01-20-2018 Ride

Saturday morning ride, couldn't ride on Friday because of high winds and rain.  Bummer.  I met up with Oren and his riding buddy Roi in Netanya, and we took the normal route over to Hwy 4 heading north.  We rode up past Hadera, and Roi and I were setting a faster pace than Oren, who decided not too long after to slow his pace and let us continue at a faster run.  So we did, and Roi proved to be a very fast rider.  I could keep up with him but couldn't outpace him, and he did a whole lot more leading than I did.  We rode north to the 70 interchange and then turned around.  I didn't know where Oren was going to meet us, so I thought it would be fairly tame going back.  Nope.  It was into a little bit of a headwind, and we ended up riding back to Mishmar HaSharon where Oren was having a coffee.  Roi kept on riding, but I stopped and had a nice break and discussion with Oren before we headed back to my car, at a slower pace.  We rode through some cool villages on decent roads.  Felt fine after this ride, no leg soreness and not much tiredness.  My stomach was a little sore, I'm guessing from the high sustained effort during the ride with Roi.

Avg speed = 18.3 mph. Total mileage = 45.6 mi
Avg heartrate = 150 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1060'
http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2667400711

01-16-2018 Run

Entry long after doing the run.  Headed north on Yerushalaim Ave, cutting into the park by where Nahum Goldmann St comes in.  Ran up to near the Dolphinarium before turning around and running back through the park to Nahum Goldmann St and the Clock Tower, then through the neighborhood back home.

Elapsed time = 18:07
Total mileage = 2.17 mi
Elevation gain = 38'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2660867368

01-13-2018 Ride

Solo ride out Derekh Ben Zvi, getting there by riding by Blumfield Stadium.  My legs felt okay at the start.  It was cool at the start, and it got progressively colder as I headed inland, to the point where my fingers and ears were cold.  Once the sun came up, it was better but still cold in the shaded areas.  Stayed on this road out to the 44 and all the way to just beyond the intersection with Hwy 3.  There were a couple of riders that I caught up with who stayed with me for a time, and their presence encouraged me to push harder, successfully dropping them, eventually, although it took a pretty strong effort from me.  I turned around and retraced my route, and by this time I could feel the effects of the effort from this and the previous day, so I was slowed.  At a small store west of Ramla, I stopped for a Coke, candy bar, and rest, and that helped me recover enough to make decent time for the rest of the way back.  Felt good mentally at the end, although my high average heartrate indicates that I have work to do to return to good cardio shape.

I also measured the circumference of my wheels to enter into my cyclometer: 2115 mm
Current odometer setting before re-zeroing it: 2262.3 mi

Avg speed = 17.2 mph. Total mileage = 43.1 mi
Avg heartrate = 147 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1660'
http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2655993655

01-12-2018 Ride

Training ride with the GFNY Jerusalem training group, leaving from Bar Giyora up by Nes Harim (long drive to get to the start).  I rode with Zvika and Nir, although they were generally far ahead of me.  We started downhill toward Tsur Hadasa, a little sketchy going down this steep hill with a group of other riders.  Headed generally west until turning north to connect to the 395 near Bet Shemesh.  Then it was the very challenging climb, about 7 miles of real hell, with some terrible stretches thrown in.  I could tell that my fitness was not up to this ride, so I suffered and watched others pass me.  We had a break just past the top, but I missed the turn into a park and rode another half mile up.  Not great.  I was wiped out, so I couldn't push on the downhill section, content to keep coasting and pedaling just a little.  On the last 3-mile gentler climb back to the starting point, I was slow.  It tilts up near the end, and I struggled on this section, feeling that my legs were just about done.  So I stopped here rather than continue on for the next 13 miles, which was the only choice on this day.  Recovered fairly quickly, once I stopped putting so much pressure on my legs.  I need to focus my training rides either on long distances at continued high pace or riding in the Judean hills.  Will ride until near the end of January to see how my fitness improves before committing to ride in the GFNY Jerusalem race.

Avg speed = 13.2 mph.  Total mileage = 36.2 mi

Avg heartrate = 151 bpm

Total elevation gain = 5210'

http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/2654658886