The bikes are willing, but the motor is tired
It’s a beautiful day outside—sunny, 65, a little on the breezy side, about the same as yesterday.
It’s a great day for a bike ride, but I’m pooped.
I keep forgetting that despite riding straight through the winter, I have to retrain for spring just like everyone else.
Yesterday alone I rode more miles in the day than I averaged per week in January and February. Ramping-up at that rate takes work. And it takes rest and recovery. Today, nice as it is, my body has given me little other option than rest and recovery.
March retraining, difficult as it is for me, is much less difficult than it is for three-season cyclists. But it’s also part of the incentive I had for transferring to a more distant workplace. I’m hoping the 42.5 miles per week minimum commuting through January and February—more than double this year’s—will make a difference next March.
This week has been an excellent week for cycling. May-like weather in early March is a joy in which to revel, and revel we have. I’ve ridden to work on the hilly route through the parks and the cemetery twice this week. I rode to an after work cycling advocacy meeting on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, on far too little sleep after a late Tuesday night, I had an early morning meeting for work. Since I didn’t have to tote anything, I rode Blue Steel. It’s a shame (and a blessing too, I guess) that Blue Steel has no provisions for a rack. The way that bike handles and sprints made for an exhilarating morning commute. No coffee required. (But the coffee cake at the meeting was welcome refueling.)
That afternoon, Yellow Bike made its first commute of the season, along the hilly parks and cemetery route. Then, arriving at work far too early, we rode out to the Canalway, scouting for a new, long-loop extended commute.
Yesterday, the Portland and I made that extended long-loop as part of my weekly three-legged commute between Presbytery and the library. Only the 20-30 MPH headwinds kept it from being a perfect ride. Well, maybe the flat tire too. First of the season and first on the new tires. Now we can check that off the list.
Yet despite the headwinds and changing a tube, I still had ten minutes to clean up and change before starting my shift. That’s why I always leave extra time for the commute to work.
Oh, and did I mention that I set three consecutive personal-best times on the commute home? I’ve been using my homebound commute for stoplight sprint training.
Apparently, it’s working, since I gave a Porsche Boxster a run for its money last night. Stoplights are the great equalizer, allowing a old man on a Trek to beat a Porsche through the city.
But all that effort this week comes with a cost, and that cost is rest and recovery time. Today, I put off all my errands and shopping until Monday, and I’m going down for the second nap of the day, where I hope to dream of the ride I’d planned on Blue Steel for this afternoon.
I hope I’ll feel rejuvenated for tomorrow’s rides. I’m subbing for myself at Winton Branch, in my old Saturday shift. It’s extra bike money. I’m planning to take the 21-mile long-loop to work tomorrow morning, and I’m meeting another rider at Genesee Valley Park tomorrow afternoon.
Then we’ll see if we can sneak in a ride on Blue Steel on Sunday, which I’d originally planned to be my rest day this weekend.
