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Doubled up today and took TR on the gravel. Had a 2:30 Tempo workout scheduled and needed to get out in the heat as I finalize my prep for Gravel Locos. Had a blast, but manâŚsummer is here in Texas. 90% humidity. This is about 60 mins NW of Houston.
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Nokesville, VA, USA
Sorry for no pictures (probably breaks some rule) but I got a late start and was racing the rain.
Slept in until about 10 am. I havenât done that maybe ever, certainly not since having kids, even when on vacation, so thatâs a first in something like 20 years.
I warmed up in the neighborhood with my 10-year old riding around some paved trails and cul-de-sacs. I then headed out to farm country near one set of county soccer fields near Bristow. I cut my planned route short by about 7 miles by turning left just after Bristow past a new(ish) elementary school - more beautifully paved roads. The long straight road going through Aden was recently paved, too, and there is only one stop sign. This will be a great stretch to set some power PRs over the summer. Then back onto tree-covered roads toward Independent Hill and another set of county soccer fields.
Within five minutes of pulling into the garage the first rumble of thunder sounded. It was pouring not long after. In addition to beating the rain, my 15-year old made homemade ice cream. I opted for a small bowl with Reeseâs Pieces.
My rebuilt front wheel worked great - barely thought about it at all, which is the way it should be. I also tried a homemade rice cake (EF Pro recipe) for fuel in addition to homemade mix. The rice cake was fine but made a bit of a mess in my jersey pocket - primarily individual rice grains falling out of the foil. I think Iâll use them for longer rides to have some variety, but not sure the mess is worth it for shorter rides.
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The lady at front desk of our hotel had a few tales to tell. Her parents live a mile or two below that first 3 mile descent. Here it is on Strava:
And my descent at the steepest section of gravel:
The drop to zero speed about halfway - that is where the road changes from gravel to really bad pavement.
Earlier in the day her parents neighbors drove a guy 40 minutes to the nearest hospital in San Luis Obispo.
Her parents helped a woman in shock that had broken her collarbone and was semi incoherent but had enough sense to stop and knock on the door.
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You mean you didnât use this ride as an excuse to get a gravel bike? 
I hope your mom is feeling better. Sorry for your losses.
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Thanks. The engineer I met from Specialized usually rides a Roubaix and he was riding an SL7. Like the marketing says, the Tarmac SL7 is one bike to rule them all lol.
BWR SD - Dubbel Header
Did the Waffle on Saturday and the Wafer today (Sunday). My nutrition was on point and I recovered pretty well overnight.
My big takeaway is that I need to get on top of my diet - the last piece of the puzzle that Iâve been neglecting. Given the amount of training I do, I should be 5kg lighter. I eat junk food way more often than Iâd care to admit. Wouldâve made a huge difference here, not only on the sustained climbs, but also on rolling terrain trying to hold on to the groups.
Saturday:
Sunday:
Finishersâ beer.
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Congrats! Was hoping to see someone post the Sat ride and you posted the Dubbel Header. WOW. Our local Kona age grouper (#TeamTina) has given up triathlon to focus on cycling, her first race and she did great. And your Dubbel, wow! Congrats again!
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Ha! No, Iâm quite happy wishing I had a front shock and sometimes wishing I had full-suspension for the really bone-jarring bits and frequent drops as Iâm completely satisfied with a rigid frame. That I typically catch and pass mtbs on technical rocky, rooty climbs, is cool with me. Of course, they then drop me quickly on even barely moderately technical rocky & rooty descents.
My last mountain bike was a Dagger (a boutique SoCal framemaker from the previous century) that was a 22.9lbs full-suspension beauty I got from a Torrance, CA, bike shop owner back in 1992 or so to replace my rigid Specialized Stumpjumper. (I was riding with him and he took pity on my getting bounced all over the place on a washboard section in Palos Verdes and gave me a great deal). Plus, Iâm already scoping out a new bike (another road bike) to buy after I sell my tri bike. An mtb doesnât fit into the picture
@WindWarrior Sorry to hear about all the bad news. At least you had a distraction to get you focused on living each day. No, we donât know when itâll happen. I also just learned about the sudden passing of a colleague the other day (unlikely to be the same).
@ultrawolf you are just too happy in each picture. When are you coming down this way to cheer up my rides or me coming up or meeting halfwayâŚ
@pbase right now, Iâm jealous of your temp. I bailed yesterday morningâs ride because for the Z2 (or Z1 
easy spin, I just wasnât in the mood for riding in 45F, road or trail. Considering we barely had a summer last year, with only a few warm days and most of those were hot, Iâm eager to be back in the position of counting the days until cool weather.
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Found a longer hill for 3.5 min vo2 intervals not far from me.
Nice to have, but Lord it was boring. Iâm not finding the love in outdoor workouts yet.
Nice to try out my new commuter set up though, and have fresh air. 
Plus I bought some coffee and pain au chocolate on the way home 
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Worth it for this part alone
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I hope your mom is okay. I am so sorry about your sister in lawâs mom. What a stressful start. Sometimes we really need a great ride and the kindness of others. So glad you got that. .
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Finally got my bikes back from the shop. Mental note: Do not break both at the same time. LOL The pretty wildflowers seem to have dried up and are being replaced with tall weeds that make me sneeze. The San Pablo Bay is the water in the distance. Beautiful 70 degree day on the trail with nice quiet brakes. Pretty dang perfect for me.
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Today was a rest day but since I rested yesterday and today was so nice, I went out for an afternoon spin. TrainNow said do an endurance ride, so I picked Polar Bear -3 to sort of fit a ride around Lake Zurich for an endurance ride.
I prefer riding clockwise around the lake because then the lakeâs on my right and most of the streets arenât. It just feels safer. But riding into Zurich I knew was going to be an easy spin because of road construction and the ride wouldnât start until shortly after rounding the top tip of the lake seen above.
A lean, strong-looking rider passed me during a section thick-ish with commuters, but then he stayed in the ped zone when I dropped out into the street, giving me my first hint he wasnât from around these parts. Focused on my power target, he soon passed me but he was yo-yoâing his speed, totally inconsistent, which was annoying. Heâd soon pass me only to slow, forcing me to slow because I didnât want to draft off him. Fortunately, he blew through the few red lights at the start of the southerly roll (then itâs mostly open road) from the city giving a nice gap for me. Seemingly randomly, there was a detour away from the lake resulting in an unexpected climb. I say randomly because there were two ordinary looking people waving people to take the detour. With a bend up ahead, it was unclear why we â cars and us two cyclists as I caught up to him⌠again â were told to go up the hill. I figure (hope?) they were police civilians waiting for the uniform officers or traffic officers to come by. I donât know. Anyway, it was some additional climbingâŚ
Several stops for construction (signals controlling two-way traffic to share one lane) and a few stop lights, mostly at the Zurich end and the Rapperswil end brought down the speed.
It was a nice day with clear skies. Some people had short sleeves, some had long. The air was cool, the wind was cool, but the sun was warm. If you were walking, you could be comfortable with long sleeves and maybe even a light jacket. Sit in the sun and shorts and short sleeves all the way. I went with a long sleeve jersey as Iâd rather be on the warm side in the hope the sudden onset of heat wonât wack me as hard.
Hereâs a view looking toward Rapperswil (and turn south to cross the lake) and Schloss Rapperswil faintly visible (easier if you zoom in) and the crossing / viaduct from Rapperswil to the southside of the lake the next picture is taken from (and several pictures Iâve posted here before).
Just as we entered Rapperswil, the other rider and I began talking. He is indeed not from these parts but in from France for a couple of days for a job interview. This was his second ride here. So we rode the rest of the way back chatting when double-file was not too unsafe (but he needs to hold a line better, much better).
Hereâs a sample of the ride as we pass through the village of Uetikon (before Stäfa on the map above).
And another crossing from Rapperswil to the south side of the lake, now on land with the little village / hamlet of Hurden on the other side of the road. The place has some history with the remains of bridge constructed around 1500 BCE through to a bridge built by the Romans during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. (Though, unlike being in Britain where you can literally feel the history in innumerable ways, not the least of by sitting in a pub older than the US, thereâs little sense of the ancientness here.)
[edited slightly to fix a couple egregious errors in grammar.]
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Takes all types to make the world go round. I never had any love for solo indoor workouts, but on the other hand our gymâs spin classes were fun and the bikes have power meters 
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I want to be you when I grow up - what an amazing (yet again) outdoor ride report 
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Awesome effort to do both days back to back 
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The last ride I did on my holiday to Majorca last week. Was not a cycling holiday but I took the opportunity whilst I was there given the bike rental shop was only 100 yards from our hotel 
Really impressed with the rental Canyon aluminium bike, super comfy and plenty fast and light enough. Slightly sketchy on the descents as itâs been a long time since I rode a rim brake bike and have become too accustomed to hydraulic discs (probably all in my head).
Little video of the route - was lovely countyside and sooooooo many other cyclists 
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If you are in your early thirties I want to be you when I grow up LOL. Missed the opportunity to develop some serious power, I want a do over 
Thanks for the video!
Todayâs outside ride report, brought to you by Garmin:
Fitness was going up and then a little too much drama at work and in the family. Hey Garmin, I think stress is the reason my body is struggling to recover 
Absolutely felt it tonight 
Strugglefest 2+ hour z2 Tuesday this week. Headwind on first half of the ride up to the canal, figured the flat canal with 3 overpasses would be better than hitting the easy rollers. Nice to get off the road and see folks practicing on their TT bikes. Lost some intensity control on the second half of the ride, felt like I was holding on for dear life. Just wasnât feeling it. Got the job done and then chillaxing. Stress sucks 
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Glad you liked the video. Iâm 50 next year so a bit old Iâm afraid 
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