Biking lang Dad!

The gang were finally able to volt in and hit Mt. Falcon last Saturday. It was my chance to see if my bike-to-work regimen has any effect to my off-road biking. The ride initially went smoothly. The big three (Jamis1v2, Jamis2 and TomacBoy) were like mad men possessed, cranking non-stop all the way to the top. At first I was trailing close with Bob da B a bit behind. But when the trail got steeper and the rocks got bigger, that’s when things got disappointingly frustrating for me. My legs were burning up and my lungs seem to collapse with each breath. Never wanting to give up, I pushed myself as far as I could, and pushed my bike too most of the time. The 2.5 mile ascent took me about an hour and twenty minutes. The big three did it in less than 50. And Bob da B? He passed me around the 1 mile mark and never looked back.

Downhill is an entirely different story though. The gang was gracious enough to wait for me at the top so we can all go down together. All I can say is the hike up is definitely worth it! I got rewarded with 13 minutes of pure downhillI rush. Amazing. Trailing the big two (J2 went ahead, it’s the missus birthday) was just like watching one of those mountain bike youtube videos. Woohoo!

So I guess I need to work more on this bike-to-work thing. Or better yet, hit a real mountain trail in the morning before work, just like what J2 does - idol kasi kita J2!

• Distance: 12.07 miles
• Average speed: 14.3 mph
• Max speed: 31.9 mph
• Total time: 50:42
• Calories burned: 474 cal

A very typical ride to work morning. No mechanical trouble. No accident. Nothing interesting to blog about. Except that I bested my best time by 40 gargantuan seconds! I won against myself by exactly 384 ft. Not bad after a two week hiatus. The afternoon ride home will be a lot different though. With temperature nearing 90F (32C) I may find myself stopping by the community pool to cool off.

Yep! Still a bikeless couple of weeks. I was supposed to ride to work this morning. I had all my stuff ready since last night. The alarm went off on it’s usual MWF 5:30am time. I looked out at the window, perfect pink and purple shade on the horizon. It seemed like a nice morning to ride but the wind was strong. The neighbor’s kiddie swingset were going crazy. A quick check on the weather said it was 54F. But with strong wind like that, it will be too cold for me to ride. Went back to bed and enjoyed another 45 minutes of sleep. Ah, yes!

Haven’t ridden my bike in a week. My butt is itching to get back in the saddle. I’m quite sure my body needs reconditioning again. Hopefully tomorrow’s bike-to-work ride would be enough to get me going for a possible weekend mountain ride.

A couple of weekends ago, the gang did an easy ride at a back country near a friend’s house. The last time I hit this trail a year ago, I was gasping for air as usual. It’s a lot different this time. I was able to do the climbs continuously, blazed downhill, enjoyed the entire ride and actually still have energy to spare after. I can’t say I’ll do the same in Mt. Falcon or Deer Creek Canyon but I feel I can go a bit further next time. We’ll see.