Today was the day, although I did not feel any different upon waking. Indeed the weather outside was not screaming ‘record-in-the-making’, the skies being overcast and a slight mist hanging in the air that kept the road just a wee bit damp.

I was not, however, going to let these elements deter me from enjoying my usual ‘lunch time’ 40 km ride. I have been riding the same loop for this particular ride with the express intent of beating my previous best time. I have recently become stuck on a previous best of 1:10:59, which equates to an average speed of 34.3 km/h. To provide a little perspective, it is important to remember that these rides are done solo, so no drafting opportunities, and conducted on the public roads and bike paths around me, so I am subject to slowing down regularly to avoid collisions with cars or simply to respect a stop sign or a red traffic light.

The outrun seemed to be hampered with traffic challenges. Cars were forever blocking my path and at one point we had to come to a complete stop as workers on an overpass were installing a massive steel girder and as a result traffic on the road underneath was temporarily halted in case the girder slipped presumably. A wise move. All this not withstanding, I got to the turnaround point in a respectable time, and I had a slight tailwind for the return leg.

I knew I had a crack at the record within a couple of kilometres and, riding into a headwind, I noticed that I was averaging over 33 km/h. “Go for it!” I said to myself and immediately buckled down for some serious leg & lung burn. Well, it was worth it and I am very pleased with the time. Of course, I am immediately thinking about how to improve on it, although perhaps I will take a couple of days to enjoy the victory!

Oh, and there are no photos of this record setting ride. I did follow my own advice to myself and focused on the ride. The iPhone remained securely in my rear pocket the entire way.