aaronmcd

Last night I was gonna ride after work and didn't feel like it. Tonight I was gonna ride and don't feel like it. Just in time for the end of the season.

But we are going to Thailand for the first half of November and I'm afraid I'll be entering December at like 25 CTL if I take a break now. I have already let it slide down to 80 or so for the end of the season.

Ttoc6

Weeknight cx race tonight. Was fun except apparently I'm not very good at bleeding hydraulic brakes yet. Going to have to redo them before Saturday... Had a few scary moments and two falls. One because I'm a dumbass and tried to run cleats on pavement instead of just bunny hopping a curb. The other because I need new cleats and couldn't get unclipped coming around a corner. Also need to get some new shoes that I can run in that don't bruise my feet.

Fun timEs though, my fitness was leagues above the others in the b class race. I just can't handle a bike on dirt.

Wylde06

I hit a 5, 10, and 20 minute PR in Tuesday's time trial. Not going to change my FTP, but its nice to hit those numbers this late in the season. I thought for sure I was down from where I was in the spring after not doing any focused intervals in a few months

TheKillerPenguin

That's legit. This is all the volume/racing you were doing paying off! Nice work.

TexMac

So with having to move all employee to temporary offices further means my work commute is not doable, so trainer/zwift is going to be it. Monday spent 1.5hr on zwift and the trainer just felt so hard to put down meager 230w for 5 minutes!!. Rode outside Tuesday and could hold same power for 20 minutes. I blame the old trainer and time to invest on something new, not bank breaker so cycle ops fluid 2 to the rescue

TexMac

Sounds like fun and much to learn on CX

TexMac

-35 tsb?

TexMac

Just curious what % of ftp are the intervals?

mike868y

damn...no time off?

Ttoc6

I've been "racing" cx for the past 4 years, maybe two seasons where I do a bunch of races. I take it as just fun at the end of the long road season. Never peak or train specifically for any aspect of it. It's a way to get some intensity in October and not feel burnt out by it

TheKillerPenguin

I don't know honestly, I need to retest. If I pretend my FTP is accurate the 2x20's were at 100%, 2x30's at 95%.

I spent a few weeks mostly off in August when I was injured! I'm hungry for bikes and my legs are fresh.

TexMac

I find it hard to do 2x20 95% ftp and can only do 1(20+10) but again, I'm still a Cat4.
Great workout and good thing you are putting in some miles.

TexMac

I've never done CX race although my commute bike is a CX , was looking forward to it this year then I broke my collarbone in April so till next year. Think it's only bike race you are guaranteed to fall

Ttoc6

Just get out and do it! The falls usually have a lot less consequence than any other spectacular of bike racing I've done.

revchuck 

Yup. That'll change soon, though, since the retina of my right eye decided to partially detach itself from the eyeball. Operation today, return to the bike unknown at this point...shouldn't be long, I hope.

caloso

Yeah, the falls in CX tend to be very low speed, like you miss a tight turn and fall into a bush. Or my most embarrassing one was trying to dismount but getting my cleat caught in the pedal and basically coasting into a barrier sidesaddle.

topflightpro

I've done that. First time I did it was at a local practice in a park. There was a very attractive blonde walking her dog right by a set of stairs, and I tried to be super cool about dismounting and running up the stairs - mind you, this was probably my second time doing any sort of cross effort - right leg came out and around and hit the ground and I started to run.

That's when I realized the left leg was still clipped in.

I went flying, face first into the ground.

It hurt quite a bit. I pretended it didn't.

furiousferret

Last year I went down pretty hard during a CX race. On a straightaway I got caught in a tree root going parallel with me and went over the bars going somewhere around 15-20.....nothing broken but I couldn't move my wrist for a few weeks.

That was entirely on whoever set up the course though, and after 2 other guys went down in similar fashion they finally changed it. That's probably the worst it gets in CX, usually its much tamer.

hubcyclist

3x20 @ 88, 92, and 89% today. it's def a little more uncomfortable based on 250w versus 240w lol

TexMac

Till next season, need collarbone heal properly before attempting a dive to the ground

TexMac

on tarmac that would've hurt bad and yes, most CX I've seen are done during rain/winter season and ground much softer or grass so the impact is not bad.

TexMac

sounds painful, best luck healing. When I hit -35 i feel like my body stops getting fit and starts detraining but we are all different.

Ttoc6

Took the cross bike up to the park where the race will be tomorrow. Rode the ~15 miles there on the road at 50psi, didn't decrease pressure and just ripped it through the trails. Going to be some good dirt tomorrow, but it was thick, heavy and stuck to everything today since it rained this morning.

Also, coming up tomorrow, is the last crit of the year. Going to be a busy day. CX in the morning (10:30) Crit at 5:00. And if my legs have anyhting left I'll jump into the 7PM crit too just for ****s.

Wylde06

100 miles today because bikes and because birthday.

globecanvas

Local ex-pro joined us on the saturday morning ride. We are chugging uphill at the limit, I'm trying to gasp as quietly as possible, the pro is casually chatting away. He asks my buddy a question, no response for a bit, finally my buddy wheezes "how can you talk, I'm working too hard to even listen!"

At one point after I fell off the pace I said to a fellow pace-faller-offer, I'm going to PR this hill and still finish a minute behind the guy. Sure enough, that's what happened.