Peloton: 200 Rides In

In April 2019, I wrote about completing my 150th ride or cycling class on the Peloton I purchased in August 2018. In early December 2019, I finished my 200th ride.

Generally, rides 151 - 200 were shorter and less intense than the first 150 in the aggregate. I've included some data points below:

Rides 1-150

• Average length: 42.33 minutes 
• Average output: 304.99 
• Average distance: 12.24 miles 
• Average calories burned: 390.53 kcals 

Rides 151-200 

• Average length: 35.10 minutes 
• Average output: 227.32 
• Average distance: 9.73 miles 
• Average calories burned: 290.22 kcals 

What happened? Something is wrong with my knee. I injured this same knee in a dance performance in college and had a surgery to repair it. The repair has held through regular exercise and even a few half marathons, but started giving me trouble for the first time in 2019. I visited the ortho for insight and ended up with an X-ray and cortisone shot. The doctor indicated that this sort of problem could require exploratory surgery that's unlikely to be a success and that it's best to hold off. This is discouraging, especially since cycling is viewed as pretty low impact. As a result, I've reduced the intensity of my workouts in order to avoid pain.

Still, a workout doesn't need to be perfect to be worth doing. The big win here is that I'm exercising consistently and I've added regular stretching to the routine. Over the course of 200 rides, I've cycled 2,313 miles. I'm hoping to complete my 400th ride by the end of the year. Onward!