07-27-2019 Ride

Ride with Oren and Slavik from normal starting point in Netanya.  Neither had been riding much recently, since they were on holiday.  So it was a shorter ride, made even shorter near the end because neither was feeling in good shape.  Out to Hwy 4 then normal way, then north to the 581, which we have taken many times.  Near the turn, I pushed the pace a little bit to stretch it out, felt okay but unable to keep it up in a sustained fashion.  Up to the 5803, where we turned and started heading back.  To the 5714, which eventually dead ends into the 57, leading back toward Netanya.  After this turn is when Oren suggested we make the ride shorter, so we rode back, stopping for juice at Landower.  It was a decent ride for me, a couple of small stretches where I felt okay, with an overall easy pace.

Avg speed = 16.1 mph. Total mileage = 30.0 mi
Avg heartrate = 126 bpm
Total elevation gain = 870'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3691060645

07-26-2019 Ride

Solo ride, a little slow getting out of the house, and I decided to take the pace easy throughout the ride.  Rode up via Ben Zvi and the 44 to the 4313, then took it into Nes Ziona, using Margolin St to get over to the 412.  Then I rode over to the office, parked in the back, and went in to have a cup of coffee.  After this short break, I headed back home via the 412 to the 44 and the normal way back.  I added a little riding up the coast when I got back to Jaffa, to put me over 30 miles.

Avg speed = 15.4 mph. Total mileage = 30.7 mi
Avg heartrate = 115 bpm
Total elevation gain = 940'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3689286781

07-20-2019 Ride

Solo ride in the morning, starting around 6:00.  Light traffic throughout.  Out to Palmahim and back, following the standard route of previous times.  No real wind on this ride, either helping or hindering.  At Palmahim, I saw a large number of camping tents, so it might be cool to stay there overnight, sleep near the beach.  Nothing special to say about the ride.  It was mostly overcast and muggy.  The previous day, I had mounted my heartrate monitor watch with the broken strap holder to my bike stem, and it worked out okay.  We'll see how the foam tape holds over time.

Avg speed = 17.3 mph. Total mileage = 32.3 mi
Avg heartrate = 148 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1230'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3677056180

07-19-2019 Ride

Solo ride in the morning, getting started a little after 6:00.  It was the standard loop out to the 40 via the 44, except that I took a detour through Ramla.  I didn't push the pace much throughout the ride, just trying to get back into the groove of riding after missing last weekend.  The section on the 40 went by quickly, helped by a general slight downhill slope and something of a tailwind.  The pushing wind usually present to help me home on the 44 and Ben Zvi was not as noticeable.

Later on in the day, I installed the heartrate monitor with the broken watchband holder on my handlebar stem.  We will see if it works. since it's held on with foam tape.  My Fitbit smartwatch died from a brief exposure to water when we floated in the water last weekend at Gan HaShlosha.

Avg speed = 16.7 mph.  Total mileage = 31.5 mi
Total elevation gain = 730'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3675418210

07-05-2019 Ride

Last-minute ride with Oren, planned on Friday morning after an exchange in the night.  We started around 7:00 and headed out to Hyw 4, going north.  I forgot my FitBit at home and so couldn't track the workout on this app.  Also, I didn't reset my cycle computer at the beginning, so I just have MapMyRide data.Through Hadera to the 651, this out part of the ride was really nice, with a steady tailwind helping us.  We turned east on the 651, riding up to the 652 and turning right before taking another left at a roundabout onto the 6502.  This road winds around and changes into the 6403 when it crosses Hwy 6.  Up to the 574, turning south for a short while before getting onto the 581, another winding road that leads all the way back to Hwy 4.  We stopped for coffee and a sandwich at Jacob's Cheeses, and I was a little worried that the headwind on the way back to Netanya was going to be a problem, especially after the stop.  However, it wasn't bad at all, maybe due to a wind shift and perhaps to a little better conditioning on my part.  In any case, I felt pretty good on this section, while Oren's knee started bothering him.  General retrace of route back to the starting point.  It was humid, but I wasn't too much affected until near the end.  All in all, the best I have felt and done on a longer ride in a while, also not too tired afterward.

Avg speed = 17.3 mph. Total mileage = 41.7 mi
Total elevation gain = 1130'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3646795951

07-06-2019 Ride

Solo ride from home out to the Nachson Junction and back, to get some distance and a little bit of climbing in.  On the way out, around mile 3 or so, a guy on the side of the road intentionally tried to spit on me.  That was a first, and really disquieting.  He was obviously angry about something, don't know what it was.  I made decent time on the way out, feeling a little bit of a headwind but nothing really challenging.  When I got to the climbing part, at one point I rode up to a couple who were going at a good pace on a small climb, and I hung with them long enough to drop one of them.  But I couldn't keep up with the other one, a guy.  I was able to catch and pass the others I met on the way out.  On the return, I also caught and passed a couple of riders on that little climb just before Karme Yosef, but I could feel my leg muscles tightening up at the top.  Luckily, from there it was much easier on the gradual downhill, no real difficulties afterward.  By the end of the ride, it was getting quite humid, and I was sweating a lot at the finish.

I also put a new battery into my cycling computer and reset the wheel diameter to 2100 mm as a way to get a better match to the GPS estimates from both Fitbit and MapMyRide.  Reset odometer to 0 mi as well.

Avg speed = 17.6 mph. Total mileage = 40.1 mi
Avg heartrate = 150 bpm
Total elevation gain = 1450'
https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3648458539
https://www.fitbit.com/activities/exercise/23392250051

07-04-2019 Ride

Posted long after this ride.  On the Fourth of July, I rode back to the office where they had processed my work visa to pick it up.  Generally similar route to the one I had taken in June to drop off my passport.

Avg speed = 11.3 mph. Total mileage = 9.1 mi

Total elevation gain = 280'

https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/3644558632