbing. This also allows me to do a direct comparison with my pre-surgery performance - something that I've stayed away from.
Today's moderately hilly route was 20.2 miles, with 413 feet of climb. My pre-surgery rides of this route averaged 1:09, an average speed of 17.3mph.
Today's (post-surgery) ride was 1:20, an average speed of 15.1mph, so I was ~13% slower, but I'd say that the wind was a bit heavier than usual today, and more importantly, I was a bit heavier today. (I still haven't worked off all of my post-surgery and winter weight gain.) Wind and weight probably explains at least half the performance gap, so all in all, I enjoyed a good ride, and seem to be recovering well.
When inputting the ride data into a tracking site that I use (www.mapmyride.com), I noticed a new, cool option that I'd like to share: 3-D flyover of your cycling route. Take a look below, and pay attention to the speed of the flyover - the flight accelerates or slows based on whether the course is downhill or uphill - very cool.
I can't believe that this very cool technology can be applied to my simple bike rides in central Virginia.
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