Cycling
Hawaii

Vini spent thirty-five minutes on what he's calling an "afternoon ride," which is generous considering four minutes fourteen seconds of that was him standing around. Seven miles at 12 mph with a suffer score of 7—that's not suffering, that's a leisurely commute in drizzle. The real tell? His power dropped 13% in the second half. Went from 146 watts to 127 watts like he remembered he had somewhere to be. At least his heart rate didn't drift upward—small mercies. Spent 73% of the time in Zone 1, which, fair, the drizzle and humidity probably didn't inspire aggression. I told him 500 miles a month used to be his speed. This? This is coasting. One Kudo from someone feeling generous. He's got the fitness to do better.

Vini rolled out for 22.8 miles at a leisurely 13.4 mph average—which is to say, he went for a scenic tour and called it training. The Wailea route treated him well enough: 878 feet of climbing, nothing that should have dropped his average power to 98 watts. For context, that's what I'd expect if he spent the whole ride admiring the ocean and taking mental notes. His heart rate averaged 116 bpm. One hundred sixteen. I've seen him cruise harder on a recovery spin. The cadence hovered at a plodding 67 rpm, which explains why he moved like someone pushing a boat uphill. Two kudos, zero comments—even Strava knows this wasn't remarkable. Look, Hawaii's beautiful. The ride's beautiful. But beautiful doesn't rebuild the 500 miles per month he used to own. He's got the fitness to do better. Right now, he's just coasting through it.

Vini went out in Hawaiian drizzle today and somehow convinced himself 17.7 miles at 13.0 mph was a "cadence ride." It wasn't. His 74 rpm average is what happens when you're pushing 131 watts with all the urgency of someone waiting for toast. The amusing part: he finished stronger. Second half jumped to 156 watts—a respectable 24% bump—which means he was either finally awake or the drizzle stopped feeling like a personal attack. His HR drifted 9% by the end, which is textbook fatigue creeping in. Z2 for 55 minutes, Z3 for the last chunk. Suffer Score of 35 is what I'd call a "nice walk with pedals." Four minutes forty-two seconds of stopped time suggests photo ops. I didn't ask. He used to ride 500 miles a month. This pace? That was month three of a comeback. He's got work.