Today I just had to get in one last lick before Cycle September ends. A 20-mile ride was a good way to end the month; and I’m delighted that I didn’t miss a single day!

This ride was actually almost 0.75 miles longer than I  had intended. On the way home, I had to take a detour because a train was blocking my usual crossing; and I wasn’t going to wait for it to start moving. If I had, I might still be standing there!

I tried some “fake hills” during my ride. That means, get into the hardest gear my bike offers; and pedal against that resistance for one minute at a time. I took two-minute breaks of riding an easy gear between efforts. I did three “hills”; and after a 10-minute break of easy pedaling I did another set.

Caution: don’t try this if you’re new to cycling. Pushing too hard a gear, too soon, is too hard on the knees; and can even result in injury.