Monday Morning Ride
This morning I decided to go for a shorter bike ride. I was not fully recovered from Saturday's ride, but did not feel too bad. So, in the spirit of going on more frequent, easier rides I decided to ride up Highway 1 to Davenport and back, a 20 mile round trip. I was interested to see two things : One, how would my legs respond with only one day's rest after a tough ride on Saturday and Two, would I ride at a faster pace like Saturday's ride?
I was well rested at the beginning of the ride last Saturday. At the beginning of the ride, it felt like there was no tension on the chain. It felt like I could pedal effortlessly. It is a pretty cool feeling to ride along with your legs spinning effortlessly. As an aside, I have read that professional riders call this "riding without a chain". On good days, they may feel this way for most of the day. On a good day, I may feel this way for 15 to 20 minutes.
Anyway, as the ride progressed I started to feel resistance as I pedaled. By the end of the ride, I could feel minor pain and soreness with every pedal stroke. Not bad, but I could feel it, especially going up hills. This morning, I never felt like I was "riding without a chain." It was work as soon as I left the house. I was starting to feel the soreness and pain when I got about 8 miles out. I did not want this to be too tough a ride, so I turned around and returned home for a round trip of 17 miles. So in response to the first question (how will my legs respond to one day rest), they were pretty tired after a few miles. I probably should have given them another day of rest. Or taken an easier ride on Saturday. My legs don't feel too sore now, but only because I cut my ride short. I should probably give them another day or two of rest and not ride until Thursday or Friday.
When I left this morning, I did not look at my bike computer, I just tried to ride at a comfortable pace. After a few minutes on Highway 1, I looked and saw that I was riding at about 15 to 16 MPH into a slight headwind. Not quite as fast as last Saturday, but faster than I normally ride. I was feeling pretty proud of myself and then some young punk rode right past me like I was standing still. He must have been riding between 20 and 25 MPH. In a few minutes, he was so far ahead of me that he was out of sight. I don't feel too bad, no matter how good of shape I get into, I realize that there will be some punk who always will ride right past me! Sigh :-)
Anyway, the answer to the second question (will my pace be faster) is yes. For the whole ride, I averaged 14.6 MPH. Not as fast as 16.5 MPH like Saturday, but faster than my normal pace of 13-14 MPH. And I believe that if I were well rested, my pace would be even faster, maybe a little over 15 MPH.
There is a debate going on in my head on how hard I should be training. I began the year trying to get in shape for 100km (60 mile) organized rides. One part of my brain questions why I am still trying to improve my fitness. I am already in good enough shape to relatively easily ride 100km. A few weeks ago, I went on a 63-mile ride with one 5 minute stop and little food. The organized rides have a fully catered lunch stop and 4 other snack stops. I have no doubt that I could easily complete this ride. So why continue trying to improve my fitness, why not take it easy and take fun rides to maintain my fitness? Sounds pretty logical, hunh?
The other side of my brain points out that I have a rare opportunity to get in really good shape. I may never again get a chance to have so much free time to ride my bike. I should not waste this opportunity and I should continue to push myself and take increasingly harder rides. Furthermore, there is no such thing as a "bad" bike ride. I enjoy riding my bike so much that I even enjoy the hard rides that cause me pain. Even when my legs are sore for the next few days, I still cannot wait to get back on the bike to ride again.
I suspect the best answer is to take challenging rides when the opportunity presents itself. But not to get so obsessed that I feel bad when I can't. Sometimes, I will be busy with other things for a few days and I will not get a chance to ride or I will be riding with friends that want to take shorter rides. I don't want to get to the point where I feel I must always take more challenging rides.
The debate in my head rages on ...
I was well rested at the beginning of the ride last Saturday. At the beginning of the ride, it felt like there was no tension on the chain. It felt like I could pedal effortlessly. It is a pretty cool feeling to ride along with your legs spinning effortlessly. As an aside, I have read that professional riders call this "riding without a chain". On good days, they may feel this way for most of the day. On a good day, I may feel this way for 15 to 20 minutes.
Anyway, as the ride progressed I started to feel resistance as I pedaled. By the end of the ride, I could feel minor pain and soreness with every pedal stroke. Not bad, but I could feel it, especially going up hills. This morning, I never felt like I was "riding without a chain." It was work as soon as I left the house. I was starting to feel the soreness and pain when I got about 8 miles out. I did not want this to be too tough a ride, so I turned around and returned home for a round trip of 17 miles. So in response to the first question (how will my legs respond to one day rest), they were pretty tired after a few miles. I probably should have given them another day of rest. Or taken an easier ride on Saturday. My legs don't feel too sore now, but only because I cut my ride short. I should probably give them another day or two of rest and not ride until Thursday or Friday.
When I left this morning, I did not look at my bike computer, I just tried to ride at a comfortable pace. After a few minutes on Highway 1, I looked and saw that I was riding at about 15 to 16 MPH into a slight headwind. Not quite as fast as last Saturday, but faster than I normally ride. I was feeling pretty proud of myself and then some young punk rode right past me like I was standing still. He must have been riding between 20 and 25 MPH. In a few minutes, he was so far ahead of me that he was out of sight. I don't feel too bad, no matter how good of shape I get into, I realize that there will be some punk who always will ride right past me! Sigh :-)
Anyway, the answer to the second question (will my pace be faster) is yes. For the whole ride, I averaged 14.6 MPH. Not as fast as 16.5 MPH like Saturday, but faster than my normal pace of 13-14 MPH. And I believe that if I were well rested, my pace would be even faster, maybe a little over 15 MPH.
There is a debate going on in my head on how hard I should be training. I began the year trying to get in shape for 100km (60 mile) organized rides. One part of my brain questions why I am still trying to improve my fitness. I am already in good enough shape to relatively easily ride 100km. A few weeks ago, I went on a 63-mile ride with one 5 minute stop and little food. The organized rides have a fully catered lunch stop and 4 other snack stops. I have no doubt that I could easily complete this ride. So why continue trying to improve my fitness, why not take it easy and take fun rides to maintain my fitness? Sounds pretty logical, hunh?
The other side of my brain points out that I have a rare opportunity to get in really good shape. I may never again get a chance to have so much free time to ride my bike. I should not waste this opportunity and I should continue to push myself and take increasingly harder rides. Furthermore, there is no such thing as a "bad" bike ride. I enjoy riding my bike so much that I even enjoy the hard rides that cause me pain. Even when my legs are sore for the next few days, I still cannot wait to get back on the bike to ride again.
I suspect the best answer is to take challenging rides when the opportunity presents itself. But not to get so obsessed that I feel bad when I can't. Sometimes, I will be busy with other things for a few days and I will not get a chance to ride or I will be riding with friends that want to take shorter rides. I don't want to get to the point where I feel I must always take more challenging rides.
The debate in my head rages on ...
posted by Steve @ 4:11 PM
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