Two Wheel Blogs

OK I think I mentioned this before, but just in case it didn't come through... It was a really hot and really windy day for a timetrial yesterday. At race time we were looking at something like 90°F and 10mph winds. On a flat strip of asphalt 20 km long with no shade it felt a lot like riding in a convection oven.

I probably should have realized I was headed for cooling problems the minute I started my warm up. The sweat started pouring just from climbing on my bike. In a matter of minutes I was reaching for a big towel to mop it all up. Despite the river of flowing sweat, I felt pretty good at the warm up. Wattage looked good and my legs felt fresh.

I wish I could report that training is going really well for me these days. For some reason, and I have yet to find a good one, everything's gotten upside down. What I mean is, I seem to be riding well on days I shouldn't; and on days when I should be tearing it up, I can't seem to find the ON switch, much less turn up the volume.

Yesterday I'd planned for a ripping good workout. I had taken a light day on Thursday to prepare for it. All I did was some light spinning, little more than an extended warm up. Thirty minutes into Friday's workout I knew it wasn't happening. I simply did not have the legs to make the big watts I wanted to see.

Summer seems to have unofficially begun here. Lately the temperatures have been tickling the 90° mark with the humidity not far behind.

I guess you could say I'm in that transition period where nothing feels quite right until my body acclimates to the season. Everything is affected. I don't make as many watts, and I can't make them for as long. I don't feel much like eating. I don't sleep well. I'm pretty much forced into a steady state recovery mode until I get through it.

Yesterday I went out after work for a bit over an hour's ride. I really thought I was doing well. My pedaling felt smooth and powerful. I was climbing easily. I'd reach the tops ready for more. Every time I'd glance at the powermeter I'd see decent numbers.

Hey the weather's been just too good here lately to not be out riding. Since my last update I raced the third of five races in the Wednesday Night Timetrial Series, followed by a better than expected 3x20 session yesterday, Thursday.

Ah, but who wants to talk about pain and suffering in intervals. Let's talk timetrial. There's plenty of pain and suffering there too.

You know how some times you warm up and you're just not sure your legs will come around? Nine times out of ten they eventually wake up. Somehow in the excitement you find it and your performance comes through. Sometimes you're even surprised at how good that elusive performance turns out to be. That was not the case for me Wednesday night.

Last night we held the second of five races in the Wednesday night Timetrial series.

Despite weather conditions much improved over the previous week's race, turnout was a bit lighter last evening. Only a couple of dozen, give or take, riders showed up to test themselves.

Weather wise, temperatures at race time were in the middle 70's. Winds were out of the east at about 7-9 mph.

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Yesterday was TT number two for me this year. I raced the 2008 Tour of Hermann Timetrial.

Conditions were cooler (53.1°F | 11.7°C) and more windy (9.2mph | 14.8km/h | 4.1m/s) than I might have preferred; but you never get to pick the weather on race day. The course and wind directions worked out to be a cross wind for the first ~1 mile followed by ~4 miles of headwind to the turnaround. Total length of the timetrial: 10 miles.

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