Thursday, January 21, 2010

How much Training


How much training? If touring is about getting in lots of miles per day then I am not a tourist.. I remember part of a tour on the Oregon coast where
after breaking camp we moved out to the main road then turned into the next
state park a whole mile away.. It was a park that was not to be missed,
that to me is the fun of bicycle touring.

I have also done three days in a row where each days mileage was just over 100.
The daylight hours were long and my body did not protest the hours in the saddle. Properly fueled and hydrated with a callused butt I can ride long or short miles.
I find that the miles I put in before lunch are usually the same amount I hit after a nice lunch break.
Ride 35 miles before lunch then after my little afternoon
siesta I will easily crank out another 35. It is usually how I pace my day.

Hills ! God I hate long climbs. This is where I really spend most of my time training. Standing up and grinding out that long 10 block hill over and over again then moving on to another hard climb. I know I can do the miles over the flats it those steep to the moon climbs that darken my day. I have never found a low enough gear that allows me to spin my way to the top. So I learned to stand up and climb, using those clip in pedals to help pull on the up stroke.

But I always remember the bike guru who told me that there was never a hill that he couldn't walk up.. In the words of Carl the Groundskeeper "so I have that going for me.."

1 comment:

  1. Very cool. Looking forward to reading more of your postings. I'm going to get back on the bike much more this year.

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