I had originally planned the first outdoors ride on the TT bike before its first race of the season. On last night’s indoor workout the gear cable snapped. Before going to bed last night I think I’ve found a Campagnolo gear cable so instead of a trip to the lbs for a cable I did the ride on the road bike instead. Carter. It looked quite nice out and the phone said the temperature was good. I never really looked at the wind though. The local weather station recorded:
The clothing choice of the short sleeved gabba and the bib shorts with knee warmers was spot on though
I went over the one of the only bumps near here as I didn’t want to be too far from home/ my laptop. Whilst that messed up my compliance / cadence a bit (especially as my front derailleur has seized on the 52t), I think I reasonably compliant elsewhere.
It’s Mud Season in Vermont! Yesterday was a beautiful spring day (50 degrees and actual blue sky), so I took a chunk of the afternoon off and was able to get my first real ride of the season in, if only a quick one. Super happy with my bike and general setup (Giant Revolt Advanced Pro, SRAM Force Mullet 1x) and the 700x50c Maxxis Ramblers did a great job on a very sloppy ride. Rode about 15 miles, with probably 75% of it mud.
Slight grade (like 3%), but it was so thick I had to hold 350 watts to go up it.
Haha, yep. It was slow going - averaged about 10.5 mph on a ride I usually go 16. That said, I got enough float from the 50c tires that I didn’t get once bogged down enough that I was forced to stop. They were especially good over some of the washboard sections (like the third pic) that can get incredibly annoying.
Short mental health ride yesterday that wasn’t very flat, even if some pics make it look so. The great thing about these routes is 8% and below feels like a false flat, and 5% feels like an easy flat. Here, the main part of the climbing is behind me, with 6.5mi and over 1200’ of ascent done so far; most of the climbing is done just around the next corner (or two). Then it’s actually, not metaphorically, downhill, before a shortish uphill to get home.
Near the end, there’s this little climb that I shoot for 1k watts. I was on target but felt cocky and said hello (“grüezi mitenand”) in an easy voice to an elderly couple walking down as I was pushing it, which was a mistake as I wasn’t focused on shifting and breathing for the effort. My hr went beyond probably what it should have – like well beyond healthy and thinking I may have induced a cardiac event type of extreme. Well, I already have an appointment with my Dr next week to get a new health certificate for the 50k in Italy next month, so…
This morning was a run in a light drizzle, so Paisley, my 10+yr old puppy at home (who is starting to show his age while running and doesn’t like being out in the rain), stayed home. A few frogs were out. Most were on the sides of the trails, but this guy was in the middle, caught on video only because I was recording the birds and ducks and sights as I went around the pond. It was a flatish run with only 3.7mi and 300’ of ascent.
Not an outside ride, obviously, but a Zwift group ride is as close as I get and this effort needs some love. A couple of PRs (Epic KOM and Alpe du Zwift) and 1hr23m at 98% of FTP (26:37 and 56:31)
High IF group rides and workouts always have me waking up the next day with legs barking. And I’m suppose to do some decent time at tempo this afternoon LOL. @Helvellyn some nice blips above 400W on the Zwift power distribution, those hurt, nice job!
My first TT race of the season is tomorrow and this season I am trying ‘openers’. So given I haven’t rode the TT bike outdoors this year I thought I’d better. Despite a stupidly strong wind and me being slight I was pretty happy with how it handled albeit it was all in the small chainring and with my 35mm road wheel. I do need to sort out the rear brake though its not springing back fully and the rear dropouts are a little worn making it worse under load. Given it was so comfortable to handle, however I might keep that wheel rather than using the 62.5mm Hadron
First TT of the season for me down on the F15/10 at Bogborough, Near Milton Keynes. Given the forecast I decided to go with the shallower rim. It was supposed to settle down I guess it didnt
3rd and final day of ‘Gravel Camp’
300 miles in 3 days. 18,500 ft of elevation gain. Great times! Feeling good and ready to crush my A event next month!
I have a MTB race on the calendar for early May, and there’s no chance of riding MTB here in the mountains before then. I’ll need to head west to the desert for a warmup ride before the race, and get my head in the game for rocky, sandy desert riding.
Out to Elton to meet some mates. That was dry, despite the forecast. I was also expecting a strong headwind after yesterday but had turned to a tailwind. Given that I had raced yesterday I was glad or it. In the 5mins I was waiting though the rain started. Given the forecast I expected an hour of light stuff. We cut over the hard packed bridleway to Bullock Road then followed more hard packed bridleways east of the A1, then cut through a grassed one to Holly Lodge. And no, we got 2hours of heavy stuff.
After the Lodge, one of my mates said he was going back by road rather than soggy grass. I was in two minds at first but it was still raining and given my vision through the glasses was pretty poor before the cafe, I decided to chum him. We went north east through Winwick and Thurning to Barnwell. Apart from being wet that was too bad as it was more of a cross wind. The bit after that through Oundle to Wansford was a block headwind though. It finally stopped raining about 20mins before his house. After leaving him I doubled back to Elton and got a bit of a tailwind before turning back into it on route to Peterborough.
C& O canal path out of DC. 49 miles. Cold, wet. chilly, kind of muddy. Holy hell, mud and gravel suck the watts right out of my legs. Didn’t help that I started at sunrise. At least it warmed up a bit on the way back.
The Defy isn’t a gravel bike, but handled mild gravel duties just fine today.
