Riverside Update

Well, I’m mostly back on track when it comes to the training plan. It’s a bit tough getting the workouts in here because there are so many stop signs and lights, but I’m doing my best. I’ve been looking for a good hill to do repeats on (long, steady grade with little traffic) and I think I’ve found the best option around here. It’s got an average grade of about 8% and I think it’s around 2 miles long. Honestly, it’s a little too steep but I think it’s all I can hope for. I’m still doing a little under my planned training hours, but for the holidays, I think it’s acceptable. I just really need to commit when I get back to school… slacking off won’t pay off in the long run.

Oh, and come on… it’s the holiday season and people are still trying to run me off the road? Agh..

Beginning Base Miles

Well, I’m officially starting my base building period.  I put in 40 miles yesterday and 30 today.  It was much too hot yesterday and I got a late start so by the time I got home I was feeling pretty bad.  A bottle of gatorade and plenty of carbs fixed that though.  I did get cut off by some woman driving a mini-van — she made an unprotected left turn right in front of me when I had a green light.  I was pretty angry, and made the bad decision to follow her into a parking lot and have a word with her.  I guess she was a bit scared when I came up to her window yelling, she refused to roll down her window and took off out of the parking lot.  If anything, I kept her from getting her sub sandwich for lunch.  It was a bad idea, I know, but I was pretty angry.  I can’t wait to move back up to NorCal and get away from these idiotic drivers.  Anyway, my legs are feeling better after the week off… though I did have a bit of knee pain yesterday.  It’s just more easy, long rides now.  I have 30 miles planned for tomorrow, 40 if I feel particularly good.

Hills and more hills

Oops, I was supposed to be taking it really easy on the bike, but the ride I went on with the new team member had lots of hills. We did about 40 miles at an easy pace, but the hills were still a little rough on my legs. We encountered a little harassment from an SUV driver who didn’t quite understand the rules of the road. After slowing down and yelling through his window, the driver actually pulled over to confront us, which has never happened to me before. We avoided escalating the situation by turning off the main road — fortunately the driver wasn’t in the mood to follow us. Other than that little bit of road rage, the ride was pleasant. We got an amazing view of the clouds rolling down over the green hills we were riding through.

Anyway, I decided today would be a rest day and went for 9 holes with my brother at the par 3 course. 5 pars for me.  Tomorrow the easy riding will resume.