Another Postive Gain

I just came off of a Rest/Test week. What does that mean? It means I give my body and mind some rest which entails a little extra time off of the bike. The "test" part is my 20 minute power test. Monday (2-20) I weight lifted due to the fact that I had a good weekend of riding. So, I needed the extra day off the bike. Tuesday I rode, Wednesday I rode, and Thursday was my test day. I gave it a shot, but I still wasn't recovered enough to have a good test. How did I know? Well, during my warm up I could tell my legs were not liking what I was doing. I pushed on anyways, then while doing my test my heart rate was climbing rapidly with the pace I was doing for reaching the goal that I wanted. At 10 minutes in of my 20 minute test I called it quits. Friday took the day off, Saturday did a 1 hour leg opener for Sunday's test again. So, with the day off and a short ride on Saturday allowed my body to recover some more. Sunday's test went great! I met my goal and I am at a new all time high for my 20 minute power. Now I have adjusted my power zones accordingly and looking forward to training with my new zones. It is amazing how with just a little more rest how much more torture your body can handle.

Upcoming: March I have some outdoor group rides planned and looking to get in a bunch of motor pacing. I will keep an eye on my WKO program making sure I don't dig myself into a hole.

Double Header

I was able to get outside this past weekend, both days! In February this is phenomenal! These mild temperatures with the lack of snow has kept the roads relatively safe.

Saturday I went out for 2 hours and headed north. I am really fortunate to be so close the the northern kettles. The scenery is beautiful and the roads are awesome and the traffic is very light. I didn't feel particularly strong, but managed to still muscle out a decent ride. I didn't want to ride to much on Saturday, because I was planning for a longer ride on Sunday. Saturday's ride was great, got the job done in the morning and then I was able to proceed on with my days' duties.

Sunday, what a day! Ryan met me at my house at 9am and we proceeded to ride towards Atwater School to meet up with others. They were leaving at 10:30, so, we had to hustle. I didn't know the route that they were going to take, so I wanted to try to meet them at there starting location. Ryan and I took turns taking 10 minute pulls, this was working perfect. He is getting much stronger and I hope he can stick with it. As we were getting closer and the clock ticking away, I knew that we were not going to make. So, I called my contact and left message. He did call me back a bit later and then text me the new meeting location. Ryan and I had to turn around and head back north. We were still able to make it to the meeting location before they arrived. We met them at Wheel & Sprocket on Lake Dr. & Green Tree. We rode with them (@10 people, and mostly IS Corp juniors) up to Cedarburg and then Ryan and I proceeded home. Our harder effort heading down sure taxed my body and I was pretty toast. I had 4 hours in the saddle, so 6 hours for the weekend and over 10 hours for the week. Now I need a little break 1 or 2 days off and then I have a FTP test on Thursday. Not expecting a whole lot out of this next test, and I will be very happy with any positive gain.

I had a great weekend riding my bicycle!

Rollin' on Rollers

This past weekend I had two hour training rides, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. These are longest indoor rides of the year so far. Saturday I did my ride at the West Bend Mutual Mall in which Washington County Bike Club had put on the event. This was neat, Mountain Outfitters and Expedition Supply were there with product for sale. It was something different and I really enjoyed it.

Sunday's ride I did at my home at my leisure. The two hours on Sunday was a lower intensity than Saturday's ride. I felt pretty good and now I am looking for a recovery day, which is today.

My fitness is gradually improving so with that being said, I guess I am doing well with my training. After today's recovery day I will be ready for some more.

February Group Ride

Wow, what a beautiful weekend weather wise here in Wisconsin. I had a team mate set up a group ride for Saturday. He was starting in Cedarburg and brought the route up to West Bend where 4 of us met up with 3 others. The sun was plentiful and the winds were light. I believe the temperatures in the lower 40's, nice thing about the sun, is that it makes it feel a little warmer than what it really is.

I had a lot of fun taking my pulls and enjoyed seeing my friends. I did have a little bad luck though. My rear Easton wheel broke a spoke. I think this is due to last years crash at Downer. My wheel was out of true and I had it fixed, but I think that spoke was bent a bit and was weakened. Shouldn't be a big deal to have it fixed. I am glad that it did happen now instead of in a race.

I rode 70 miles and I was pretty trashed by the end of the ride. Sunday, I rode in the basement next to my wife. I did an easy short ride just to spin out the legs a little. I need to make sure that I am not hurting my legs to much to soon.

Monday, I will do some weight training and then by Tuesday I will be good to go again.