Getting My Bike On
After eight weeks of trainer sessions three times a week at the local bike shop, I was more than ready to hit the streets by bike this past week. My long ride in my half ironman training is now at 35 miles, and getting that many miles in was becoming quite a challenge attached to a trainer spinning in place. Long after the Spinerval DVDs had ended and everyone else had left, I had become the lone stationary rider pedaling furiously to get my training miles in. My trainer sessions were easily stretching into two and a half hours.
Just as the trainer sessions had wrapped up for the winter season, though, the outdoor temps allowed for some tolerable road riding. Forty degrees is really my comfort level benchmark. And this past Tuesday brought us 68 degrees, so I was out in all my glory, never mind a wind advisory. I had my warm riding weather but battled 30 mph wind with gusts between 45 and 57 mph. Even so, I managed 21.5 miles riding around town.
Yesterday wasn't nearly as warm at 43 degrees and still pretty windy with 20 mph wind, again with some pretty hefty gusts. My friend Julie and I had a plan, though, and we weren't going to be easily dissuaded from riding to Manteno for breakfast at Yanni's Cafe, partly as our first official ride of the year and partly as our 20-mile training ride. Because we sat at Yanni's chatting long after we finished our breakfast, we were hungry again by the time we made it back to Bourbonnais, so we rode straight to Fieldhouse for a late lunch. At that point, it was nearing 4:30 p.m., and we had plans to meet up with running club members at 6 for a run. We left Fieldhouse for Starbucks for a little caffeine boost before the run. I then bolted home, grabbed my running shoes, and rode over to ONU for a 40-minute run (4.6 miles). In all, I logged a 25.75-mile riding day.
The best part of this is that I managed to not have to drive my car in three days. I could so get used to that.
Just as the trainer sessions had wrapped up for the winter season, though, the outdoor temps allowed for some tolerable road riding. Forty degrees is really my comfort level benchmark. And this past Tuesday brought us 68 degrees, so I was out in all my glory, never mind a wind advisory. I had my warm riding weather but battled 30 mph wind with gusts between 45 and 57 mph. Even so, I managed 21.5 miles riding around town.
Yesterday wasn't nearly as warm at 43 degrees and still pretty windy with 20 mph wind, again with some pretty hefty gusts. My friend Julie and I had a plan, though, and we weren't going to be easily dissuaded from riding to Manteno for breakfast at Yanni's Cafe, partly as our first official ride of the year and partly as our 20-mile training ride. Because we sat at Yanni's chatting long after we finished our breakfast, we were hungry again by the time we made it back to Bourbonnais, so we rode straight to Fieldhouse for a late lunch. At that point, it was nearing 4:30 p.m., and we had plans to meet up with running club members at 6 for a run. We left Fieldhouse for Starbucks for a little caffeine boost before the run. I then bolted home, grabbed my running shoes, and rode over to ONU for a 40-minute run (4.6 miles). In all, I logged a 25.75-mile riding day.
The best part of this is that I managed to not have to drive my car in three days. I could so get used to that.
Comments