I rode 8.3 miles for the second time this evening. The route is pretty straightforward with only one short category 5 climb. I managed to do it within 2 seconds of my first try, even though I was pushing and trying to go a little faster.

My legs are getting stronger and my stamina is also. Evidently I need to find longer and harder route for my twice weekly rides. So far I come up with a 10.5 miles loop that has a slightly longer category 5 climb in the middle. I’m going to try it next Tuesday and see how that feels.

On the bike gear front, my SPD pedals should arrive tomorrow (thanks to Amazon Prime) while the shoes should come next week. I don’t have problem with using toe clips but getting off and on is still a pain in the arse, especially when getting off the line in traffic intersection.

I wasn’t 100% convinced on the heart rate monitor but since it was a deal with MapMyRide MVP membership, I thought what to lose. As it turns out, it is useful in that I know I’ve been riding in ‘race pace’ zone for the majority of the time, which is good as I don’t want to over train or under train.