high roads
As the summer weeks begin to roll on, I’m increasing my crossword puzzle intake a million percent year-over-year and I’m biking like crazy. However, I think some of my riding is now looking like training rather than just attempting to get miles in, and that’s a great thing. Setting targets makes the riding have purpose and eliminates some of the frustration I feel when entering a head wind.
I raced this Tuesday in Winston-Salem, NC, at the (Cat 3/4). Since there were no changes in elevation that I could perform well on, I was content knowing that I’d just end up helping out some of the other Rogues guys however I could. The field was huge on a tiny, uncomfortable and uncomfortably flat half-mile track. I made two fake attacks trying to wear down some of the other riders who would bite. The effectiveness of this maneuvering was variable—us Rogues finished all in the field, no points or money won in the finish.
But, we did go to IHOP afterwards and I loaded up on multi-grain pancakes which made the 2-hour trip entirely worthwhile. I’ve entered a strange pancake fixation lately. It’s an addiction than I plan on encouraging, at least for a time.
This Sunday is Mountains of Misery, an event that I’ve been specifically training towards. I did a full-scale reconnaissance this past Saturday, taking an easy pace to discover how my energy would drain, and did this recon after a full week of hard riding and no rest days. It took me a terrible 6 hours to complete, a near-collapse on the final 2 mile vertical climb told me to look for a spring nearby for some cool water.
I am fully aware that the event is not a certified race, but this is probably my only chance all year to “compete” in a “race” that is longer than about 40 miles. One hundred miles and ten thousand feet of climbing is a type of ride that I can shine on. So, my diet and training schedule have been tailored towards this brutal Sunday morning exhaustion. Thankfully, Becky will be there to support me and lick the salt off of my face at the finish.
My diet for Mountains of Misery will consist of high-carb energy bars. I don’t expect to stop at any of the rest stops for any reason, but I found out that they will have some legitimate food and gels available, so I might grab some stuff at the top of John’s Creek Mountain. But, to get a head start on the extreme number of carbs I will lose Sunday, Saturday morning I am taking a glorious banana&buckwheat pancake breakfast at Gillie’s.
Matt Phillips, on the lazy end of a tandem bike, recorded several videos on this week’s Wednesday Worlds race ride. The video of me going by is about 2 miles from the finish and is on an 6% average grade to the top of Harding. Somehow I stayed in the original break but was exhausted by the time I got to the bottom of Harding. Still, a great Wednesday to go biking.
May 24th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Harding kills me. I live in the little white house right after the Bug Shop (if you’re going from downtown) and starting out on that hill and going uphill for a bit is no fun. Granted, I’m also just a casual biker and do it to get to and from Macado’s but it’s still a pain!