Two Wheel Blogs

Countdown to the Tracks 'n Treads Biathalon: 20 days

Route: Marine Loop with Silver Lake extension
Miles: 44.6
Time: 2:58
Pace: 15 mph

Today was my first long ride of the year. By "long" I mean "longer than the two-hour ride I did on Friday." I have in my mind that I'm training for the Tracks 'n Treads Biathalon on 3.27. By "training" I mean "running and riding various distances at various paces whnever I can." Now, someone else training for a biathalon might do something smart, like have a plan, for instance. And as soon as I finish posting this entry, I plan to search for training plans for biathalons. But so far, I've been kind of making it up as I go along. I've been alternating disciplines -- running one day, biking the next. About once a week, I try to do both on the same day. Yesterday I ran, so today I rode.

Laterly, I've been more fixated on what to wear than a movie star going to the Oscars. Today was no exception. Today's weather was a tough read. The day couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be. I rode for three hours today, and every thirty minutes I alternated between feeling over-dressed and under-dressed. I wore sleeves, leggings, and my windbreaker because I figured, if I was riding fast, you know, I'd feel colder due to the wind. And most of the time, I was right. But when the sun would come out from behind the clouds, I would think "You should stop to take off the sleeves and leggings." But I wouldn't. Instead, I'd ride on, and the sun would go back behind the clouds, and I would be glad I still have my sleeves and leggings on. I kept this up all afternoon.

I hate whining about the wind. I really do. We all ride in it, and there's nothing you can do except deal with it. I wish just once I could ride on a perfectly still day, where there was not wind to assist or hinder me, and I could say "I rode this pace because that's what I rode." But I can't do that today, when wind was very much a factor.

On my way out of town, I checked to see which wat the courthouse flag was blowing. The wind appeared to be coming out of the southwest. Normally, I would start out by riding into the wind: I like to take my medicine early. But I decided today would be a good day to do the Marine Loop with the extension out to Silver Lake. Though I did not intend it, the first hour was a breeze, so to speak. With the wind giving my a nice push as I rode east on Fruit Road, I averaged 17 mph and reach Prarie Road within an hour. Of course, that is where my good fortune ended. At Prairie, I turned south into the wind, and my pace dropped down to around 12 mph. It would remain there or not far from it for the next two hours. When I reached Silver Lake, I got a little relief as I headed west towards Marine. But once I reached Marine, I turned due south again, and my pace returned to it previous low point.

That's pretty much how I spent most of the next two hours: riding into or across the wind -- and doing so not terribly fast -- and wondering whether or not I should stop to take off my sleeves and leggings. Near the end of the ride, I had a couple of climbs to make, and my legs were dead. I came down one hill doing about 23 mph and tried to carry some of that speed into the next hill, but couldn't. This told me I was tired. Or, that's how I chose to interpret it. I had hoped to be able to ride for a fourth hour, but couldn't. Once I connected with the Madison Country trails, I decided it was time to head for home. Helping me to make this decision was the fact that it started to sprinkle. I didn't know how much it would rain (as it turns out, not much), but I was not going to take a chance on its picking up too much. I was tired, hungry, and I'd been riding for almost three hours. Not to be a total quitter, I did one climb up the M Street hill and one up Locust Street before saying "Enough."

It was a good day to ride. And it's good to have a 3-hour ride under my belt already. (Remember, last year I'd not even ridden outside once at this point.) And while 15 mph isn't terribly fast, maybe having ridden it today will help me to ride faster next time. That's the idea, anyway.

Now to look up that biathalon training schedule...