Trucking along I-76

Thursday January 10^th through Sunday January 13^th

I had one spinning class and rode 3 times on my trainer for a total of 55.62 miles.  This puts me at a total of 179.02 ridden so far and plots me on the map at about 8 miles past Harrisburg, PA. I'm still heading west on I-76.

Progress Status: Ahead of schedule

Total Miles Rode: 179.02

Miles Remaining:  2576.28

Ride Notes:  I’m happy with my progress thus far and am way ahead of schedule.  My legs are feeling good and I am finding myself in the saddle a bit longer on my trainer than I normally ride.  I want to start working on increasing my pace and put my average speed to well over 16 mph on my trainer.  My plan is to start pushing bigger gears to build up my leg strength.  I may take a hit on average mph at first, but in the long run I think it will pay off.  My endurance seems to be strong, and if I had the time I could probably at my current pace ride for a good 2 to 3 hours at a time.

This past week I finished the rebuild of my single speed mountain bike.  The goal of that project was two fold. 

First I wanted to have my frame powder-coated to make it look better as the paint job was a wreck and was showing the 20 years of age it had on it. 

Secondly, I wanted to build my skills as a bike mechanic. 

It took watching several YouTube videos, asking several questions on http://forums.mtbr.com and buying the correct tools, but I was able to finally strip my bike down to the bare frame, have it powder-coated, and reassemble it.  Both of my goals were realized and I am happy with the end result.

If the weather cooperates I will be able to take it out this coming weekend for the 5^th annual Polar Pedal bike ride.  You got to love riding in the middle of January in the Midwest.  This would be my first outdoor ride of 2013.

Next Scheduled ride: Jan 14^th.  Spinning Class