Yesterday’s 40 mile ride out to Purtis Creek State Park gave me 100 miles for the week. I had been consistently riding around 120 miles a week for the last couple of months, and had done a 70 mile ride on June 1st. I always start mixing in some longer weekend rides when summer arrives, to help get myself ready for Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred in August. But right knee pain, swelling, and stiffness has shown up the last couple of weeks, so I’m sticking with shorter rides for now.

The last few years I was doing longer rides, I had a lot of knee pain, especially during the cooler months. But, it was my left knee, not my right. And this is summer. As I cut my mileage down from the 7,000+ miles a year I was riding to 5,500 miles the past few years, and limited the number of longer rides I did, my left knee got much better, and hasn’t really been a problem the last couple of years. I’m not sure what to make of this right knee pain, but I’m going to ease up my mileage and pace a bit, and hold off on seeing a doctor about it for now. Standing on concrete causes more pain than riding, and I still do a fair amount of that for work. Ah, the joys of growing old.

After missing last year’s mileage goal, I cut this year’s goal to 5,200 miles. I ended up riding 531 miles in April, and 477 miles in May, not bad mileages either month, but it still leaves me way behind the pace I need for 5,200 miles this year. And now the knee thing. It would be the first time since I first started riding that I haven’t averaged over 100 miles a week for the year. If I retired, I might have better luck meeting that goal. Now, there’s a nice thought.

The June 1st 70 mile route.