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August 18, 2006

Biking across the Atlantic

Forest ParkIf I haven't blogged in a few days (or more) I have a really good excuse: I've just completed my first-ever trans-Atlantic crossing by ship.

Not much opportunity to ride a bike, except a stationary bike in the gym.

But I have just biked through a beautiful neighborhood in Queens, New York with one of my oldest friends, who took me on his favourite route -- including a vigorous spin through Forest Park (see photo to the left).

It was around 75 minutes of solid cycling, far more than I usually do at home. I thought holidays were supposed to be restful! Anyway, it means that I can eat donuts now without feeling guilt.

Or a lot of guilt.

August 06, 2006

Longest ride so far

I've run out of excuses. And I was already up at 5:45 on a Sunday morning (don't ask). With empty streets, a partly cloudy sky and temperatures of around 18 degrees, it was time to dust off the old bike and hit the road.

The more I biked, the further back I pushed my target. First, it was to get to Muswell Hill and back. Then it was to get the odometer up to a nice round number (30 miles). Then, to have completed 6 miles today (that would have added 25% to the 24.71 miles I'd done in the last month) -- and finally, to complete 8 miles. Why 8 miles? So that I could say that I'd increased the total number of miles I've ridden by one-third -- from 24.71 up to over 32.71. Which I did.

From the numbers above, you can tell I'm not taking the bike out nearly as often as I should. But I have to say that today was more pleasant than usual and I'm more comfortable. I'm limited a bit by the fact that my neighborhood is on top of a hill, and I spent the last 3 miles or so spinning around side streets here. I'd actually prefer to be going from point A to point B, but point B is always at the bottom of some hill ...

Anyway, that was almost 55 minutes of riding, which according to my trusty Palm translates as 689 calories burned -- which is the equivalent of burning off nearly 100 g of weight, or eating one of these:

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