MINUS TEN
Often described as one of the toughest bike races in the lower 48 states, the Arrowhead 135 challenges even the most prepared riders. This is a journal by a non-athlete's participation in an event where starting is often just as much a challenge as finishing.
Training and more training |
September 7, 2010 |
One these long rides I've been doing, I have a lot of time to think. Maybe too much :-) I don't like listening to music because I feel impaired and want to be more aware of the traffic around me, so I'm left alone with my thoughts.
Yesterday was the longest ride yet, a "century" - 100.4 miles in just under 7 hours. I'm still a little tired. The previous weekend it was 4 hours on gravel roads with the mountain bike in really nasty winds.
I think about what I'm doing, how and if I'm improving, why I'm out there. In fact, I've kind of realized that I'm doing ok as long as i'm not thinking about the current section of road. I know I'm getting tired if my thoughts come back around to the immediate moment.
This week's goal is to see if I can get approved to run the Arrowhead based on a recommendation from Eric. That ought to be interesting....
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Road bike needs help. The night before the 100 mile ride, I was adjusting my rear der and the cable snapped. I hit the shop when it opened at 9 since I didn't have a spare, but that already set me back two hours from my original start time, and forced me to do it solo. (I had arranged to do it with two other guys, but they needed to head out early to be done by mid-afternoon and that was cool - I don't mind riding alone.) The shop fixed the cable right away, but also confirmed what I already knew - cassette, chain and chainrings are all shot. I can feel it when I ride. I was hoping to ignore it until the Mukluk arrives, but I'm worried about the amount of training I want to do with components beginning to fail. I don't want to be out on another century and drop the chain, or strip a cog or worse a chainring. So it looks like that might be going in for an overhaul sooner rather than later.
Its only money...
Yesterday was the longest ride yet, a "century" - 100.4 miles in just under 7 hours. I'm still a little tired. The previous weekend it was 4 hours on gravel roads with the mountain bike in really nasty winds.
I think about what I'm doing, how and if I'm improving, why I'm out there. In fact, I've kind of realized that I'm doing ok as long as i'm not thinking about the current section of road. I know I'm getting tired if my thoughts come back around to the immediate moment.
This week's goal is to see if I can get approved to run the Arrowhead based on a recommendation from Eric. That ought to be interesting....
---
Road bike needs help. The night before the 100 mile ride, I was adjusting my rear der and the cable snapped. I hit the shop when it opened at 9 since I didn't have a spare, but that already set me back two hours from my original start time, and forced me to do it solo. (I had arranged to do it with two other guys, but they needed to head out early to be done by mid-afternoon and that was cool - I don't mind riding alone.) The shop fixed the cable right away, but also confirmed what I already knew - cassette, chain and chainrings are all shot. I can feel it when I ride. I was hoping to ignore it until the Mukluk arrives, but I'm worried about the amount of training I want to do with components beginning to fail. I don't want to be out on another century and drop the chain, or strip a cog or worse a chainring. So it looks like that might be going in for an overhaul sooner rather than later.
Its only money...
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