Riding for the Fun of It (Training in Disguise)

Summer is finally here in Central NY, and it's playtime. After a week off the bike with a cold, I'm back in the saddle. I planned a string of tempo rides, just to get the legs back into riding and to just get in some miles. My rides have generally been quite short and intense, and it doesn't really build the kind of fitness that I'm going to need for the long road races coming up.

On Saturday, we attended a wedding of friends in the woods at a local hot spot for mountain biking. After the ceremony, some refreshments, and a little canoeing and swimming, there was a short introductory ride for everyone. Many brought extra bikes and helmets, and the couple put every able-bodied person on a bike and we took a spin on some of the less technical trails. There was one hairy trail that was off-camber and right next to a pond. Two people, one experienced and one novice, went for an inadvertent dip. Following that ride, the novices went back for more refreshments and the rest of us took off into the woods. I hadn't been on a mountain bike over technical stuff since last fall, and I balked at almost every wet log and rock, and took a couple good falls. Recognizing my head wasn't in the game, I dabbed just about every obstacle and just tried to get through the ride without impacting my road riding by hurting myself too much. It was still fun, but it'll be more fun after the road season is winding down for the year.

We got home late from the wedding, but we still sat down to check out the World Cup Italy vs US game we'd taped. I figured we could go to bed after Italy scored a couple, but was surprised by an exciting game. At midnight, we were still up yelling at the television.

That impacted my planned early morning ride. Sunday was my birthday (I'm now able to enter the Masters' fields) and I'd planned on getting up nice and early and treating myself with three or four hours of tempo solo, contemplating life and recharging my mental batteries like I can do only when by myself. With the late night of soccer watching, I slept in and didn't get on the bike until about ten. With my ride window shrunk to about 2.5 hours, I decided to try to hop in with the local club ride for some good efforts rather than do a long solo ride. I planned on riding the course backwards until I saw someone, but my timing was perfect and I ran into the group at an intersection on their way out. I put in some small efforts on some of the climbs, but didn't kill myself. I got in only about 32 miles, but I had a pleasant ride and a nice chat with some friends.

Monday evening, I took off by myself and hammered out a great ride. I ran into some friends, got chased by a beagle mix that had a serious set of wheels, and generally had a fantastic ride. I rode tempo on the flats, put in some good power on the climbs, but nothing too serious, and just had a fun forty miles on the bike. I got in a good workout, had tired legs afterwards, but I never dug so deeply that I couldn't recover overnight and hopefully do another such ride this evening. It was a great reminder of the pleasure of simply riding a bike, pushing oneself and enjoying the speed, but riding within your limits, free of the pressure of competition or obligatory intervals.

See you on the road!

(P.S. 32 more training days before the Owasco Stage Race)