Boy, where to start talking about this past week of riding. Tuesday had me outside pedaling the Pugsley around while Wednesday had me inside on the trainer.
Then this weekend hit. The original plan was for a 4 hour road ride keeping the heart rate below 138 bpm. When I woke up in the morning, the wind was blowing hard. I don’t mind riding the road bike in windy conditions, but this was just stupid. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere. So instead, I grabbed the Pugsley and went out at about 5 oclock. There was still enough day light to feel the sun on my face but still out there during the night hours. There is nothing like doing 4.5 hours in February. I have to say, I think buying that bike was one of the best things I could have done for my training this year. It might not be the best training tool out there, but mentally, I am much happier. All those hours I spend out on that bike is time away from the trainer, and that is the main reason I bought it.
On Sunday, the plan was to do 3 hours of cross training. The weather was just too darn nice to be doing anything like that. With the little “warm spell” (temps in the high 30s) that we are having, the snow is awful, so I decided to get on the road bike. Because I was craving the ride of my steel Bianchi frame, I grabbed the fixed gear and went out keeping the 138 bpm in mind. The legs were a little sore, but after 2 minutes of a nice warm up and that beautiful sun on my face, the legs sure did come around. All together, I got myself about 3 hour 45 minutes in on the fixed gear. That makes the tally for the 2 days of outdoor riding a little over 8 hours. In FEBRUARY!!!! That is unheard of and I couldn’t be happier.
All day on Sunday, even on some of the tougher hills, I couldn’t stop thinking just how much I really do like riding bikes. It was a nice day out, the sun was beating down on my face and I was on roads I was never on before. Does it really get any better than that?? There is nothing like being out there, and just making a left on a road you have never been on and seeing some great sights. I basically took a lap around Silver Lake and it was quite scenic with great roads. Couldn’t complain about a thing.
For this week, its nothing but simple recovery things. I will use all of my spare time to try and get some of my bike computer graphics and pictures up that I took during the last couple of rides..
