So there it was. The last training weekend before the Terrible Two (TT). Coach Tim has me taking it "easy" with a 75 mile on Saturday and an easy recovery ride on Sunday. It didn't quite work that way, but it was close.
On Saturday, Brian and I rolled out of Kenwood around 6:30. We basically worked our way through Santa Rosa and out towards Sebastopol. I was trying to avoid riding any rode on the Terrible Two course. This turned out to be a real challenge, but we were ulitmately successful. We rode at a steady, but even, pace and the ride was pretty basic until the end.
As we were heading back (at this point we've done 50 with about 7 miles to go), a group of nearly 40 cyclists from the Fightin’ Bobas cycling club turned onto our road and we ended up in the middle of the group. So just like that we were riding in a large pack. I think this was especially cool for me after months of riding solo. Since we were all going the same speed and direction we just settled in with them and began chatting. Turns out they were on a 3-day trip starting with Davis as the first leg (about 90ish miles). So being nice chaps they invited us to join them. As Brian was making funny comments about not enough food I was thinking "I could ride to Davis!” For me, this was huge. Just knowing that I could now simply decide to add 90 miles to a ride is just another indicator that I am as ready as I'll ever be for the TT. (I then realized Sherry expected me home around noon and I am not quite strong enough to make it to Davis and back in 90 minutes.)
Fittingly enough, Sunday's ride ended up being a solo venture. I consider joining the tri-geeks in our group for their ride, but I was afraid of pushing it too hard. The last thing I wanted was to ruin 6-months of training with some testasterone-induced attack fest. As it tunred out, they actually kept things pretty calm on Sunday.
I only needed 55.7 miles to reach a milestone so that was the plan. I ended up on Spring Hill Road which, for some reason, is alway tougher than I remember. But I took my time, never pushed the pace, dealt with both of my flats (rear wheel of course) and finished with a fairly relaxing day that included 1600 feet of climbing.
The milestone? I thought I only needed 55.7 miles to complete the Fitness Journal map across the United States (2830 miles). To finish that "trip" as part of my TT training just felt appropriate. When I got back into Santa Rosa I was a few miles short so I went on a "Tour de Neighborhood" to get the final miles and finished with 56.1. So I sit down and enjoy a nice breakfast of French Toast. It’s then over to the computer, log the miles and check the map. There was not the big congratulations I was expecting. WTF! Did Chris turn that feature off? I look down at the miles - 2829.7. Are you friggin’ kidding me! I miscalculated and missed it by a third of a mile! So in street clothes, wearing my sneakers, and with a belly full of French Toast, it’s back on the bike for 2 more trips around the block. That did it!
So my training is over. Nothing left to do now but ride the ride. In preparing for the TT I was able to hit some decent numbers. And thanks to Chris's way cool Fitness Journal, I know what they are. As already mentioned, I managed to cross the US within 6 months. I am actually 1150 miles ahead of where I was this time last year (and currently 850 miles ahead of Pat). My next post should be about the ride itself. I look forward to writing about my successful ride.
Ciao!
