I bike. I love it. I run too (to be honest, I love running a hair more than biking, but my knees disagree). I love hiking, rock and ice climbing, mountaineering in general, a few select water sports, and a few select snow sports, among many, many other things. But I *love* biking. I love biking fast. Super fast, if I can manage it. The point? Well, I broke a couple of personal records over the past week and I thought I would brag share:

New Personal Bests (beat 'em if you can...)

Top Speed

Tuesday of last week, I decided to take a spin through Salt Lake, turn south, take Traverse Mountain to drop into Highland, and head home from there. I've done the loop before- 35 miles (perfect distance for a day ride)- it's a slow and brutal ascent up the north side of Traverse Mountain, but an exceptionally fast descent down the south side.

I started the ride at around 2:30PM in the afternoon and headed north down Redwood Road toward Salt Lake. There was a wonderful wind heading out of the south, giving me an appreciated boost in speed... at least until I turned around. I got into Salt Lake right around 3:00PM- at the peak of the day's heat. Due in large part to the tail wind, I was still feeling strong as I pulled up to a stoplight next to a van. I had my earphones on, listening to some music (Linkin Park is what I like to ride to, in case you were wondering). It took the driver of the van a few tries to get my attention :). When he finally did and I finally pulled my earphones out, he shouted:

"Do you know how hot it is?! It's 101 degrees out here! You're a nutcase!!"

We had a pleasant conversation while the light stayed red. As soon as it changed, I continued up the hill toward Traverse Mountain. The ascent was, as always, brutal. I managed to make it up the top, difficult though it was. The other side is the fun side. Prior to last Tuesday, my all-time top speed was 55 MPH, which i hit the year before descending Traverse Mountain. This time, with a new bike and a little more guts:

56.5 MPH

Oh yeah, that was awesome. One of those times you look down at the road and realize that your helmet won't help you much at those speeds.

The Work Run

I bike to work as frequently as I can. This week has been a bit frustrating on the biking side due to work constraints- today was the first day I managed to get out and ride. It's a 12.1 mile route (one way) and usually takes me 34 minutes (average speed is right around 21.5 MPH). Today, I happened to be very late for a morning meeting and, with that added incentive, I blew right by that to land a new personal best:

30 minutes and 53 seconds- 23.3 MPH average

I guess I should be late for meetings more often!