Some days I just don’t feel like training. On a day when it is raining and cold outside, and you are burnt out mentally from work. Sitting on the bike doing repeats takes a different type of animal. a different person.
When all you want to do is grab a beer with friends. I had to suffer a 1hr 3×15 repeats on the trainer. by the 2nd set I was mentally and physically beat. did a half hearted cool-down and called it a day. now where is that beer
Tag: Biking
Back up in placid
So after proposing to R ( and her saying yes) I decided to go for my long bike ride. The plan was to do 2 loops of the lake placid course at pace faster than race pace because I didn’t have to run afterwards. Started out from the tennis courts and did the 1st loop in 2:40, that for me is fast especially on these hills. The 2nd loop started out well I was cruising out of town and then the wind picked up. I felt like I was riding in a tornado my avg speed dropped to 10 in the headwind. I passed a couple of bikers by van honderberg and they were on the 2nd loop as well but were turning around. By the time I got to Keene I was beat. I started debating what to do tried to call rhian but had no signal. I rode towards jay and the wind was worst, a lot worst. By the time I made the turn to Wilmington I was done (d o n e) . I had been riding in the wind for 2 hrs my avg hr was well into z3-4 just to get up the hill. I csaw the top of whiteface and figured I should have signal from the tower at the top. I did. I called R and asked if she could me meet me at willmington . She was nice enough to bail my ass out of the wind. I rode into willmington decided to take a break to rest my legs. I then figured I could ride back to placid and catch R on the way. Did that passes whiteface and she picked me up by the koa sign.
What A day for a ride. I know when they say it was windy on the course what it could be like
Weekend easy ride
You wonder what is wrong with you when you consider a 20mi ride and easy bike ride. The day after the race rehearsal I was awake at 5am. Don’t ask why, I wake up at that time on the weekends (at least some weekends). My options were to get stuff ready and do a sprint triathlon at the local Y where I swim or do a nice bike ride with R later in the day. Since I was recovering from the the race rehearsal the day before I decided I slowEr bike ride would be better. We got ready and did a quick ride on my regular loop. It was good to flush the legs
Bike to Work
Living 30mi away from work creates a logistical, scheduling problem once you get to triathlon training. Since on most days I would spend atleast 2hrs commuting back-and-forth it leaves very little daylight to spend running or biking.
So like the past year, I decided to bike to work. The 30mi is on the fringe of what most people would consider to far. I think of it as doing my regular scheduled ride, working and then doing another ride. In the end I am hoping the long hours on the bike would build aerobic efficency. My only concern is that I am not going to fast, I avg around 17 mph which 3-4 mph slower than my regular pace. As the season goes on will have to sub some speed workout.
The bike route is interesting to say the least. I start off in milford and bike on rt 1 and rt 133 going to fairfield. During this time I have to go through the worst and best parts of bridgeport dealing with the worst of its traffic. After fairfield it is somewhat smooth sailing till I get some more traffic by norwalk. Barring traffic and bridgeport it makes for a scenic bike-ride.
I usually leave at around 6:45 and get in by 8:30. So in all not a bad morning and evening workout
Bikes
So rest assured I have a very “special” relationship with my bikes. It is as the level that car-maniacs have with their ultra tricked out ; double exhaust; custom chipped cars.
Mine is with my Bikes. Their beauty , elegance, aero-dynamic nature,and the fact they hardly every break down. I guess the latter is what attracts me to bikes. I find that nearly every other transportation mechanism requires a high degree of maintenance. From the car, motorbike to even trains. There are just so many electrical , mechanical part over time that require some degree of maintenance. And most require some of the transportation mechanism require some amount of CO2 producing fuel.
Whereas on a bike you are the engine.The engine doesn’t really need that much maintenance just the regular food you consume. And unless you have a crash no real break downs occur. From the perspective of the bike itself the maintenance is low, clean it regularly, tune the gears if need be, every once in a while replace tires or breaks.
As of late I own 2 bikes. My road bike a specialized tramac expert , and then my triathlon bike a specialized transition elite . Always looking at expanding collection. I am like the 5year old boy who ogles at all the bikes when he enters the bike store. Probably towards the end of the year I will look at getting a mountain bike (again) or possibly a cheaper road bike. Just for some winter riding.