It was another beautiful January weather day in the high desert. FOX@1:56: 65deg; ENE9. Wore shorts and a short sleeve jersey again. Had light Santa Ana (NE’ly) winds so I rode just past the half-way mark of my old bike-commute to NASA at Edwards AFB.
I tried to pedal out of the saddle again up the SR14 overpass. Today was a huge improvement. I was able to pedal 12 rotations with each leg out of the saddle before sitting down (not falling down onto the saddle). My right leg started aching later today – at miles 7 and 11. I kept pedaling and the pain eventually went away. Approaching 90E, I wasn’t riding that comfortable, kind of in a rut, when I decided to pick the pace. It wasn’t a “full interval” but for less than a 1/2 mile before 90E, I averaged 228 Watts of power with a max power of 318W. On the return, I decided to try a full 1/2 mile interval. This interval was better: 261W average power with a max power of 363W. I felt surprisingly good after this interval – feeling better pedaling the PCs. Riding south on 30W, stopped at the Ave J traffic light, I noticed a young cyclist on a fixed gear across the street. When the light turned green, he took off (riding on the wrong side of the road). I decided to chase him down and pass him, which I did, but it took my strongest effort pedaling the PCs. I was really surprised by my power numbers at the end of the 2nd longest ride on the PCs. My average power for 1/3 of a mile was 356W with a max power of 449W!!! I felt that the effects of that effort so I cooled down, riding easy before getting home. FOX@3:56: 66deg; NNE@5.