Today was a great cycling day!

Traffic was light and I concentrated on maintaining at least 14 mph. That doesn't seem very fast, but this route is very hilly, and at least half of it was into a strong south headwind.

Late last summer/early fall I was averaging 16-17 mph. I'm trying to work back up to that now. If I can maintain 16 mph on this really hilly route, I should be able to maintain it on just about any route.

I'm still struggling with the age old question that no two cyclists can seem to agree on: "Cycle with a higher cadence and less resistance (lower gear) or cycle with a lower cadence and more resistance(higher gear)?" If you cycle with a lower rpm and a higher gear, you gain more ground per revolution but it takes more muscle because you're in a larger gear. If you cycle with a higher rpm and a lower gear, you gain less ground per revolution but it's easier to pedal in the lower gear. The lower gear/higher rpm combination uses more of your aerobic system (lungs/heart) and less of your muscular system. The higher gear/lower rpm combination uses more of your muscular system.

For runners they recommend using a higher cycling cadence (about 90 rpm) because that's what your neuromuscular system should be used to from running (90 strikes per each foot per minute).

I have tried to maintain the higher cadence, but for some reason my muscular system can do better on the bike than my cardiovascular system. Maybe it's all in what you get used to.

One thing I am always careful about on this route is stopping at stop signs. Many cyclists treat stop signs as yield signs so that they don't have to unclip from their pedals. However, in Trophy Club, you'll get a ticket if you don't stop at a stop sign. Trophy Club is only 4 square miles. Because of that, the local police force can pretty much keep an eye on everything. And that includes cyclists. My father-in-law saw 3 female cyclists getting a ticket for running a stop sign in Trophy Club recently. And every time I ride there, I usually see a patrol car at least 2-3 times.

But so many of the cyclists/cycling groups like Trophy Club because of the hills and the cross hatched lanes. Plus it provides a good connection route between Westlake, Southlake, and Roanoke.The roads are good and the drivers are generally very courteous. Because of the cross-hatched lanes, cyclists, joggers, and walkers essentially have their own lane.

I passed several cycling groups going the opposite direction. There were all levels of cyclists. I'm not sure if they were with Bike's Inc. or another group. Once things settle down for me, I may check into joining them on one of their rides.

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming 'WHOO HOO, What a Ride!'"