My Daily Cycling And Goals For 2021

 

Before reviving the Red Roadie 

After the lockdown was lifted in 2020 and offices partially re-opened, I had started commuting to work on my LHT. Around this time I also started cycling every day in right earnest. I was quoted in Telegraph and the TOI etc. This routine of cycling every day for fun continued for a few months. 

Sometime in June/July I also installed two new tyres - Continental Gatorskin - on my Red Roadie. They were size 25, as opposed to my OE tyres that were 23. This dramatically improved the comfort level of the bike. I don't know if it was the slightly broader tyres or the make and model or a combination of both that did it but the bike became more welcoming for me. This made me ride the bike more frequently.

Sometime after the Pujas Monisha started going to office more frequently and I had to drive her to work. So I started cycling in the evenings. This dramatically improved my daily mileage. I started riding around 400 kms every month for a few months. Mostly on the Red Roadie. I guess the lower temperatures of the season also helped.

January has proven to be the most productive month so far, in terms of total distance cycled. Till date - 27th January morning - I have already done 650 Kms, riding around 5 days a week. I am sure I can do 800 Km this month. 

When I started this new year, my goal for the year was to do 5000 to 6000 Km, with one gran fondo every month. But the way things are going and if this can be maintained through summer and monsoon I am sure I can clock above 10K Kms. But I am happy if I can make a total of more than 5K at the end of the year.

As of now every evening I ride for two hours covering 40 Km. My cruising speed is 25 Kmph (that is on decent stretch of road and without traffic interruption) and the average over two hours, given the bad roads and heavy traffic, is around 19/20 kmph. I feel a little exhausted at the end of the ride and drink a mug of milk and banana smoothie mixed with some whey protein. Once in a while I stretch the legs before the ride but I have to make it a daily habit. As yet, I am injury free. 

I think one major difference maker was my decision to ride in heavy traffic to work. This made me accept traffic as part of life and ride even in the evenings. I wouldn't call it more courage. It's just that I am now okay to ride in traffic because the pleasure of riding is very high and I have become more accepting of traffic. Of course it slows me down but I don't feel intimidated by them. I take adequate care not to do stupid things like change lane suddenly on a fast road. After that it's all in the hands of God. 

I now have the Brooks installed on my Red Roadie too. And it's now super comfortable to ride the bike. Only issue is that, at this rate of daily riding this tyre will wear out by the end of this year. I don't think they can last for more than 5/6000 Kms. So what happens after that? India has well nigh banned tyre imports. My tyres were perhaps two of the last tyres that were imported. At the time of purchase I had no idea about the import ban and frankly I never thought I might be riding close to 800 Kms a month. 

Now we have to depend on someone to bring them in for me. Of course these are folding tyres and it should not be a problem for someone to bring two of them but I have to pay for it from here. Let me see how to address this. I have got to do something about it. 

Few Learnings

If I don't ride for two days, it becomes difficult to go out on the third day. But once I am out I am good for 40 Kms. I have often gone out thinking I will do just a short 10 Km ride but ended up doing 40.

So forcing yourself to go out is a good strategy. Even after one day's rest one feels lazy to go out. I often wonder whether taking a complete rest day is a good strategy or whether one should go out for at least a couple of kilometers. Since my riding intensity is not very high I might get away with this. 

I am better disciplined on working days. I get back home at around 6/6.30 and off for the ride at 8.30 pm. Rarely have I deviated from this. On holidays however, when I sleep the whole day or laze around, I find it lazy to go out at all. Every Friday night I go to sleep promising to wake up in the morning of Saturday and go out for a Gran Fondo of 100 Km but I find myself waking up at 8.30 or even 10.