Toddy was a 6 mile ride. Not much time and wife said she needed to mail letter at post office...so...I offered to be her bike carrier lol. 2 birds with one stone and time saved! Did not think a ride was happening today but suprise suprise!

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Today was the return of crappy weather...it's actively snowing right now...so back indoors. Did a couple of easy recovery rides on Rouvy, first was an hour of virtual Paris-Roubaix for 22 miles and 650' gain. I felt like adding 15 minutes to the session, so I did 4 miles and 500' in virtual Utah.

After 4 days of strong 20+ mph winds and some strong storms, the wind was 10-15 but temps were too nice to ride indoors, so I got in 83 and got beat by a northern headwind for about 35 of them.

A 23 whopping miles with the bride of RSbob. Was a bit windy, so putting her out front on her e-bike made an excellent drafting opportunity. Besides she wants me behind her because when Iead, I tend to drop her. Why she doesn’t put her motor into the next level - is a question I know better than to ask.

About 20kms, almost always in flat terrain but returning home I had to overcome some steep climbs, had to push the bike in one part.

Rounded out the week with a 3x15' FTP interval session up Zwift's version of virtual Ventoux, plus some extra mileage before and after the climb. Total of 2 hours, 26 miles, and 5400 very fake feet. Managed a PR on Ven-top and got the daily/temporary/whatever they call it "KOM" jersey at the top.

Wife was out of town this weekend, but had to drive south to pick her up, so got in a short Rouvy ride, 25 miles, 2.2K ft of ascent.

I rode 27 miles today. First ride in 2 weeks as I have been dealing with a foot problem.

Maybe all that Zone 2 is paying off?
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Reward
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University of Washington

Hey! No time for slouching! :D

102km, my longest ride this year. I’m about 7 weeks back on the bike, and am focusing on quantity over quality. I’m fitter, faster, and 10 pounds lighter than I was when I started. 10 more pounds will get me back to my optimal weight. It’s time for a beer.

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I don’t know about you guys, but spring is when I tend to excel when the temps are cooler. 65 to 70 degrees is optimal. Mid 70s and higher I tend to sweat, and cooling takes away from power output. The same can be said about Fall, when I have had the summer to keep my conditioning and then can push it again.

One fun thing happened on yesterday’s ride. I passed two guys probably in mid 30s to early 40s who were doing about 18 MPH. I was in the low 20s - but found an up and down stretch of 3 miles where I would bounce up to near 30 while going through a series of curves. All of a sudden the two guys I had passed about 5 minutes earlier (and they were big guys about 180-190 Lbs) came blazing by passing me. They chased me from who knows where. However when we got to the next climb - about 4%, I was able to pass them. After the pass it was time to turn off and cross the bridge to Seattle.

60-75 & dry without wind is my sweet spot.

Nice photo of your boat out on the end of the dock. You know, if you built a larger dock in front of your house across the water you could just moor your boat closer to your house!

I'd say late summer/early fall. If I have a cycling superpower, it's that I tend to thrive in the heat...some of my more decisive racing triumphs have come in triple-digit events that everyone else was struggling with. During the summer, I'm able to spend all day out in the sun, climbing multiple big Sierra passes. I do that all summer and I swear it feels like I unlocked some cheat code to riding. I can carry that through most of fall, but eventually cold temps get the best of me.

As someone who lives and rides in the snow for almost 1/2 the year, you'd think I'd like cold weather...but nope. I struggle at putting down reliable power at anything below the low 50s. I prefer anything in the 70-80 range, but can handle much higher...my endurance does drop off near 100. Although my 2-6 hour power PRs last year came in a mountainous gravel race that topped out in the upper 90s. If it drops down into the 60s, it makes it hard to be comfortable on some of the more mountainous local rides. I can be comfortable on the climbs, but then my muscles get cold on the descents.

Funny about playing cat and mouse with those 2 guys...kinda reminds me of when I was out on a gravel ride last year. I just had gotten onto the road after bushwhacking through a gravel roads that turned to single track, and then virtually disappeared. I was totally Fredded out on the gravel bike, MTB shorts, T shirt, and my USWE hydro pack. Anyway, once on the flat part of the paved road, a dude with some city cycling club kit on a newish C-dale SuperSix blows past me. I was just out sightseeing, so I didn't even think I'd see him again...until I got to the climb. The only reason I even remember it was that he was kind of a dick. I tried to exchange pleasantries with him when it was my turn to pass...I failed to see the airpod in his ear, so he took it out and responded with a "WHAT!?" Me: "Nothing, enjoy your ride!"

Easy-ish ride for today, as I'm "tapering" for the big XC race at Sea Otter this week. Nailed the golden ratio on a local loop that had 43 miles and 4300' of gain, at a low-for-me wattage.

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Interesting about your superpowers in high heat. In my 30s I loved high temps too. 90s and low 100s had zero effect on me. In fact I really enjoyed it when after a long hard ride - I would come home with clothes encrusted in salt and still have energy to do more. It was just weird that I could do 70-80 miles at 8/10s in the heat and have plenty of power left over. I have tried to recapture those days but physiologically I am stymied. Having knocked myself out last summer in the mid 90s and having a dizziness episode towards the end of the ride was a real downer, so I go for it now - and do the hard workout indoors in AC when it is hot. Problem solved.

My sweet spot is 70 to 80 with light to no winds, maybe 10 or less as we always have wind here. It takes me about 2 weeks to get back into the hot and humid game once the temps start to rise, or 2 rounds of mowing, which once summer rolls around at the end of April or early May, I am typically mowing 2 times a week as the afternoon rains kick off the growing season. My wife gets on me about mowing at the 3 pm time frame when it is generally the hottest point of the day, but I use it as resistance building so If I can survive 1.5 to 2.5 hours doing yard work, I can handle 3 to 4 hours riding the bike in the same temps and humidity.

I got in 29 miles and 2.1K of climbing after a long work day. I need to find a new job that offers me a better work\life balance.

A bit late but rode 9.4 miles on 4/15/2024. Only been back on bike and am already seeing results as my ability to ride more increases

Today I rode 26 miles.

37 miles, 52F, the temps are starting to feel like spring season!

5.8 today and a flat tire from a defective valve. Got it fixed and sealed and made it home. Fun ride
rdf37

I almost feel bad coming here posting my measly 10 miles ride this morning. 2nd day back on the bike this spring. Giving my new drivetrain some shakedown runs.

Post work 24.6 miles, 1.9K is ascent, which has some really stupid 26% sections, I chose my route poorly today.

No miles for me today. Knocked out some yard work, tore off part of my dilapidated deck, and mostly tackled the last of my side work out in the shop. I was actually dying to go for a ride, but common sense says I should get a couple of rest days ahead of a big race day. Tomorrow is our local Wednesday night XC race, I'm going to do my part to keep that race "easy." I'm really trying to go into Friday's race on top form.


No judgment here, that's 10 miles better than no miles.:thumb: