Back in the saddle, finally
 |
Nov 24, Tuesday: Sumrall and back 32.67 miles, 16.5 mph avg(trail), 138 bpm avg |
| It felt really good. After a little over a week without riding I was strong. That almost always happens. Of course, I don’t particularly need that long to fully recover; probably just 2 or 3 days. When I am strong my legs just want to keep going. I usually have to keep slowing myself down. On this ride, as common for others this year, I tried keeping my heart rate below 85%, about 145 bpm for me, but I sighted a rabbit doing about 18 mph well ahead of me. I had to do 20+ to catch and pass, running my heart up to 169 bpm in the process, i.e. about 99%. That was probably on an upslope and I backed off as soon as I noticed. In this case I took 4 or 5 miles to catch him. I don’t think he knew I was back there (many of these faster-that-me guys don’t have mirrors; I don’t think they think anybody will come up from behind). When I called “left” I noticed his cadence picked up and his speed increased as I went by. That’s kind of a natural reaction from a competitive guy. However, it was too little too late. I like to plan the pass and hold a little in reserve so that my passing speed is somewhat higher. It was probably about 22 mph, which is not saying anything without knowing the slope. Then there is the post-pass. You have to have enough reserve to keep going. Nothing gives you away more (pretending to be fast) after the pass than not being able to pull away at the same speed. After putting a little distance between us I eased back down to my chase speed, close to 20 mph. | |
|
About being a rabbit: in my mind it is not derogatory. It is a game, a fun challenge for yourself. Sometimes I’m the rabbit and don’t mind one bit. I will often play with the chaser. As he/she gets closer I’ll ease up the speed, gradual enough that my game is not immediately obvious. Once, as my chaser passed I said, “Thought I’d make you work for it” and he replied “Thank you”. But now I’m repeating myself from a previous post. |
|
