I rode my bike today

A 35 mile ride alongside fields of corn in the eastern shore

I rode with four other experienced local riders in a pace line

With a slight tailwind we rolled along at 20mph on a beautiful Friday morning

Occasionally we sprinted at 25mph

Its very rewarding to train in a group and chat along the way

Camaraderie is priceless and it makes for a fun workout

Upon returning home I hit the “end of ride” button on the bike computer

It responded by telling me it was a high intensity workout and that I should recover over 36 hours

I cleaned up my bike and hung it on the wall like a piece of art

Its carbon fiber frame is ultra light and very strong

Sensors monitor my speed, heart rate, cadence and power

The bike computer automatically uploaded the ride into an App called Strava

Soon I was pouring over the recorded ride data

Comparing my speed, heart rate and power exertion to similar training rides

My times on specific segments showed I was trending faster

A deeper analysis from AI in the App gave me more detailed fitness analysis

My phone has become my personal trainer

It even congratulates me when I train hard

My thoughts wandered back to my first bike back in the 60’s

A heavy steel frame with no bike computer

The only data collection was the time on my watch

Training intensity was measured by the post ride aches in my legs

I had no trainer back then, real or virtual, but I still enjoyed riding

Today my ride analysis even tells me how much carbon I saved the planet by cycling

I often ponder if my riding is more enjoyable because of the added data

A few days ago I found the answer to this question

My bike computer shut down at the start of a ride because I forgot to charge it

I had to ride 35 miles blind with no data screen

Guessing my speed and selecting my gears by feel rather than data

I had no idea if I was exceeding my maximum allowed heart rate

It was basically like a pilot flying without any instruments

I felt robbed of data when I got home

Until I realized that my Apple Watch had silently captured my ride

Surprise surprise when I uploaded the data from my watch

I had ridden faster than usual and my heart rate was not excessive

Maybe I should take more breaks from riding with a data screen