I’ve found that getting an
early start to anything, especially a bike ride, gives a mental lift, a
suffusion of doing something fresh and new early in the day, that at least for
me, brings an energy of optimism to the ride. I think of baseball in the “early
is optimism” theory. Spring training is the pre dawn of a long season that emerges
from the cold vestiges of winter and starts with workouts between pitchers and
catchers in the warm sun of Arizona and Florida. And in doing their first
stretches ballplayers are in high spirits to be back playing the game they love.
Each team is charged with the giddy optimism that anything is possible in the
season ahead, even a shot at the World Series.
It’s the same at the start of
day baseball games for me. They’re close to mid-day, when morning is still
fresh in the air, and as the game begins with the pop of that first pitch, the
crowd is filled with a collective high of spirit and optimism for the old ball
team’s chances to win.
I get that same feeling on a
bike ride that starts either early, mid or late morning. The backdrop of a new
day brings energy to starting a new ride that hums with feelings of excitement,
fun and possibilities.
On the flipside, afternoons,
as they move toward late day and early evening, bring, to me at least, an
association of mental and sometimes physical fatigue that comes with drained
energy.
I started a regular ride of
mine an hour earlier in the morning and noticed a difference on the last 25
miles, which is the length of the ride home. Because I was on the trail an hour
earlier, the last half of the ride was close enough to morning to still feel
like it. And just that tilt of the sun, with its morning tinged splash of
light, gave me more energy on the last part of the 50-mile ride where mental
and physical fatigue begin to set in.
It was a nice change, because
when I’d started later, the sun was noticeably into the afternoon, and the
afternoon sensations of a fading day, tended to match my lower energy late in
the ride as I churned the pedals homeward.
It’s just mindset, but check
it out. See how you feel on a ride you start in the morning, as opposed to one with
a late day start. See if you notice a giddy optimism that a great ride is
coming up. It’s the best.
Best laid plans
This past week I had planned
to ride three days in a row for a change, since the weather was sunny with
relatively cool air and only a little wind. I had been doing two rides a week,
with a day off spacing them out, and the rest really helped bring strength and
stamina in my second rides. So to mix it up, I figured I’d try three rides in consecutive
days, which I did a lot of last year to build fitness.
On the first ride, my energy
was low and there were tough crosswinds. I had a slow first 25 miles. But then I
turned around and had pulled up more energy to finish the last 25 miles with
fast times.
But the max effort I put out
on that last 25 miles took a toll on my legs. The next day when I went out, my
legs were pretty dead, like there was residual lactic acid that hadn’t flushed
through them. The ride, I knew was gonna be a slog. I just spun along and only
pushed for speed at designated points on the trail where I do sprint intervals for
a few hundred yards. Yep, the first half of the ride was slow. And unlike the day
before when I still had reserve energy, the ride back wasn’t as slow, but still
pretty sluggish.
So when the third day came
around, with sun and air temp verging on hot, I ran through the scenario: Let’s
see, surely going to have tired legs again today without any rest. And, it’s
going to be pretty warm out there. It would surely be another slog, with more
heat. Have to drink constantly to stave off cramps. I decided not to ride.
Could have pushed it, but just didn’t feel any spark to go. Maybe if I’d gotten
on a stationary bike and spun off lactic acid in my legs the day before, I’d
feel more springy. But what am I, in the pro peloton? Uh, no!
So there’s an example of a
ride not ridden that may or may not have gone the way I predicted. Who knows, I
may have burned through the lactic acid and found a nice crisp pace with built
up fitness. But I’ve learned that while riding tired can sometimes advance
overall conditioning, other times it just amounts to a beat-down. During those
times, it’s probably better to chillax and let the body recharge. Then the next
ride won’t likely feel like a losing battle.
The days between rides
A few months ago I went 27
days between long rides because I had too much annoying work to do! Hate it
when that happens! That was the longest
stretch between rides for me, for years. If I go too long between rides, I get
antsy. I gotta get on the bike and burn off energy that’s like a tightly wound
spring inside that needs to be released. So when it’s time to ride again,
there’s that big burst of energy as you start to pedal. That pent of power is
great if you can keep close to that energy level in subsequent rides. But if
the gap between rides is too long, I realized that after the initial burst,
that I’ve lost the fitness needed to keep a strong pace. My stamina has packed
its bags, and I need a lot of pedal time to bring it back. I’ve found that
layoffs of under a week usually don’t keep me from riding back into shape
fairly quickly. But gaps of two weeks or more? It’s gonna take some pedal time
to ride back into shape. Hey, no problem!
The gravely serious Hammerhead
There are guys that ride on
the local trail that are on an amateur cycling team that races, and has
corporate sponsors, a kit with logos, etc. These guys are really fit, and are
always hammering along the trail way faster than anybody else. But when one or
more of them pass me, I usually try to see if I can pick up their wheel just
for laughs. I’ve seen these guys pick up a whole peloton worth of stray riders
that have to work their butts off just to draft off them. These dudes are
serious about their speed work. The other day another rider and I spontaneously
drafted each other when a rider on this racing team blew by us. I figured, hey,
the two of us can draft off each other and eventually reel him in. Hah! I
picked up the pace and at 24 mph I was not gaining on him. So to gain on the
dude, we would have had to pick it up to 25 mph at least. “He’s too fast,” said
my drafting partner, as I pulled ahead of him. “Yeah, can’t catch him,” I
agreed. “Serious hammerhead.”
A few miles up the trail, the
same fast guy passed my again. What? He must have stopped somewhere I didn’t
see.
“Thought I dropped you,” I
hollered at him, to no response. A few miles up the road, I saw he’d slowed way
down, as if in a warm down after sprinting.
“You on a racing team?” I
asked as I rode by.
“Yes,” he said, looking
annoyed.
OK, so I’m just a putz rider.
Lighten up, bro! Have a smile! Not like you’re getting ready for the Tour de
France!
Til next time, remember to
put on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then keep the rubber side down,
ride safely and have a blast!
-- Mark Eric Larson
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