In the Throes of the Le Tour Challenge

I don't really know why I'm so obsessed with the Le Tour Challenge, but it probably has something to do with my love of analyzing cycling data and my desire to move up the leaderboard. For the uninitiated, participants ride during as many stage days of the Tour de France, then upload their ride data from their GPS devices. Your data only counts if it comes from a GPS device, which is only fair, and then your data is compared with data from all other participants, as well as the Tour cyclists.

Looking good so far—my Monday Cayuga Lake loop had me in 4th place overall for the stage and 9th overall, but now that my distances are more modest, I'm moving down in the standings a bit. Battling the high heat and humidity has been a bit of a challenge, but for some reason, the last two days have been really strong, and I've been able to stay hydrated throughout.  Yesterday was a typical Lansing loop, while today I took on Ringwood Rd. and Snyder Hill Rd. Surprisingly, both of those hill climbs were perfectly manageable, thanks largely to the shade from the forested land on the bulk of the steepest portions. I hope to ride almost every stage this year and take rest days during the Tour rest days, but we'll see.

Wednesday, Stage 4 Data

Thursday, Stage 5 Data