Week after TdC I took 4 days off the bike - 2 of those days were due to rain, if I remember correctly, and the other 2 days I had other things I needed to get done around the house, so I didn't ride. But, let me tell you...I think that was the longest 4 days off the bike I've had in a while. Thursday after TdC, my friend Dallas called to tell me he was riding and to come on over after work and we'd go for a ride. It was just he and I to start with and we then met up with another friend, Jason, unplanned, about 3-4 miles into the ride. Chose a route that was pretty darn flat - rode for right under 2hr and 38 miles. When we got back to his house, both of us felt like we could have ridden another 38mi. I felt absolutely GREAT!
Friday off, then met another friend, Martin, at the butt-crack of dawn in North Raleigh for a 75 +/- mile ride to Mt. Tirzah. There were about 8 of us (I think - don't remember exactly) and once again, I was feeling really good & strong. Martin has a write-up about the ride - check out the Irregulars blog I'm following...my PT had a distance of 75.5mi in 4:30hr...right at a 17mph pace. I felt fine with that pace, could've probably ridden it a little faster but it was a group ride and I couldn't ride off and leave anyone...especially since I had no idea where I was!! I did have a cue sheet though.
Off on Sunday & Monday.
Tuesday - hmmmmm, called Dallas to see about riding. Met at his house - had a newguy riding with us...4 of us riding and when we leave his house, we always go down Covered Bridge Rd and I will pull out, tuck in low and bomb down the hill. Guess newguy took that as a challenge. I pulled the guys up the other side and to Thanksgiving Rd. Once on T, newguy took the lead and was hauling it - the pace was TOO hot!!! 24-25mph and me on the back hanging on for dear life! I was not happy. I did not want to ride that hard during the week prior to AoMM. Anyways, I made it clear to the newguy and Dallas that the pace was gonna slow or I was peeling off and doing my own thing.
Poor newguy....writing checks he couldn't cash at the end of the ride...by about 18 miles into the ride - he was in some hurtin'. We put the hurt on him for trying to start us out so damn hard.
By 31 miles, he was dropped. I was the nice one (usually with the Hammers, if you get dropped on a ride, tough stuff, they (we) don't wait) and waited on him to get up to me and then I pulled him back to Dallas & Russell. Dallas then proceeded to crank it up again headed down Thanksgiving towards Covered Bridge. He held on to that point, but then he pretty much just coasted in. We were finished about 10min when he finally showed up. LOL. Those checks bounced. 36mi/1:45hr/20.5mph pace! Hot, Hot, Hot.
">Took Wednesday off for rest after that Hammerfest. It's really amazing how far along I've come since this time last year. Last year, had I tried to ride with the guys at that pace, I would've been dropped within 7-8 miles most likely. I would have never thought that I would be able to ride with The Hammers and do a ride with a pace of 20-21mph average. I can this year though. Tuesdays will be our Hammer ride, going at that kind of pace - getting stronger & faster as the summer progresses. Thursdays will be our easy ride, knocking the pace down to 18 or 19mph. Damn. I can't believe I'm writing that...last year, 18-19mph would have been about as hard/fast as I could have done.
Thursday - called Dallas to see if he wanted to ride because we were getting some brief showers in the afternoon. Ride on. Randall rode with us on his new bike...a pretty orange & white Project One Trek. Very nice bike. I told Dallas this needed to be an easy ride - 18mph average or so. And, it was there 'bouts that...only 28mi/1:30hr.
Now, we are up-to-date....AoMM is now 2 days away and I planned on taking the 3 days off prior to the ride, so I didn't ride on Friday and I won't be riding this weekend any at all.
See the next post for more...
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