Labor Day, the first Monday in September, the last day of summer, brought beautiful weather for Seattle. Blue skies over blue water, sailboats pushed by a gentle wind, runners and cyclists propelled by lungs and legs enjoyed an outdoor paradise yesterday.
I did the PROS ride with Bobs and Jeff, and two different groups of cyclists. PROS stands for Perimeter Ride Of Seattle, an 80 mile loop around the City, put on by COGS, or Cyclists of Greater Seattle. Three different groups ride together at different paces, making frequent stops to eat, drink and pee. We started with the medium paced group, which turned out to be too slow. After Jeff turned right to cross the I-90 bridge and return home, Bobs and I caught the fast group at a lunch stop. I joined them for the remainder of the ride, and he cut the ride short when the route went past his house.
The route around Seattle is hilly – longer hills with a moderate grade in the south, short steep climbs in the north. Even though I consistently hit the top of climbs at the front of the fast group, a comparison of Strava fly-by’s shows my power output is lower. My average power was 115 watts, compared to 130 – 170 watts for people riding the same pace. Those numbers confirm what I already knew – I’m really not that strong, but my power to weight ratio makes me an effective climber.
