an extra quarter mile

It turns out I’ve been selling myself short: my route to work is actually almost exactly 2 miles, not the one and three-quarters I’ve thought it was.  So that takes me to 8 miles of biking a day.  Not a lot, but better than zero.

Over the weekend I stole the bike computer from my wife’s road bike and mounted it on mine.  I was curious what kind of  speed I tend to cruise at (about 11mph) and how far it really was to work.  Turns out it’s 2.02 miles, assuming I did a good job measuring the circumference of my wheel.   I suspect my average speed will be higher going home since that’s generally downhill and downwind.  Biking to work I have the landscape and the prevailing winds against me.

Just to doublecheck myself, I used Google Maps to map out my route, which is now possible thanks to their click-and-drag route function, and it gave me the same answer.  For a similar tool (which also uses Google Maps under the hood) you can try Map My Run, a utility site for runners that works just as well for biking.  Better, even, since you’re less likely to cut corners across unpaved areas on a road bike.

By the way, I used a trick to measure my bike wheel’s circumference.  The computer’s manual suggested using a measuring tape on the floor and the wheel’s valve stem as a marker while you roll the wheel along and then read off the distance covered.  I used the measuring tape on the floor – a metal tape so it would stay straight and stiff – but since I was looking for a measurement in millimeters, the it seemed the valve stem wouldn’t be a very good guide.  So I took a small strip of scotch tape and stuck it across the tire tread like a band-aid.  I used the edge of the tape as my guide next to the ruler.  It was much more precise since it had a well-defined edge and it was right against the floor and the tape.  I thought about marking the tire with chalk, but I had tape and didn’t have chalk.  Either way would likely give a better result than eyeballing the valve stem from an inch or two away from the measuring tape.

In other news: It’s going to be in the mid- to high-90’s all week, with relative temperatures over 100.  Biking home (and back to work) for lunch is gonna suck.