If you don't push yourself once in a while, you'll never get better. Finding the outer limit of your fitness level is an endeavor that can be difficult to endure unless you have a strong riding partner, or partners, to help you through it. I found my limit on Saturday's ride and was lucky enough to have BK with me to pull me back to the truck for the last 8 miles.
I'd planned an 80+ mile ride starting at 7am to beat the heat, but for the second weekend in a row I've broken a valve core on a tube when inflating the tires. That set the start back until almost 7:30, and since it was just BK and I we decided to do the 65 mile loop instead and push the pace a bit. Well, we pushed it alright. Last week's ride averaged 19.8 but took nearly4.5 hours due to a flat tire and a long store stop, but the group started with nearly 11 people. That makes of a nice day of saving energy while in the pack of riders. With only 2 riders, it is definitely a lot harder to keep the pace high while managing energy. We pushed the tempo from the start but I really wasn't feeling like riding until about 20 miles into the ride. It normally takes anywhere from 3-8 miles for me to get comfortably warmed-up, so the acid was building up early in my legs. Once we hit Hwy-329 heading towards Unadilla, it felt like I had no chain. I love that smooth zone when the endorphins are kicking, the cadence is feeling just right, and the cardio is grooving like Otis Redding singing Dock of the Bay. We passed a fairly large group of our regular riders at some cross road on 329. I was pulling hard up a rolling hill, so I wasn't concerned about what road it was. They started with Steve from the Perry Welcome Center at 8am. I honestly don't think a single one was sweating, but I got to say almost all of them were smiling and I love to see that! Social rides are great but Saturday I'm glad it was BK and me. We've done a lot of rides together this year and always seem to work well together.
After the store stop in Unadilla, we hit Elko and the legs were starting to talk to me a bit. But as usual the aching went away after a few miles and it was grooving time again on Klondike. I pushed a bit too hard before we hit Pits and the hills, and I soon paid the piper before reaching Grovania Rd. There was my limit. How long could I stay on the edge and dance on the pedals? I stayed hydrated the entire ride, but it was the extra effort BK and I were doing that started the twitching and burning in my right thigh muscles. I haven't felt this kind of constant aching since riding with the guys in Macon this past winter, and in a sick kind of way I actually like the burn. We were at roughly 53 miles with 11 to go and were avering over 21mph. I didn't want to be the one to sit-up and sure as hell didn't want the burn to end. The legs had different ideas.
Backing down the pace just 2 miles per hour may not seem like much, but today it made the difference between severe cramping and being able to stay on the bike. BK was on the front blocking the wind for me and we trickled back to the PWC at about 20mph. A few others have had to do that for me lately and I hope to re-pay their consideration soon.
One thing is for sure, I feel stronger than ever since surgery and I'm almost back to where I was in March. My endurance is down a bit as far as being able to push hard for more than 3 hours, but its getting better. I will be raring to go come November when the training rides start up again.
I'd planned an 80+ mile ride starting at 7am to beat the heat, but for the second weekend in a row I've broken a valve core on a tube when inflating the tires. That set the start back until almost 7:30, and since it was just BK and I we decided to do the 65 mile loop instead and push the pace a bit. Well, we pushed it alright. Last week's ride averaged 19.8 but took nearly4.5 hours due to a flat tire and a long store stop, but the group started with nearly 11 people. That makes of a nice day of saving energy while in the pack of riders. With only 2 riders, it is definitely a lot harder to keep the pace high while managing energy. We pushed the tempo from the start but I really wasn't feeling like riding until about 20 miles into the ride. It normally takes anywhere from 3-8 miles for me to get comfortably warmed-up, so the acid was building up early in my legs. Once we hit Hwy-329 heading towards Unadilla, it felt like I had no chain. I love that smooth zone when the endorphins are kicking, the cadence is feeling just right, and the cardio is grooving like Otis Redding singing Dock of the Bay. We passed a fairly large group of our regular riders at some cross road on 329. I was pulling hard up a rolling hill, so I wasn't concerned about what road it was. They started with Steve from the Perry Welcome Center at 8am. I honestly don't think a single one was sweating, but I got to say almost all of them were smiling and I love to see that! Social rides are great but Saturday I'm glad it was BK and me. We've done a lot of rides together this year and always seem to work well together.
After the store stop in Unadilla, we hit Elko and the legs were starting to talk to me a bit. But as usual the aching went away after a few miles and it was grooving time again on Klondike. I pushed a bit too hard before we hit Pits and the hills, and I soon paid the piper before reaching Grovania Rd. There was my limit. How long could I stay on the edge and dance on the pedals? I stayed hydrated the entire ride, but it was the extra effort BK and I were doing that started the twitching and burning in my right thigh muscles. I haven't felt this kind of constant aching since riding with the guys in Macon this past winter, and in a sick kind of way I actually like the burn. We were at roughly 53 miles with 11 to go and were avering over 21mph. I didn't want to be the one to sit-up and sure as hell didn't want the burn to end. The legs had different ideas.
Backing down the pace just 2 miles per hour may not seem like much, but today it made the difference between severe cramping and being able to stay on the bike. BK was on the front blocking the wind for me and we trickled back to the PWC at about 20mph. A few others have had to do that for me lately and I hope to re-pay their consideration soon.
One thing is for sure, I feel stronger than ever since surgery and I'm almost back to where I was in March. My endurance is down a bit as far as being able to push hard for more than 3 hours, but its getting better. I will be raring to go come November when the training rides start up again.
2 comments:
I heard a a girls pull made you throw up.
When ya gonna write about that??;-)
Yep, Kelly was killing me!!
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