I haven't talked about riding a bike in a while since base training is just a slow grind that numbs my creativity. Today was different. I headed out to get in 4 hours in the wind, often snowy but more often sleet in my face conditions. I thought about turning around when I got up on the levy and the west wind was forcing me to ride at a 45* angle to stay on the bike path, but then I thought about EP and knew he would be sitting in his tanning bed getting ready to go train in some sunny climate and pushed on.
I rode up passed the Chain of Rocks Bridge to Fort Belafontaine and did a loop on the gravel trail and then tried to find some new trails which turned out to be a little soft. A little soft might be an understatement. It was peanut butter mud and I had to stop to clean my tires and brakes because my wheels had stopped spinning. The STL is not blessed with the endless BOCOMO style gravel roads I read about. When I left the Fort the weather picked up and the sleet was coming at my grill pretty hard. I pushed on knowing that at this point EP was probably sitting in a hot bubble bath shaving his arms.
I passed by Spanish Lake but didn't think that riding the trails would be so much fun in the mud so I did a loop around the Columbia River Bottoms. It started out great. 23 mph on my CX bike singing along at the top of my lungs to a sweet show from the solid year of Phish, 2000. "Forgive me if I don't sing in the key!!!" I knew that I was sliding into the pain cave without feeling it and would have to claw my way out; it was an out and back. I hit the turn around point and it was like magic; the sweet Glide>Axilla> Taste eargasm. I sung along as the NW wind belted me in the face with more sleet. This time it hurt and I could barely see the trail through my not- so clear- iced- up- lenses. I stopped at the visitor center, filled my bottles while Trey had the Taste peaking like a 1995 Bordeaux, or so I have heard, help me out with that one if you can!
By the time I passed the Chain of Rocks again I was ready for my first real workout of 2008. I didn't really have a choice. I got my heart rate up a had a nice 30 min long tempo effort which felt easy. A good base helps.
The endorphin rush has awakened my senses once again.
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1 comment:
Don't underestimate Arms McShaverson, the long hours spent in the tanning bed afford him a solid base tan that will help keep his skin burn-free when he's spending all that time under the sun shaving his arms in the race pits this summer.
Sounds like a good ride!
-Casey Ryback
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