Tactics

I got an email from a member (Sterneco) of one of my cycling groups on (shameless plug for a website I actually use and enjoy alert) MyCyclingLog. He reminded me about about some training rides for the upcoming Tour of Tanglewood. It's kind of a cool thing where a group of local bike shops take turns sponsoring a training ride for the big charity event in mid September based out of their shop and,  if Saturday was anything to go buy, is both a great opportunity for shops to give back and get customers into their store. This week's ride started as Ken's Bike Shop and took me on a 45K lollipop route (stats here). By my estimation there were over 100 riders of varying abilities at this event. Everyone from hard core to casual day trippers. Totally cool experience.

As the ride started I was a little unsure how hard core everything would be so I decided to hang back. I pulled out as part of the final 1/3 of a very very large pack. As I'm getting going along Polo road, less than 1K into the ride,  I'm realizing gaps are already starting to form and I'm not in the best group for me. So, I start moving up and crossing gaps. Moving into a faster group. Then the next fastest group and so on. I think I went through 5 or 6 differentials. Some folks crossed the gaps with me and found the group that best suited them,  others just watched me go.

Eventually, I worked my way up to the tip of the spear, taking advantage of every hill and every descent (the one benefit of having extra mass). I settled in about 6th wheel. Fifth wheel was a guy riding a full on timetrial bike that apparently had not been tuned since he got the thing. The gears were clicking and clacking, grinding and rubbing the majority of the ride. Riders on the front (at least three of which I later learned from Sterenco/Steven, raced on a semi-regular basis) pulled off and slotted in 4th wheel. Right in front of this guy.

At the time I was feelng a little conflicted. One the one hand, I wasn't getting the chance to move up and put in a pull. One the other, I was pretty close to my limit and having to pull might very well have resulted in my being spit out the back. Eventually things mixed and I became 3rd wheel. As the woman pulled off, Mr. TT did not simply keep pace, he flew off the front. And since I was second wheel I started to follow but quickly made a few tactical desicions.

This guy was traveling way faster than we were moments ago. We were traveling up hill. If I hit the gas I was going to blow up.  If I just kept to the same speed or a bit faster Mr. TT would slowly pull away or he would look back and realize he wasn't actually pulling, sit up and come back to us. Also, to be honest, I was a little peeved at the guy. Why was he sitting in earlier and then screaming off the front like that? I was not willing to follow this guy, plus I don't think I could have kept up with him even if I wanted to (Ettiquette and ability colliding apparently).

As it worked out, he did not sit up. He kept pulling away. Then the big boys/girls decided to chase. They, being much better than myself, came around me and quickly shut down the gap. I was dropped like I didn't exist. That acceleration resulted not only in him being caught and dropped very shortly after being caught and one other faded off the back as a result of that little acceleration.

After a brief recovery, I got into TT mode and slowly worked my way back. AS I was riding I watched as first one rider got back on, then Mr TT. i was getting closer. I got within ~100m but finally had to sit up. As luck would have it, right around the corner was the rest stop. Sweet.

It was here that I meet Steven. Very cool guy. Laid back, and had a bit of a laconic, insightful style about him. He reminded me of Dave Zabriske actually. He was very funny and easy to chat with . Had a really good time going back and forth on how the ride was going (see above for me :) ) I even got a chance to chat to Mr. TT.

Of course by this time my slight pettiness has faded and I was merely happy to have made it to the rest point, so I was retelling him what was happening behind him while I was sucking his dust, from the perspective of someone who was unable to keep up (completely true and without malice).

After the rest stop, most of the group I was riding with went for another loop or two around he lollipop. But, knowing I was cooked after Friday, I got into a group heading back to Ken's and did quite well. No real pressure on any of the small hills and actually came to the front on one. Just doing my own thing and trying to get to the top with a good speed and good aerobic reserve. 

Ended with another 30+ kph ride. 30+ is becoming a bit more regular I'm pleased to say.

Back to Back Cat 3's

Finally, real climbing training. After a week off the bike, seemingly to recover from jet lag or over excitement from an awesome vacation, I finally climbed hanging rock on Friday, something I've been trying to get to since February.

Knowing how I think, I started at the top so the only way to get home was to climb up. The first time down was a little nerve wracking and I did so with a little trepidation.  When I drove the car to the top, the road seemed a lot steeper and longer than Cat 3's I rode last year (3.5K @ an average of 4.4% and 5.3K @ 3.8%). As I descended my adrenaline was surging a little and my legs felt a little wobbly and weak as I thought about the climb back up.

When I arrived at the bottom I had to call Janine to put her mind at ease and let her know I safely descended. Unfortunately, cell coverage around hanging rock is horrendous and I could not get a signal. To try and find one, I went up a little hill, called and headed back to the start of the climb. On my way down this little hill, I realized just how steep the road was and was amazed at how unconcerned I was coming up. I guess I was worrying about the real climb so much I wasn't paying attention.

First climb: The first time up, I did one thing right. I made sure I did not start out too hot. However, I think I paid too much attention to my Garmin. I kept looking at my HR, % grade and cadence. It almost got myself into some mental trouble. There are were sections of 15-16% half way up where I considered quitting. I pushed through these bits and when the climb levelled out to a mere 7% it was almost like I was descenting. Pure luxury when it came. The last section to the top got steep again but the peak was in sight and nothing was going to stop my first successful ascent. It was a tough climb and I felt so spent and was breathing so hard I almost stopped after a single climb. The whole thing took 18.5 minutes to travel 3K

After a few minutes recovery at the top I couldn't let myself to only one climb. I had driven an hour to get to this thing and one ascent would have felt a tad pathetic. Besides, my recovery was quite quick and I figured I had at least one more in me. Even if it was slower. I knew the climb a little better and I should really take advantage of that while it was still fresh in my mind.

The descent was faster this time (about 6 minutes) and I was more confident (though the road still appeared awfully steep).

Climb two: On the second repeat the early slope seemed a little easier. Maybe it was familiar. Maybe it was an illusion. But it was enough to make me feel good about my decision to do it a second time. That feeling did not last long. When I got to the first steep section, it was tough but not unbearable. I was still flying high off my mental euphoria. I started to think could make it up faster. I thought I made it through the toughst section relatively unscathed. I was wrong. The hardest was still ahead of me.

As the climb leveled off to a leisurely 7% I picked up the pace and settled into a steady breathing and pedaling rhythm. Almost enjoying the climb. As the hill hit me, I again thought about quitting. Seriously. Very nearly got off the bike. I was down to 1 pedal stoke, one wobble to the left, one pedal stroke, one wobble to the right. One wobble to the left, one to the right. But I kept going. My breathing was fast, steady and hard, bordering on laboured. The problem though seemed to be in the legs. I was expecting to have lactic acid burn but that was not what I experienced. I just did not seem to have the strength to push the legs over the top of each stoke. The legs felt wobbly and weak, not burning. Once I traverse that little piece of personal hell, the rest of the climb was none eventful. Even the final section at the top was not as bad as that moment 500m earlier.

In the end I made it up twice. The second in 20.5 minutes. I figure I'll use that as a gauge. In the future I will repeat the climb until I take more than 20 minutes to get up. There was no way I would have been able to make another ascent. When I got to the summit the second time I was completely spent. My legs were weak. My breathing was ragged. My arms were cooked. I even felt a little light headed for a few minutes after I got to the top.

A good day. Compared to my previous cat 3's I went about 1/3 faster. Today somewhere between 9 and 10 kph while last year I was between 5 and 7 kph. It's true what Lemond said. It doesn't get easier. It just gets faster.

Cracked 30K @30kph solo barrier

Hit the LaSalle course hard Wednesday. The traffic, construction, pedestrians, and lift bridge lifting made for an extremely challenging ride above and beyond the actual cycling effort I put in. I actually had to skid to a halt when some woman casually walked out in front of me while a roller blader came from the opposite direction all while I'm yelling "On your Left! On your left!", like some kind of fog horn.

Despite these difficulties I put in a personal best on this course. 30+K @ 30.5 kph! Fastest ever on a 30K route. The first 10K  was just under 30kph as I warmed up but the last 20 averaged above 30kph. Had a few brief rough moments in the last 10K as the legs started complaining about the lactic acid buildup but I managed the discomfort by thinking about how they felt yesterday and this was nothing in comparison. It got me an extra 3-4K before I had to slow and drop my HR to 88% for a minute or two. (I like the overlay of HR/cadence/speed feature on ridewith gps so to see it all together head here.)

BooYah! Rest day tomorrow is well earned.

4 cat 4's

OK. Time for some real climbing training. Let's start out on a Cat 4 and work up.

Fortunately, Burlington is at the bottom of the Niagara escarpment and a local road to the top is a cat 4. A nice 3k gradual climb. Since this was the first time up the climb I got into the small ring early and spun up in the mid 80 rpm. Not knowing what to expect, I wanted to be conservative and make sure I had some reserve. That was prescient. The first 10% grade hit about halfway up but the final 400m maxed out @ 21+% according to ridewithgps.  I really had push to avoid coming to a complete stand still. Gasping for air, legs screaming, arms barely able to move the bike back and forth, I crest the hill. And this is a Cat 4??!!

The reward was worth it though. You hit the top and it immediately goes flat and then a descent down the escarpment back to the start of the climb. I was able to hit almost 63 kph on the way down on a very cracked, patched, potholed road.

I ended up completing 4 loops. The first two loops took about 22.5 minutes, the 3rd almost 24 minutes. The third time up I thought about calling it a day but I recovered well on the downhill and did one more in a little over 23. A comeback on the last lap. I was expecting each lap to be slower but I really hit the steep part of the hill hard and screamed down the descent to makeup almost a minute over lap 3.

At the end of the day my entire body knew I had ridden a hill or two. While the average speed was not that impressive (~25 kph), my goal was to consistently ride the hill, which I think I was relatively successful at. The fact that I did the hill 4x was also satisfying. Probably took the climbs a little too easy but that just means room for improvment.

Shakedown cruise

Yesterday was the first day back after the Euro trip so I just wanted to get out and shake out the legs and see how much fitness I was able to maintain.

To keep it simple, I did the LaSalle park route (using ridewithgps.com instead of garmin becuase garmin site is down - I'll upload the data to garmin later for a lap breakdown and more accurate cadence/speed profiles).

Update: Garmin version of ride

It was all about being steady. The first 10K were done in ~21.5 minutes and included my having to navigate construction, stop signs, rolling little bumps and traffic before I got to the bike path proper. The next 10K were completely on the bike path. Flat, not busy, and a tailwind. Did that in ~18.5 minutes. Last 10K was the first 10K in reverse and did that in 21.5 minutes as well. Had a headwind so I kept the cadence and allowed my HR to creep up from 80% MHR to 86-88%.

Actually, the last 10k wasn't quite the exact reverse. The course is 32+K so the last 2+K  are on a different lap and finished on the biggest bump. Had about 400m of 4% grade so I hit it hard, kept the cadence at 90 and ramped my MHR up to 185 bpm.

Looks like I'm ready for some real work.... Today I climb the Niagara escarpment in 3k, 4%, cat 4, repeat increments. ROWR!

What a difference 21 months makes

Got to ride the Confederation park- La Salle park ride again for the first time in 18 months or so. Brought the bike to Canada so I could ride while we are here.

After 2 heavy power days at home, followed by two days travelling,  my legs were feeling a little stiff so I went on one last ride before I head to Europe for a river cruise vacation and shake out the legs. Did an ~90 rpm cadence endurance pace ride. The best time I had on this ride was Aug 15, 2009 when I really pushed hard to get to 29.24 kmh. Today was not a hard day. Just about 84% MHR and I came in @ 29.54 kmh. A better time and less effort. 

It started a little rocky but once I warmed up I had a nice ride. The weather was in the mid 50's and a titch breezy but nothing that would knock you sideways like the wind was yesterday.

Now I have to try and find a way to build on this, or at least prevent a backslide while I'm away. Hopefully there is a good stationary bike I can use on the ship.

Locked up

Did 20k to finish off May's distance goal of 700k on Monday and did another heavy power day. The best way I can describe the suffering and pain I voluntarily inflicted on myself is to say I went into the hurt locker, slammed the door shut and bolted the door behind me. At one point, I literally had to consciously tell my legs to move.

They were so locked up with lactic acid and sending signals of agony to my brain that I had to consciously concentrate and focus on first my left leg then my right to get each to move. If I wasn't thinking about the leg it was dead weight and did no work. A painful, flaccid piece of useless meat and bone. My brain simply refused to send a signal to that body part.  There was no reflex or momentum or automaticity. Man my legs hurt.

Great ride!

Training harder to stop the drop

Legs felt pretty good Sunday after Saturday's recovery ride. As I got going I thought I remembered that I had 44k to go to complete my 700k monthly distance goal but could not decide whether to do 30, 40 or 50k. I could finish the goal and have Monday to finish packing for Europe or I could do two shorter rides. I initially decided to do 30 but when the turn came and went and I had not turned off. The weather was beautiful and the ride so pleasant that I guess my unconscious took control.

40K is was. As I was getting close to the end, since I was so close to finishing the goal I changed my ride again and decided to add the short sharp climbs I've put into my 20k ride to bump up the distance. As I approached the final turn it looked like I was still short of 45k so I adjusted again and went up Burke Mill/Griffith instead. I got home, satisfied that Monday was going to be a rest day. But, when I entered the ride, it turned out that I was still 3k short. GAH! Oh well, the weather is going to be great Monday as well so if I have to go on another short 20k ride to top off the goal so be it. It's a tough life but I'm willing to take one for the team :).

The ride itself was another strength training ride with heavy pressure on the legs and low cadence. After Tom posted on facebook that he had started training for July in earnest it upped my motivation. He was going to improve a lot in the next few weeks and if I was going to keep up, given I'm still slower, I need to improve more and faster to minimize the gap betwen our abilities and stay with him as long as possible this July. I know I'll be dropped but hopefully it wilI be later than last year and we'll be going faster as well.

Thanks Tom for that little extra motivation to improve so we can ride together longer this July. It is going to be fun!

 

Deluge!

 I never expected to call a 40k ride epic, but this was EPIC!

Planned to head out for a low cadence, high lactic acid 70k sufferfest to really rip my legs up some more after last night's ride. The first 10k were warmup and took a short respite at one of the many local church picnic shelters due to a brief heavy down pour. This should have been a clue but I was feeling cocky becuase I got maybe one drop of rain on me. I could read the weather and I was certain it was going to clear.

After the warmup, I headed for a 65 rpm cadence and really kept the pressure on the legs. It was a nasty, quad burning, leg searing agonyfest. You know, fun. Just what I wanted. My legs were screaming and I just just ignored them. "You shall do MY bidding!", I mentally commanded.

Hey. Was the sky getting darker?

Just before I finished 20k the skies opened and came down so hard I could barely see a few meters in front of me. I had to stop and turn on the blinky back and front light to make sure cars could see me in the dusk-like conditions (@ 4pm). I had incorrectly decided to wear the sunglass lenses instead of my clear lenses, so I was riding in dusk conditions with dark sunglasses that i could not take off since I was wearing contact lenses. If any significant amount of water got into my eye, my contacts start to float and potentially pop out (not a good thing if you have difficulty seeing the big E on an eye chart and are 20k from home in a raging deluge). I'm also betting the lenses, while technically hydrophobic, were not tested under conditions like these. It was next to impossible to get a clear view of the road just a few feet ahead on me. The drops of rain that adhered to the lense created a kaleidoscopic of light as cars drove by in each direction.

The rain was coming down so hard when a drop hit my teeth it actually hurt. That's hard rain my friends. Hard rain.

After a few minutes it cleared up and I actually considered going the full 70k again but decided against it. Very fortunate. It began to sprinkle, then rain, then downpour then deluge again. I think I went the last 10+k in a deluge so heavy cars were pulling over to the side on the road. I got so wet that when I got inside and dried off I was still wet. Yep. That's wet. W. E. T. wet.

That was one crazy-ass bike ride!

Spanked 2x

Mother of pearl! We did the long Bowman gray route tonight (stats in the link). Did the first 10 K in 17:16, the second 10K in 18:10 and the 3rd 10K in 18:21. That comes out as 33.48 km/h for the first 30K.

Then I cracked and got dropped the first time. Did the next 10K on my own in 18:57, which I'm pretty satisfied with, and got picked up by the next group some time after that. I was able to hang on with them until we started up turbohill. There I got dropped the second time (in the same spot as last week), on the steeper section.

Despite being spanked twice, I was not DFL though. 5 more came in after me.

The whole 58K was done at an average 31.23 kmh.

 

 

Helping a friend

Saturday's Salem Lake ride was a bit of a recovery ride and a bit of a summer long quest to help Eric do the Salem Lake route in less than one hour. Last week it took us 1 hour 6 minutes. This week, 1 hour 5 minutes. It looks like we are on our way. 

 

DFL

It was just a matter of time, but I finally achieved DFL staus.

After yesterday's long ride I wanted to go out and really push my legs, with every expectation of being dropped. I was not disappointed.

I got dropped (from the lead wheel only at least) on the hill to the regroup point. I almost got dropped after I did a pull to the base of a climb (but was not). I dropped to last spot (but still had contact) on a hill where I could not shift into the small ring. Finally, I and was really dropped on turbo hill. Dropped like a piece of hook hitting a loop (as I imagine those in the velcro industry saying).

I planned on shifting to the small ring when the going got a little tough to reduce the lactic acid buildup; ride a higher cadence but push the HR up a little instead. I thought I selected the right spot but boy was I wrong! The change was startling. One moment I was near the front feeling the burn and in less than 10 seconds I was off the back, never to join the group again. Did the last 6K alone, but I did not let up. I kept the cadence high and effort under control.

The few judgement errors and the mechanical contributed to the lack of climbing success but I also some cognitive success.  I was very conscious of what I was trying to do and why. Next time I will tweak things and try again.

Not disappointed in the least.

Attack!

First the details.

Goal today was to go 70K and hit each hill with 90+ cadence for it's duration. Had a little trouble early on but by 20K I was in a rhythm and did pretty well. Granted I had to get into the small ring and down to the 25 cog but I did sustain ~90 rpm on 95% of the hills. While I figure out the next month of training I figured getting on some 4-6% hills and maintaining 90 rpm would be important this summer so could do no harm. Legs are feeling Lactic good, although I am a litle concerned about my out of the saddle endurance and will probably have to work that into any training over the next month.

Then the impressions.

For whatever reason, today was attack dog day. No fewer than 4 dogs decided I looked appetizing. The first two were a little sad really. Short fat pudgy dogs with a lot more bark than bite. However, they did cross the road and chase be for a few meters. I did not even speed up in response. The third was almost an after thought by the pathetic beast. I was past his position and he gave a half hearted bark and run but nothing serious.

It was the last one that gave me serious pause. On the new section on road, I passed a house where a very large dog gave me a baleful look and decided I was not doing something right. He was large, well muscled and salivating. I'm certain he was salivating. He lunged across the road and took up position to my right rear wheel and loped along. His empty, souless stare pierced my psyche like a dagger. He was hungry and wanted a cyclist. His gaping maw opened. Saliva flowed in long sticky tendrils from the tips of his stained sharp teeth back along his snout, leaving silvery trails of anticipatory digestive death.

I immediately hit a higher gear and up my cadence. My heart is starting to get the rush being pushed out by my adrenal glands. I surge forward and look back.

He was still there. It did not same to phase him. His spine flexing like some giant spring, moving closer. Next gear. He's still there and gaining! Holy Fuck! This was getting serious. I hit the next gear and get out of the saddle. I really start hitting the pedals as I head down hill. This hound from Hell is loping along with a crazy glistening grin. He surges forward for the kill like some lion pouncing on the back of a baby gazelle. But, as he came for my calf I shifted up twice more and really used that adrenaline rush to punch it to the next level. If I was going down, this devil spawn was going to have to work for it.

As I looked behind me, this hound of the baskerville slowly dropped back and slowed, turning back to his territorial boundaries. I was safe.

Definitely need some protection next time.

I came 6th on a 100k ride.....

Roade my first metric century Saturday and came in sixth today.... sixth last. Possibly the happiest result I've ever had. Quite a turn around from March (both in attitude and performance).

Starting the ride was me and 50 close strangers. We got off to a really fast start. Really fast. The first 10K were done in 16.5 minutes. I started near the front and within 6k I was dropped by the front group, and the second group, Settled in with a third group of 3 other danglers and got into a paceline. I was able to hold that group to the 10k mark. Then dropped again.

I was going to have to just ride my own pace. I had a goal of finishing 100k in under 4 hours and pushing myself into the red this early was not the way to accomplish this. I passed the first rest stop (the one for the 20 mile out and back ride) and kept going. Passed through the first big town and saw my first straggler having a drink @ a gas station. I'm no longer last.

Came to a fork in the road that is not marked and got a little lost. I was not sure which way to go, but a little kid pointed out that another group is coming up, so I settled in with them for a while. Completed a short climb fairly well but the lead guy did not let up and I eventually blew up and fell out of this group as well, just as we hit the second rest stop. I decide to stop and fill up on water and have a snack and watch a few riders riding the 1/2 century ride come through, and even a few peel off and get onto the 100 route. Hmm, perhaps I was never last.

A few others stopped for drinks but I got back on the road. Eating a gel every 10k and staying hydrated, ticking off the 10k laps. Up ahead I see a flashing light. A rider. A rabbit. A goal. I picked up my pace just slightly and try to determine if I'm closing he gap whenever I catch a glimpse of him as on the winding, tree lined, beautifully smooth farm roads. Yep, I appeared to be gaining. It took me about 20k but I closed the gap and got onto his wheel. After a brief rest I did a pull and we traded off a time or two.

I pulled to the front as we crossed the river and headed up the the "big climb" which was used as a KOM point on the ride. I did not hit it hard, just steady but I still pulled away. As I crested the hill I looked back to see if I should wait and continue to work together, but he was too far back so I just got on with it.

Pulled into the the final rest stop to refill the bottles and have a snack just as two others were leaving. I considered not stopping and following their wheel but I needed the water so decided against it. While refilling, the guy I had worked with came in and one other. I appeared to be third last now.

Back on the road. The stop was probably less than 3-4 minutes but my legs had already started seizing up! Crazy. The k continued to tick away. I was into the final 30k. Then 20k, I turn onto the road I've ridden with the Tuesday/Thursday night rides and pass another rider who had stopped for a nature break. I'm fourth last.

10k to go. I cross the river one last time and head up turbo hill. 10k of uphill riding. Maybe it was the snacks I had earlier, maybe it was the rush of knowing was going to complete my first 100k of the year, but for whatever reason my legs felt really strong and I switched into "diesel mode" and started powering over the road.

Up ahead another rider. I claw my way up to him and pass him without slowing or sitting on. More power riding, another rider ahead. I pull up to him and pass.

Just 2000 meters left. Powering home, I finish really strong, and check my time.

I crushed the day. 40 minutes faster! I averaged 28.8kph over 100k! This was faster than my 50 mile ride from Wednesday! What an awesome day. 

Distance: 102.39 km
Speed:  28.76 kmh
Cadence:  86 rpm
AVG HR:  155/185 bpm
Weight:  205 lbs

1/2 century

Sorry for the short hiatus. It was crunch time at work. Creating exams, grading assignments, exams and essays, and finalizing  grades. So crazy busy I only got out on the bike a few times in the last week and a half and I certainly did not have time to put it all into words.

Words actually became the bane of my existance. Staring at poorly formed sentences, spelling mistakes, atrocious grammar and incomprehensible paragraphs, the very thought putting my own thoughts to a page turned my stomach. But, after a few days of recovery, I'm back and one of the first things I wanted to do to celebrate the end of semester was to get in my delayed 1/2 century. I had planned on doing it in March but things didn't turn out that way and April was chaotic, so I did not get a chance then either. 

Had a few worried thoughts the night before but I figured I would just ride endurance pace and not worry about the time and everything would be fine. So, off I went. Keeping the cadence in the high 80's and the HR @ around 80% max, allowing it to go higher on the hills, I set off. It went off without incident. Except one. Everytime I finished 10K, the times were 22 minutes, 23 minutes, with the occasional 20 minute lap. "Surely this is too fast", I thought. This is similar to a 50K or 60K pace. A little slower than my normal 20-22 minutes for 10K but still pretty fast. But the HR was in the right zone, and the legs were ticking over nicely, so I just carried on. Finished the 87K in 3 hours 10 minutes. The last time I did this route, it took me 3 hours 39 minutes! I would say that yesterday was slightly better.

 

Distance: 87.21 km
Speed:  27.42 kmh
Cadence:  85 rpm
AVG HR:  157 bpm
Weight:  202.2 lbs

Breaking the barrier

This was the group ride I was expecting the first time I went out.

From the start, I was feeling the pressure. My legs were not feeling strong all week so I made the decision before the ride to not do a pull and just practice sitting in the peleton. That turned out to be a very good decision. Everytime I looked down at the cyclometer (different from Wednesday's and actually worked), we seemed to be travelling at 35+ kph. On the way to the regrouping point we crossed the Yadkin river and headed up the other side. The last time this hill was easy. Not last night. I was under pressure. Not enough to cause me to drop back or standup but I definitely felt the effort.

The route was very similar to last time, but a little shorter (55K vs 62K) so the route was more familiar and I had a sense of how much effort I was acually putting in. While I kept the cadence high and had no difficulty keeping anyone's wheel, my HR felt higher than I would have liked. 

When we returned to the Yadkin river and started up what riders call "turbohill" the "racing" began. It started ok but the pressure never letup. I got closer and closer to the redline but was holding my own. As the hill continued, it became more difficult holding the wheel. Then the pace picked up again. I simply could not lift mine.

Suddenly I was off the back. We were about 5-7 K from the end and I knew my way back so there was a very brief thought of just sitting up and cruising in. But then I thought, "Why not try what I did last night and settle into a sustainable steady rhythm"? The group was going faster than me but they also contantly changed speed so it was not unrealistic to think I could maybe get back on. As the meters passed beneath my wheels I saw more and more riders fall off the back in front of me. Now I had some rabbits. These riders were not sitting up, so I really had to keeping working, focusing on my form, a steady cadence, and regular breathing. I slowly reeled one back and closed within a few meters of another before the finish and everyone sat up and soft pedalled back the final 1 K.

This is what I was expecting to happen last time so I wasn't disappointed. However, satisfaction with my performance quickly turn to joy when I checked the cyclometer. My average speed was 33+ kph! In old school money, I crossed that psychological 20 mph barrier. This was my fastest ride ever and on a 55K ride!

So, while I was on the rivet from the moment I started turbohill, the fact that I kept up as long as I did was damn impressive for me.

Distance: 55.81 km
Speed:  33.15 kmh (20.6 mph!)
Cadence: 79 rpm
AVG HR:  ?? bpm
Weight:  202.6 lbs

Data scarcity: Part II

Wednesday's ride data is brought to you by "NoData ™". When you want to be completely in the dark about your ride, rely on "NoData ™" to give you exactly what you want. It appears that the connection between the cyclometer and the front wheel sensor has broken. Shortly into the ride I realized I was just getting cadence. No speed, time, or distance. Nothing. Grr. I hate it when I rely on tech and it fails.

To compensate, I took a quick look at my phone for "start time" and again at the end for a best estimate. I had the route distance from several weeks ago so I could get a pretty good estimate. This would have been fine except at the end of Lap 2 someone got a flat and so we took an unkown amount of time to get him back on the road. So, today's numbers are clearly an under estimate of my speed.

We had a much smaller starting group (~6) but we picked up several riders on the road so we had 10-14 at various points on the ride. Further,  tonight was not a "recovery" ride. It was windy, we had regular showers with big heavy raindrops and I had an elevated HR rate for a good part of each "easy" loop. I made a point of not taking a pull after I brought everyone from Hampton road to the first turn  (~3.5 K) and even then it was an effort to sit in.

On the last loop a rider went off the front as we came off the dip and no one caught her. I started 3 or 4 back and there were gaps between all of us but I was able to bridge up to number 2 and after a short downhill, powered past when the grade went positive again. I settled into a rhythm to try and bridge. I knew it was not going to be easy, but I tried to find a pace fast enough to bridge but not completely blowup. I pulled back some distance but eventually went into the red so I dialed it back a notch and accepted I would not catch her. On the positive side though, I did not blowup and continued pushing a hard steady tempo @ ~90rpm, just at a slightly lower effort. While she continued pulling away, it was not as fast as I expected so I was satisfied with that last effort.

On the way back to the shop I asked her how hard she was going, girding myself for something like, "Oh, it was a recovery ride, so only 80%". But she said she was going all out and hit 45 kph at some point so I must have been doing something similar, maybe 2-3 kph slower.

Really miss my Garmin :(.

Distance: 41.3 km
Speed:  27.23 kmh
Cadence:  ?? rpm
AVG HR:  ?? bpm
Weight:  201.8 lbs

An opportunity disguised as a problem

Sunday was the first day on the road without the garmin. I planned on a long ride but, while it was sunny and warm, it was too windy to be very fun for long. So, just went for 30K and tried to get a feel for what efforts felt like when I did not have my HR available. The transition back was more difficult than I imagined. I overcooked early hills but by the end I got a better feel for how I had to dose my effort.

I figure about the time I've successfully transitioned back to riding without HR data should be about when I get the garmin returned. But, my first ride back I will hide the HR data and ride like "normal" to examine the HR data later. I'll test of my effort judging ability. An opportunity disguised as a problem.

Distance: 32.12 km
Speed:  26.15 kmh
Cadence:  82 rpm
AVG HR:  ?? bpm
Weight:  202.4 lbs

Data Scarcity

Data is going to be a little sparse the next few weeks. Sent off the garmin for warranty repair and it's going to take 10-14 days to get her back. It's surprising to me how dependent I've become on my HR reading to gauge my effort. It should be an interesting problem and opportunity to transition back to riding without it and see how I do.

Saturday's ride was on the Kona 29er with Eric around Salem Lake. The ride itself was fun although the trail as soft from the the rain. We were not screaming around the trail but we did put in a good effort and finished the long trail in under an hour and 10 minutes. Eric said his goal if to complete this loops in under and hour by the end of the summer. That should be a crazy ride.

Distance: 19.29 km
Speed:  22.5 kmh
Cadence:  ?? rpm
AVG HR:  ?? bpm
Weight:  201.2 lbs

Cock of the block

Definitely earned myself a rest day Thursday. Wednesday's ride was the 7th in 8 days. After the stellar ride Tuesday, I was expecting the second Clemmons bikeshop group ride to be a little tough. Legs were a little sore from Tuesday but I figured I could do just the 3 regular laps and head back if I wasn't feeling great. The ride ended up being a bit of a surprise.

The big boys were not out on this ride but there were 15-20 riders and I sat in for the first lap until the dip. Coasting down, passing everyone on the way backup (due to my exceptional descending skills, AKA "mass"), I ended up at the front. So I did a pull. Keeping the goal/intention of a recovery/beginner ride in mind I settled in and just did a long steady pace, letting my HR get up to 84-86%. As I pulled off I received, what I consider, my first "deserved" compliment. "Nice pull", said this guy I later came to know as Will. As I faded back, feeling a little glowy.  I thought I did a god job and having someone concur with my assessment made me feel good (hence the use of the word "deserved"). The group was together and everything was cool.

On the second lap, Will did some monster pulls and I got into the mix and we ended up with a group of 4 off the front by the end. But, either due to the lead guy dialling it back or the main peleton ramping it up, we got back together for the third lap and I spent a little time in the middle of the pack.

Surpisingly, not actually that fun. There was a lot more braking, shifting, and other bike related manoevering compared to being at the front. After recovering a little I got off the front again after the dip and we got another group of 5-6 off the front. This was really fun as I did a good pull, faded back and got sucked along like I imagined should happen in a good working group.

On last lap about half the rider headed home and the rest ramped up the speed. We stayed together to the dip and on the final drag we started with 5-6 doing the work off the front. Then 4. Then 3. Will, myself and one other. I did a long pull, then Will came through, again complimenting my pull but then putting me to shame with his effort. I called him a "beast in our midst" as he faded back. The third person did her bit and pulled but she was barely hanging on and pulled off after 20-30 seconds. Kudos for hanging. I have sooooo been there. Absolute respect for the effort.

It was now just me and Will.

I came up and got focused, keeping a steady 90 rpm cadence and letting the HR drift up to 92-93%. I wasn't interested in winning. I just wanted to put everything on the road and see what I could do. As I pulled off, Will again said I put him in a world of hurt and, given what he did last time, was expecting to really suffer. But he just kept the pace and while my HR did not decrease, I did experience some relief and he did not surge away. On my pull we were coming to the end of the lap and I wanted to finish it out. I put my head down, focused on "steady, steady, steady" and went to the end.

As I approached the finish I looked behind me and I had left Will 100m behind. Fucking A! What an awesome feeling. I maxed myself out and came in 1st! Freaking Cock 'o' the Block! It did not matter that the big boys weren't out. I won.

I won?! What a truely extraordinary feeling. I think I had an adrenalin rush for an hour afterwards.

Distance: 40.52 km
Speed:  30.49 kmh
Cadence:  87 rpm
AVG HR:  151 bpm
Weight:  199.4 lbs