I came home from Omaha again today. It was a beautiful day. This trip, however, I actually had a headwind/Westerly wind that worked against me for about the first half of the trip. After that, the day was oddly still - it is almost NEVER that way in Kansas this time of year.
I've had almost 2 weeks off of the bike due to abysmal weather, and several unexpected long nights and early mornings at work. I'm going to start taking some days off in the next couple of weeks just to be certain that I can get the mid-week rides in that are pretty important.
Todays trip was tough. By the time the wind died I'd spent well over half my effort on less than half of the ride (finally calmed down about mile 55). After that it was head games with myself, just trying to stay on the bike, and not call for a rescue. By mile 115 I was cooked. My hill-top speeds were just under 10 mph, and my best downhill speed was about 21 mph. Total ride time was 7:30, and those last miles weren't pretty. To top it all, I forgot the chamois butter, and my "contact point" is hamburger. I was pulling in the driveway about the same time the rain started though, so it's all good.
Didn't cramp. This is a very big deal as a good many of the longer rides I've had in recent memory did cause cramping. Once you cramp, you might as well go home. Even if you "recover" well, you still hurt, and more cramps are coming. I'm using Hammer Nutrition's Perpetum, and Accel Gel by Endurox. I think that the protein component, and extra potassium have made the majority of the difference. I am also eating salty snacks (Cornnuts) through the rides, which settles my stomach, and keeps the legs from getting too tight. I used to laugh at the duffers who cramped. When did I get old?
I can't say I enjoyed most of the ride today. Motorists were cool. I spent a lot of time focused on relaxing, breathing, and persevering, and as training goes, it was awesome experience - but not fun. Practice running on empty is pretty important, I'm guessing.
I will be back into training mode full-bore over the next couple of weeks. I really only have three more weeks of rigorous training to do before I need to start tapering for the DK200.
Glad to be back on the saddle.
Micah.
I've had almost 2 weeks off of the bike due to abysmal weather, and several unexpected long nights and early mornings at work. I'm going to start taking some days off in the next couple of weeks just to be certain that I can get the mid-week rides in that are pretty important.
Todays trip was tough. By the time the wind died I'd spent well over half my effort on less than half of the ride (finally calmed down about mile 55). After that it was head games with myself, just trying to stay on the bike, and not call for a rescue. By mile 115 I was cooked. My hill-top speeds were just under 10 mph, and my best downhill speed was about 21 mph. Total ride time was 7:30, and those last miles weren't pretty. To top it all, I forgot the chamois butter, and my "contact point" is hamburger. I was pulling in the driveway about the same time the rain started though, so it's all good.
Didn't cramp. This is a very big deal as a good many of the longer rides I've had in recent memory did cause cramping. Once you cramp, you might as well go home. Even if you "recover" well, you still hurt, and more cramps are coming. I'm using Hammer Nutrition's Perpetum, and Accel Gel by Endurox. I think that the protein component, and extra potassium have made the majority of the difference. I am also eating salty snacks (Cornnuts) through the rides, which settles my stomach, and keeps the legs from getting too tight. I used to laugh at the duffers who cramped. When did I get old?
I can't say I enjoyed most of the ride today. Motorists were cool. I spent a lot of time focused on relaxing, breathing, and persevering, and as training goes, it was awesome experience - but not fun. Practice running on empty is pretty important, I'm guessing.
I will be back into training mode full-bore over the next couple of weeks. I really only have three more weeks of rigorous training to do before I need to start tapering for the DK200.
Glad to be back on the saddle.
Micah.
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