Two Wheel Blogs

Wed 6.30: Chesterfield Valley

I was exhausted tonight. I don't know why. Yes, I ran on Tuesday morning, but that and Monday night's Mueller Ride shouldn't have been enough to drain all the strength from my legs. But as we rolled out, I concluded that I did not have it tonight. So I decided to take it easy.

As I posted earlier, there are several sections to this ride, each with its own personality. I can ride hard on several of them, but not all of them -- at least, not on the same ride. In hopes of being able to hang with the pace line for the final push to the finish, I took it easy on all the early sections. I figured I'd save what little energy.

As we got ready to start the penultimate stretch, I left with Dan Moggus and another rider. We expected the others to follow us out, but for some reason, they didn't. We didn't intend to leave early, but that's how it turned out. Dan and the other rider are both very strong, and I had all I could do to hang onto their tail as we rolled at 23-25 mph. That lasted as long as I was on the back. As soon as it was my turn to pull, I dropped our pace to 22 mph, all I could manage from the front. And, of course, as soon as my pull was over, I was spent and promptly dropped off the back. I could see them ahead of me, but had no hopes of catching them. So I rode on as hard as I could.

When I got to the last stop, where the group always gathers before the ultimate stretch, I found Dan there by himself. The other rider was in a hurry to finish and had ridden on ahead. When Dan said he was getting ready to take off (instead of waiting for the pack behind us), I said I'd do my best to hang with him. So we took off.

Dan is a strong rider. He's also a very good lead rider to ride behind. His pace is like a metronome: steady, even, consistent. And his hand signals communicate very clearly hazards or his intentions. You never have to guess when you're following Dan. When he makes a gesture, you just know "Moving over" or "Hazard over there." I was lucky to have him tow me in.

Usually, my average pace for this ride is around 19 mph. Tonight it was 17.2. When I saw that, I thought, "I know I took it easy, but I didn't think I took it that easy." As I said, I was tired.

7.02: New Belk Park Loop

I didn't ride Thursday night. I wanted to, but I couldn't. So I was "rested" on Friday. Determined to make up for my lackluster effort on Wednesday night, I set out to do the new Belk Park Loop around 5:30 p.m. It was the official start of my Independence Day weekend.

I pushed myself to keep my pace up, but I had trouble telling where the wind was coming from. As I made the turn onto Buchta and headed for the park, I finally decided that I'd had it at my back, and for the rest of the ride it would not be helping me. I came out of the park around the 34:00 mark, which is typical. After the push down Moreland, I was at the 143 intersection around 45:00. Again, typical.

I felt good on the final run down the Watershed Trail, its trees providing a break from the wind. I climbed the Union Street hill, then sprinted for home. I finished in 1:06, which is about as fast as I've ridden this route. It's going to be awhile before I shave any time off this route, but I'm in no hurry. The route isn't going anywhere, and neither am I.

7.03: To St. Louis and Back

As I did last week, I decided to ride over to St. Louis to do my radio show this week, taking the Nature Trail to Horseshoe Lake, then through Madison to the McKinley Bridge, the Riverfront Trail, and St. Louis. Last week, the wind was at my back, and I was over the bridge within an hour. Not so today. Also, I was tired from a 4-mile run this morning, so I allowed myself to take it easy. Still, I got to the radio station in 1:46.

The wind was more to my advantage on the way back. As I rode through downtown, the Fair St. Louis air show as going on. I was concerned some drivers might be distracted by the planes flying by the Arch grounds, so I was especially conscious of the traffic around me.

I crossed the bridge, then made my way back to the Nature Trail. Instead of retracing my out route exactly, I came up through Glen Carbon. It added a little more distance, but not much. My pace on the return was faster (Thanks, wind!), and I was home in 1:43. This gave me time to get cleaned up in time to watch the Prefontaine Classic track meet on NBC. That over, now I'm off to the Market Basket for something to throw on the grill. Happy Independence Day weekend everyone!