Two Wheel Blogs

Countdown to the Tracks 'n Treads Biathalon: 13 days

Route: Belk Park Loop
Miles: 18.1
Time: 1:06
Pace: 16.3 mph
Riding Tunes:

• Saturday: Wilco, SKY BLUE SKY
• Sunday: The Jayhawks, MUSIC FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY

Saturday: 3.13

Saturday was not a day to ride fast. It was cold, windy, and a mist was falling. I had an hour to ride before going to see Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3-D (in a word: "trippy"), so I suited up a headed for Belk Park. Even though it was not that cold, I wore my cold-weather gear. I've had quite enough of riding underdressed. I'd much rather be sweating than shivering. So I was in my heavy fatigues.

The wind was in my face as I headed for the park. I rode as hard as I could on those parts where I felt it safe to do so, taking it slow on curves and downhills. I exited the park and turned onto Buchta around the 31-minute mark. Not bad for a crappy day. Fortunately, this put the wind behind me, and my pace picked up as I headed for Moreland. As I turned onto Moreland, I found its once clean should was now covered with gritty sand and other junk, the result of some resurfacing work.

I got a nice push from the wind as I headed down the Watershed Trail towards home. I climbed the Union Street hill and sprinted for home, hoping to finish in 1:05. But not today. I'd lost too much time earlier. No matter. I felt good about riding 1:06 on a crappy day when I didn't really feel like riding.

Sunday: 3.14

Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday's (hence the title). Like Saturday, it was cold, windy, and moist. And I didn't feel like riding. I toyed with the idea of going to the Y and riding the stationary bike in comfort. But I rejected that. I considered taking the day off, but I rejected that, too. I needed to ride. So, after putting it off for most of the afternoon, I suited up and headed toward Belk.

The road surfaces were mostly dry, a result of the wind, not sunshine. Again, the wind was in my face. But that was okay. The way out would be hard, but the way back would be better. Like yesterday, I exited the park near the 31-minute mark, and benefited from a tailwind down Buchta. I briefly flirted with the idea of breaking 1:06, maybe even 1:05. That notion lasted about as long as it took me to get from the 143 intersection to the Watershed Trail. Yesterday, a tailwind gave me a nice push down the trail, making it easy to maintain an 18 mph pace. Today, the wind was coming from my left flank, so I had to work to keep my pace at 16 mph.

I finished in 1:06 again. Okay, it could've been 1:05 if I had sprinted harder at the end, but I figured, "For what?". So I coasted in, settling for a repeat of yesterday's ride. Then -- unlike yesterday, when I didn't have time for it -- I did three climbs on each of the Three Sisters. I figured a little hill work would be good for me, especially as tomorrow is a run day.

There's no rain in the forecast for this coming week ... yet. Even if this week is dry, there's another one after that, with more opportunities for rain to soak the trails. Today, I accepted that on race day the trails will probably be sloppy. I also accepted that I will probably not have many opportunities to train on the mountain bike. So I will just have to do the trail ride with the skills and conditioning I have. The likelihood of my improving between now and race day is not great. I will do the best I can. That's all I can do.