50 Mile EM

This 50 mile EM started in the rain. I was disappointed that it had been raining but I decided that I had no choice; MS Bike could be a rain day so I had better know how to ride in the rain. Actually, the worse part was that brief time between uncomfortably wet and now soaked. Soaked is better; you no longer are waiting to get there. It's kinda like Chinese water torture; the worse part is waiting for the next drop.

Anyways, I decided to make the first trip around the loop as a measure of progress and the second as a slower ride to complete my required 50 miles. A previously fast 50 mile ride at 03:09:56 was Sept.11, 2010. (see: Hilly 50 in the rain.) All together this was a faster ride. That said, the fastest ride around this loop was August 13, 2010, the first time I used the Garmin. I started late, after work, at 7:30 PM and with little light to monitor the Garmin and lots of flies in the air, I rode like the wind at an average of 17.6 mph. It remains to be my fastest pace even while the wind may not have been much an influence. Today's first trip resulted in an average of 17.0 mph. Close but no cigar. Wet rims and thus longer braking distances and care may have contributed to a lightly slower overall pace.

Today, I realized that a ride in a hard rain is not that big a deal. It can be novel, relaxing, enjoyable, even cathartic.

In an interview found in the 21st cycling issue of Rouleur published in 2010, Team Sky rider and Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha, one of the greats in racing the cobbles shared, that when most cyclists escape the winter months and seek warmer climates he would spend weekends in the Pyrenees, unafraid of the cold and wet to sustain and improve his climbing ability.

Flecha learned to persist through inclement weather to condition his mind and body to become accustom to and embrace this cold and wet weather for it is wet roads that separate the skilled riders from the hopeful.





Weather Conditions: 0752 hours. Cool and raining. Light winds mostly from the NNE from 3.5 to 4.6 mph.
Min: 63 Avg: 64 Max: 66 ºF

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

Weather Conditions: 1506 hours. Clear skies. Winds mostly out of the WNW 8.1 to 12.7 mph.

Min: 55 Avg: 57 Max: 57 ºF

MXS: 22.0 mph.

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

Just the usual: NOT!

OK...same ride but with real roadie shoes locked into real roadie pedals.  Actually, they are a mountain style pedal and shoe for more comfortable walks in town during long-distance cross-county rides.

That said, the clip-less bindings are a little difficult to get used to for several reasons in the short run.  Firstly, I found that there is an amount of float (or play).  Secondly, I am not used to pedaling with a more forward position from the ball of the foot.  This changes the mechanics and thus the muscles used in pedaling versus those used with standard petals.  Thirdly, and more importantly, I found it tricky to think ahead and dismount the shoes from the petal in a timely manner.  The alternative to a timely dismount is falling over stuck to the petals.

The benefits of this system is more efficient pedaling allowing for burst of power as in sprints.

Needless to say, I was nervous about stopping at cross-roads or other instances and not dismounting a shoe before falling over.  The ride went well, however, when I rode to the end of the south trail at County Rd 1, I forgot that my left shoe was still mounted and started leaning to the left.  There, I realized my error as I started going down.  Amazingly, as I braced myself for falling, my left shoe popped out of the petal and slipped to the pavement and preventing me from a most embarrassing moment.

The rest of the ride was uneventful although very windy.

MXS: 24.4 mph.



Weather Conditions: 1619 hours. Overcast. Winds 9.2 to 12.7 mph mostly from the WSW.
Min: 37 Avg: 37 Max: 37 ºF

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

This was just a get out and ride the old route ride for the sake of riding. The sun was warm but the gusts a bit much!

Anyhow, it felt good but man have I lost what little speed I had by the end of last fall. I need to start running intervals again to boost my output.

I posted laps with the Garmin as a benchmark for the start of this season.

MXS: 19.4 mph.



Weather conditions:  Cold and clear.  Winds mostly from the NW from 8.1 to 10.4 mph.  Gusts to 18.4 mph.

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

Was eager to go for a ride in the spring like weather that was so unlike the past few days, venturing out in the Hincappy short bibs.  (See lame pic, below.)

Road conditions were mostly dry and so I pushed pretty hard to see what I may have lost over the past several months of few rides. My pace was OK I guess.  The westward winds were extremely brutal. My fastest ride for this route was about 1:26 hours averaging 17.6 mph during a ride August 13th.

Weather Conditions:  Cool, dry and partly cloudy. Very high winds mostly out of the west at 27.6 mph gusting to 35.7 mph.

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

OK.

So, having few rides in during the past 30 days due in part to seasonal changes, i.e., less daylight and colder temps, I decided to just take a fast ride around the block as it were.

OK, now for the truth.

I was so discussed with the previous ride's attempt to push the envelope with faster HR SS intervals that I felt like a slug or damaged goods and should just stick with what I know; the Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop.

That said, I push hard through each section recording the usual average lap speeds as follows: 17.0 / 18.1 / 16.8 / 17.0 mph.

Surprisingly, this was my second best time for this route; the previous best of Aug. 13th may have had an easterly wind advantage.

Curiously, is the average HR of 152 bpm versus 142 bpm for the same previous ride, Aug. 13th as is the average speed of 17.1 versus 17.6 mph and a faster cadence, 85 versus 83 bpm.

So am I to conclude that the fewer rides of late has hurt my efforts till now? What is the reason for a 10 bpm faster HR? Was I less hydrated?

MXS: 24.8 mph.

Weather Conditions: Clear and cool. Light wind around 3.5 to 4.6 mph mostly from the ESE.
Min: 54 Avg: 60 Max: 63 ºF

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

Grey, very grey. Rode the long loop for a quick jaunt "as it were". Lapped the journey in Garmin to see my progress from months ago. Lap speeds for the four sections of the loop are as follows: 14.7, 17.7, 17.8, and 15.4 mph.

The westward section was difficult due to the wind. For a 5.8 mph wind, it was harder than it should have been. Why? Perhaps the report wind speed via KTOL (Toledo Express) was not accurate.

Weather Conditions: Cool and mostly cloudy. Winds out of the SW at 5.8 mph.
Min: 56 Avg: 59 Max: 60 ºF

Wabash Cannon Ball Long Loop

Garmin battery krapped out; the info may be in question although the numbers seem fine. Also, the max HR was reported incorrectly at 203 bph. Weak Garmin battery?

MXS: 22.1 mph.

Weather Conditions: 1616 hours. Partly cloudy with winds mostly out of the NW 8.1 to 13.8 mph.   Min: 700 Avg: 70 Max: 70 ºF.

Wabash Cannon Ball Long Loop

From the get-go, the HR was way off @ 229 bpm. Could this be the result of low power from the battery?

Weather Conditions: 1537 hours. Mostly cloudy; low humidity. Wind out of the west from 19.7 to 21.9 mph; gusts from 27.6 to 31.1 mph.  Min: 65 Max: 67 ºF.

Wabash Cannonball Trail - Long Loop

25 mile clockwise route of both the South and the North Fork.

Maiden voyage with the Garmin "705".

It was great to have the feedback of a HR monitor again. I had really missed the Ironman Timex borrow from Jimmie.

This was my first time monitoring my pedal cadence. While I had been working on a light cadence all along, I was not very aware of just how light I may have been. Turns out that I had not been quite as light as I thought. An avg cadence of 83 rpm is not to bad, though.

MXS: 20.9 mph.



Weather Conditions: 1930 hours. Warm and clear. Winds started out easternly at 11.5 mph falling throughout the ride to 5.8.
Min: 78 Avg: 81 Max: 83 ºF

Wabash Cannonball Trail - Long Loop

Miles: 25.22
Average Speed: 16.60 mph
Ride Time: 01:31:18
Calories Burned: 1,107 kcal

Didn't push very hard. Just too humid.

Did try not to loose any speed from the 16.7 mph; managed to avg 16.6 overall.

16.6 / 16.7 / 16.7 / 16.6

MXS: 21.1
142.3 calF.

Weather Conditions: 1000 hours. Quite warm and humid, 84 percent. Wind, mostly calm.
Avg: 79 ºF