keeping track

now that i've taken up cycling, i need to find a way to keep track of my progress.  i have a few goals in mind because cycling will be my primary source of exercise.  the constant walking is really taking a toll on my knees.  i want to stay as active as i can, and this has the least amount of impact that isn't swimming (which i'm not good at anyway). i also want to firm up my leg muscles-this means lots of resistance training(really i want thighs of steel!) and improve my cardio (endurance). so, what i've done so far is 2 rides on the silver comet trail: 1 ride was almost 20 miles and yesterday was about 16.  the sct is great for this because it allows me to up the resistance on the bike gears, with minimal coasting and stopping (the sct crosses over several streets).  in order to do this i need to allow for 90-120 minutes for a "good" ride, AND i have to drive there- this'll take some scheduling.  however, when i don't have this much time i'll opt for shorter "in city" rides like i did on sunday-in my neighborhood for 50 minutes, and on on tuesday through midtown. the downside to this is there was more coasting than i wanted, and i haven't figured out a good route that allows me to have a continuous ride without too much worry about traffic. my midtown route was 5th to charles allen, looping inside piedmont park 4 times, then back to charles allen to piedmont avenue back to 5th. my overall goal is to ride the sct in it's entirety (33 miles one way) and back, the trail goes to anniston, alabama.  hopefully i'll do this by spring 2013 (or sooner). in the mean time-enjoy some views from the sct!

overlooking the dogwood golf course

okay, this wasn't intentional, but when i saw my shadow i figured it was worth keeping!

a view from another bridge

heading back towards the parking lot

where i turned around yesterday, start marker is 4.2 miles.