Two Wheel Blogs

We've had a really nice run of 3 days here where the weather's been too good to pass up. Being one to take advantage of a good situation, I did my own little training camp, piling up nearly 150 TSS per day. Needless to say, today's rain showers didn't bother me a whole lot. A little spinning on the old rollers was just the ticket for me this afternoon.

So there I am, riding my rollers and enjoying whatever iTunes happens to serve up, and I notice a certain ticking sound coming from my front wheel area.

Now a ticking sound, one that repeats with every rotation, can't be good. I looked at the brakes. They had clearance. There's no computer pickup on the fork at all so that couldn't be it. "Could be in the hub" I tell myself. Hmm, that's really not good.

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What an odd Easter we've had here today. The interweb weather thingy said snow was a long shot, but that by late in the morning temperatures would head up as the sun started to break through.

Not so. It's been snow showering on and off all day.

My window of opportunity for riding was in the morning. Turns out that was a good thing because if I'd waited on the weather to change for the better I'd still be waiting.

4:58pm - It just started snowing again. Hard. Weird.

What I had on my training plan today was at least a 2 hour ride. Something that would generate around 150 TSS. That's no pushover ride, but it would also leave a little in the tank for tomorrow while driving TSB well below zero.

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There was a definite lack of motivation going in to last nights trainer session, but it was the normal sort of hesitation. You know, you don't feel like riding, but once you get on and warm up...it all starts to feel better?

Last night, was different. I guess I should have put more fuel in the tank, and may be I need to get more sleep. I dunno but something was horribly wrong.

Every minute ticked off as if it was an hour, and a riding in a moderate gear felt as if I was racing up Mont Ventoux with a 40 pound bag on my back.

You might say I have a passion...and I am not talking about Valentines day here. I am not really talking about riding bikes either...I do have a passion for riding bikes (and my wife) but that is not the subject of this post.

I took off work a bit early to go home and ride the trainer. I will not bore you with the details of the session...suffice to say I rode a big gear at a big cadence and probably made some big watts. It was hard work, but the thrill was inspiring. The thrill? Yes the thrill of finding that my fitness and strength are still with me after all the non-training I have done.

Well, here I am at the end of my first decent cycling week of 2008. I have to figure out what to do with myself before the party that starts later. Not sure why we have this party...I think it is something to do with a bunch of commercials periodically interrupted by some bastardized version of rugby (a.k.a. the Super Bowl...can I say that without getting sued for not having explicit written consent?)

So, what is it that I have got to get done before everyone starts showing up?

I am well on my way to a record week for training!

That really is not saying all that much, though. As some may understand, 2008 for me (so far) has been more about getting well, caring for my family, and working. With these shifting priorities, riding time has suffered...No...that is putting it mildly, it got pushed so far behind the "back burner" that it fell off the back of the stove and got lost in the dust-bunnies.

Like I was saying, I have made considerable progress this week towards the goal of spending more time in the saddle. It is not much, but it is a lot more than previous weeks. I feel good to be turning things around and heading in the right direction.