As hoped, I’m finishing November with a total of 13 rides, smashing my previous record of 12, set in 2009. I almost always take the first week of November off work, which combined with the Thanksgiving holiday, cuts down significantly on the potential ride total for the month. For November 2011, out of 14 total work days, I biked 13 times and took the car once.
I rode north on Landing Rd. this morning for the first time since June. Landing is a great workout, and it’s a good shortcut to Ilchester Rd., but every time I ride it, I’m reminded why I don’t take it very often. It’s very narrow, and the traffic in the morning is almost as bad as the traffic on Montgomery Rd. If I’m going to deal with the traffic, I might as well do it on Montgomery, which is relatively flat. There are other, less traveled back roads that I can ride on if I want to do hills.
Of course, another reason I avoid Landing is the fact that I wiped out there last February. Today was the first time I rode it with the same bike I was riding when I crashed. My crash was caused by ice, which wasn’t a factor today, but I’ll still admit to being a little nervous, and going really slowly, past the spot where I crashed!
Last weekend I recharged the batteries for my Planet Bike “Blaze” headlights, and I noticed right away on Monday that they were noticeably brighter. I had ridden them quite a bit in “flash” mode during early autumn, and I guess I went a little too long without recharging them. I’m going to try to make a point to recharge the batteries every weekend, just to keep them fresh.
We’ll see what December brings on the riding front. I have 13 work days in December, so I’m going to try for 13 rides, weather, schedule and health permitting.