Blue at 80.

This past Sunday's ride was to be a true test of the legs. I had not yet done a century ride this season and while I had done climbs over five miles long none had come as late into the ride as the climb up Blue Mountain at the eighty mile mark. There were a dozen riders in the group. Half were fast guys. Racers. Just a mile or two into the ride these guys moved up front and hammered away at pace of 25+ mph. I had not intended on such a fast start; my goal was leg preservation for the climbs that lay ahead not to destroy them in the first 25 miles. But it was either cling on or be left behind. I chose to cling on! The first climb went well, and the second. And the descent into Front Royal along Skyline Drive was my second fastest descent. Blue Mountain was up next. The climb is five miles long with 1500 feet of climbing. The last two miles is on an unpaved surface. I was moving well and then it happened. I lost steam. I felt weak. I hit the wall. I had nothing left in me. The last 2 1/2 miles were miserable. While I was pleased to get to the top of the mountain, the exhilaration of the descent was lost as I tried to get my body working again. With no food on me I had to endure the five mile descent until I could get to a convenience store to fuel up. The final fifteen miles left me clinging on to the paceline as the fast guys cranked out speeds of 30-35 miles an hour with the help of a tail wind. I was glad to be back at the parking lot, and for the greasy hamburger that followed.

My legs still have it : )

I went into this ride with no real expectations. I was concerned about my endurance, as I mentioned in last week's blog post. Today's ride involved a lot of climbing coupled with some great descents. I rested my legs on Friday hoping to give them a fighting chance on today's ride. I went out with the strong guys with the thought that I might drop back to the second group of riders if I found that I couldn't keep up. Climb after climb my legs felt strong. I waited for them to get tired; it wasn't until the last climb that fatigue started to set in. That's hardly surprising after having climbed 7000 feet and running on just a few hours of sleep. And as for endurance, while the last few miles were tough I felt so much better than I did on the last couple of training rides. Loading my data into Strava.com revealed just how good the legs performed. There were ten segments where I moved up into the top 10 of riders who have ridden that segment (not just today but over the past several years). I was happy!

Riding along Skyline Drive (for Dad)

Today's weather was perfect for a ride up Skyline Drive, and the climbing to get to the ridge line was a good test of the legs. My riding partners were all strong riders. With their chiseled calf and thigh muscles and with youth on their side (I was the oldest in the group!) I wondered just how I would fare against them. For the first 20 miles one is climbing with the occasional descent to give the legs a rest. The climbing is steady with a gradient likely averaging 6-7%. These are the climbs that I like. After riding for 37 miles from Front Royal to the Pinnacles Overlook with a rest stop at Elk Wallow we returned to Front Royal. The climbs on the return were beginning to hurt and I was getting tired. I looked forward to the descent into Front Royal; I had forgotten though about a couple of short climbs thrown in during the ride down that would only draw more out of my tired body. Mountains of Misery is just four weeks away. I know that I can climb, my concern is endurance. If I'm tired after 73 miles how will I manage to push my legs for 103 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing? As for this ride, I did get some personal records on both climbs and descents which I am happy about and I managed to stay with and at times ahead of the group!

Riding in the Wind

Last Saturday's ride was to take us through the valley and then up into the Catoctin Mountains. With a cold front having passed through over night I knew that we would likely have some wind coming down the slopes. The wind was strong. We would get the occasional reprieve only to be hit by a strong gust. Reaching the top of a short hill with little wind I knew that we were about to get blasted because the flag to my right that was fully unfurled. Sure enough, as we peaked the hill, we were knocked back by Mother Nature's fury. We struggled to maintain a speed of even 15 mph. With a strong crosswind you had to lean your bike into the wind. On a descent where I reached 45 mph the wind hit me from my right threatening to throw me to the pavement. Holding on tight to my handlebars I struggled to keep the bike upright. Of course we had the occasional tail wind to bring some relief to our tired legs. It's at those times where there is total silence except for the whirring of the wheels on the pavement. I was pleased with how I did on today's ride. I haven't put as many miles on the bike this year as I have in previous seasons. I don't think this is hurting my performance. I spend more time in the gym where I have a controlled environment to do intervals. I have also been working on strengthening my core. I do need work on my endurance. That will come over the next few weeks with two century rides on the ride schedule. In five weeks, Mountains of Misery!

Murderer's Row--abbreviated.

I knew from the outset that I was not going to take on this ride in its entirety. This is arguably the toughest club ride that we have in the cue sheet library. It's a great training ride for Mountains of Misery but for me it was coming too early in the season. My hopes for a warm day were dashed. Winter doesn't want to seem to leave. Up along the ridge line of the Catoctins and on the descent it was cold. Only when one got onto a climb did you get warm, only to have to zip up to protect your chest from the cold wind. There are eight significant climbs for the entire ride; with my abbreviated ride I would do five of those. With 8000 feet of climbing over just 67 miles that's still a significant amount of elevation. My legs were feeling strong on the first four climbs but by the time the fifth came along I knew that abbreviating the ride was a wise move. I was pleased that much of the final fifteen miles was mostly flat with a few humps to get over which by this point were looking more like Mount Everest than mere bumps on the elevation profile! My miles on the bike this season are significantly lower from previous seasons at this time of year. I am less inclined to ride in the cold! However I feel that my time in the gym has paid off. I just go into the gym and work hard. There's no technical plan that I follow. Perhaps if I did I would be stronger. For now I am happy with where I am at and I appreciate all those that compliment me on my progress.

And the training begins!

A winter time ride into the city on my single gear bike. Mother Nature does not seem quite ready to allow winter to leave. Snow is in the forecast for tonight! In the meantime I have started my training for the Mountains of Misery at the end of May. I know it's some time off but I want to do this right. During the very cold winter months I have been mixing it up, riding on some of the warmer days and working out in the gym on those days where I just can't muster up the courage to face the cold. To date we have had two climbing rides into the mountains. They were challenging rides with an average 100 feet of climbing per mile. The first training ride was on a very cold day; since I was a co-leader of the group attendance by me was mandatory! For much of this ride we had snow flurries or light snow. As we climbed into the mountains snow accumulated on the forest floor but fortunately the pavement remained warm enough for the snow to melt on contact. The descent off the mountain was frigid! I was glad for a rest stop where I could warm up inside. The second training ride took us up hills so steep that you dared not look up. You just focused on each pedal stroke while looking only a few feet ahead. This ride was primarily for the racers many who were half my age but a few brave souls such as myself decided to join them. I managed to stay with the front group for the first half of the ride but only because they regrouped at the top of the hill. It was usually me that they were waiting for! On the second half I was by myself. By the end of the 62 miles and 7000 feet of climbing my legs felt good. I have the endurance but I need to get up the hills faster. There's still time. Hopefully Mother Nature will ease up on us and give us spring time temperatures.

I'm not turning my back on you!

I have neglected the blog this year. It's not that I haven't been riding. I have! Yesterday I surpassed my riding mileage from last season and there's still 10 days left in the year. My riding has gone well this year but there's more to learn from my fellow cyclists. I am hoping for an even better year in 2013. To those of you wondering where my Christmas card to you is, I'm afraid that I am taking a break from sending cards this year. I will be back next year. Merry Christmas everyone, and happy new year! See you all in 2013.