The Ride

Wow we had good weather Saturday. Funny how 50's is great weather but the sun was out and it was nice to get out of the house. I'd been looking forward to this all week. For some reason I had also been a little worried about it but there really wasn't any reason.

The route we took had a few too many stops and starts at lights and other street crossings. Those always make for challenging group dynamics within the ride. I stuck to the plan. When the pace jumped, I just stayed were I wanted to be. I got dropped a few times but was always able to catch back up at the next light or when the road flattened back out. It was even easier when we went down a hill, I would keep peddling to keep the HR and power up and everyone else would coast.

In the end, I got in almost 3 hours (~2:45) and 47 miles, that's about 17 mph average. More importantly I felt pretty good. I spent a lot of time looking at my power and heart rate but I wasn't cooked at the end of the ride. I didn't have to come home and take a nap, like I have so many times in the past.

After looking at the HR data I would say it was a success. The goal was stay below level 3 and try to get as much level 2 as possible. Well, I was successful to the point were I had too much level 1 and wish I would have been able to make it a little harder. Still, the ride was great and the training appropriate. Next time my ability to get the training right should be better.