Well, last weekend I got another 200k done- 5 more to go. This time there was a group of 10 doing the permanent route and it was great. I had riding companions and it made the day go much faster. Not in terms of total time out on the road- I had a faster average speed but more time off the bike- but the company was great.
The only thing was that there was no relief from the heat. By 2 pm I am sure the feels like temp was way over 100. So, the last 2 hours were tough to get through. I did and had a huge gelati as my reward when it was over. Yippee, I can see that R-12 award now!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Ride Faster, Faster!
Just a quick update. I have been riding the latest 200k's by myself so in the heat here in Florida I have been spending about 8.5 hours on the bike, usually with an hour off the bike. I have been training my body to ride long but slow. To meet some of my longer term goals, I need to get faster. Last weekend I went out for a group ride with a faster group on the hills (we do have some small ones west of Orlando :-). It was foggy in the morning and the good news was that it seemed to really help climbing when I could not see the hills. I hung in until a couple of miles from the store stop and then dropped off again a couple of miles away from the place where they met.
It was tough but exactly what I need to do right now. The older advice to ride faster was to ride with a faster group. I do like the way that Graeme Street goes about it, I just did his Spin class #8 off the bike upper body work and on bike over-under intervals. Whew. I chose this specifically because I have to travel the next couple of days for work, so plenty of recovery!
I will do another 200k this month, maybe start really early or maybe start in the evening and do a night ride. I am on the downhill side of the R-12 and we will get to the nice part of the year after the heat breaks. Earlier this year, when I re-evaluated my goals and decided to do the R-12, I thought it was going to be fairly easy. I mean in comparison to a 400 or 600k this was an easy day. Well, it has been a little more difficult than I thought, mainly from the motivation side. Now, after halfway I am finding more positive thoughts and look forward to ticking them off. Of course, it is TDF time, so everyone wants to ride anyway. Vive le Tour!
It was tough but exactly what I need to do right now. The older advice to ride faster was to ride with a faster group. I do like the way that Graeme Street goes about it, I just did his Spin class #8 off the bike upper body work and on bike over-under intervals. Whew. I chose this specifically because I have to travel the next couple of days for work, so plenty of recovery!
I will do another 200k this month, maybe start really early or maybe start in the evening and do a night ride. I am on the downhill side of the R-12 and we will get to the nice part of the year after the heat breaks. Earlier this year, when I re-evaluated my goals and decided to do the R-12, I thought it was going to be fairly easy. I mean in comparison to a 400 or 600k this was an easy day. Well, it has been a little more difficult than I thought, mainly from the motivation side. Now, after halfway I am finding more positive thoughts and look forward to ticking them off. Of course, it is TDF time, so everyone wants to ride anyway. Vive le Tour!
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