Am I developing megalomania?

It\’s not unusual for me to wish that I had a power meter for my road bike.

GEN 3 L/R Power

If I could see how much wattage I can generate, I\’d have a better idea of whether I\’m making progress.

For today\’s ride, I went out almost 18.5 miles; and then came back. The wind was from the East — a headwind on the way home — and before I got home, it had increased to 12 mph. There were some strong gusts here and there; and naturally that slowed my pace.

On the one hand, an average speed of less than 13 mph seems slow; but on the other hand, I feel like I can work more strongly against the wind than I could several months ago. Am I really able to crank out more power now? Perception isn\’t necessarily reality; but a power meter will tell it like it is.

Suppose I indulged my megalomania; and bought a power meter? That gadget won\’t help me much if I don\’t first determine my FTP; and the process doesn\’t sound like fun. The Cyclist\’s Training Bible describes several tests with power meters; and according to Joe Friel, power meters are merely \”expensive toys\” it you don\’t do this work before using them. Ergo it doesn\’t make sense for me to buy one, just to satisfy my curiosity!

Sans Power

So I continue to ride sans power. I can\’t let megalomania take over; I can\’t afford it!

Today it\’s overcast; and that helped keep me from getting too hot. In fact, I almost wished I had worn long sleeves! Slightly cooler weather, and the lack of sunshine, kept my ride food from getting half-melted; and overcast skies of course meant no glare. That was a big relief!

On the way home, I ran into light sprinkles here and there; and that also kept the heat at bay. I was still a good sixteen miles from home when the first drops fell; and all I could do was hope that it didn\’t pour! And hope that a T-storm wouldn\’t break out.

I got lucky with the rain today; but I still have no idea of my power output!