My 1st Team Ride of the Year

The first team ride of the year is always a little concerning for me. It seems like I’m always trying to get back into the groove of things and get out for longer rides come January. Most of the road racers on the team have been riding base miles for a while and have a good level of fitness already. As for me, I’m just coming off the cyclocross season and a break, so I feel disadvantaged. I’m always worried I’ll be too week for the long haul, destined to be dropped.

This past Saturday was my first time back with the group. Actually I almost missed it but found out they were taking a route that went near my house. So I hopped on the bike and rode out to meet them. Fortunately I met up with them without any issue, it allowed me to get in a warm-up and prepare myself mentally to ride in a group. There is a basic etiquette you should be know so you don’t wreck the entire group. There were about 30 racers out on Saturday; it had been at least six months since I’d ridden in a group of this size. It was a lot of fun to see all the familiar faces as well as some new ones. The pace wasn’t too high and I could carry on a short sentence conversation between my gasps for air.

It feels so good to get out on those warm winter days. Everyone has a huge smile on their face. They know the indoor trainer waits for them but to escape it for a day and get out with your friends is especially exciting. I know I had a great time. As an added bonus I was able to hang with the group, until the end when the bigger surges started up for the ‘finish.’ I descided to pull the plug before the sprint.

I hope the weather is warm this weekend.

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.

The Group Ride

During the winter months it's always a great boost, both mentally and physically, to get outdoors for a long ride. For most of the winter days it's simply not possible, too cold, snowy or dark. However when you have a quite weekend coming up and the weather is going to be nice and there's no snow on the ground, your mind starts to dream. A nice long ride.. and what could be better than riding with your friends.

So what is the problem? I haven't ridden more than a couple of hours (almost 2hrs) at a time in a few months, they have. Hell, I've only ridden outside once in the past month in a half. Sad

What I need is just saddle time. I need a good long ride to build up the aerobic base. The training issue is my competitive nature. There's no race this weekend (well there is but I only have Saturday to ride and the race is Sunday. I have the kids Sunday... would be fun to race but slow). So the question is, can a go to a team ride and get the aerobic ride I need or will I let the moment overrule my brain and mess it up?

I want to stick to the training plan... but can I? We'll see. Maybe I should just plan on getting dropped, then I wont push too hard trying to hold on to something that's not there.

As the new president, maybe I should talk with everyone and get to know them. I hope they ride slow enough..... wait a minute... I hope they ride fast enough to keep up with my minimal HR and power requirements. I don't want to have to ride too slow!

This is complicated.

Weekend Wrapup

This weekend was interesting, from a family standpoint. It was basically the weekend of my recovery week. While I did get some riding in, I envisioned family time. Unfortunately Nate was sick and that basically ended any hope of extra activities (pool, grandparents, park etc). The time at home was spent trying to keep him from over exerting himself, getting rest and chasing him with a Kleenex.

On Saturday, I has able to hook up with the team for a pre-ride of one of the early races, the Koppenberg. Named because of the steep dirt hill in the course, it is a pretty short hill but it will hurt after a couple of climbs. More likely, the pain will come in the first lap when 80+ folks go barreling into the hill at full speed. Last year it snowed the morning of the race and it was postponed to the following weekend. It was great to ride with everyone. Many of them I have not seen since CX this past Fall. The weather ended up being interesting, it was way cold but I think I got a sun burn on my face. Only in Colorado.

Sunday I wanted to do something different. So I got out the mountain bike and went to green mountain for a short ride. It was a lot of fun. My plan is to do the Winter Park Series this year so I might as well get the bike ready. I have never ridden at Green Mountain. It was nice. There were a lot of people there today. I can't blame them, the afternoon weather was... inviting. A map of my mountain bike ride is below, check out the elevation feature, the opening climb peaked out at an averaged of 15% for 0.5 mile.

Training calls for some more base miles in the coming week. Need to build that endurance for later in the season.

Weekend Update

The weekend ended up being successfully. Saturday morning I went out for the team ride, we basically hit the usual route. We finished the route 20 minutes faster than the week before. Not sure our average speed was much faster but the weather was getting cooler as the day went on. I think that helped keep people moving.

The team rides always seem to be a balancing act between riding and talking about how we should ride. My thought is getting people through the basics, pacelining, staying out of the wind, controlling the pace... and then letting people go, hoping they will react correctly when the situation arises. Others want the ride mapped out in detail so nothing is left to chance. What do you think it will be like in a race? I have never seen a detailed plan get past the start line.

Spent the rest of the weekend at my parents house. They had everyone at their house. Dogs, kids and aunts. We had a good visit and the kids had a blast. They were so tired from the weekend activities they slept in past 8am this morning. That never happens.

A recovery day on Monday means the weekend was a success.