Yesterday the weather was beautiful and warm and today it was still beautiful but very windy and cold. So, why not go for a ride? I was sitting in the parking lot of the normal Sunday ride prepared to battle to make it to Jack Pittman and then ride in on my own when 9:58 came and no one was there. The ride was going to be pretty hard solo in this wind (18 mph and 25 mph gusts), so I went anyway. I decided that my Nebraska friends would tisk tisk me for starting with the wind and having a head wind on the way home so I planned to cut out the two major climbs and hold true to my maximum allowable ride time for today which was 3 hours. My assumption was a fast first half and a brutal second half.
I was correct in my assumption, going out to the half way point I averaged 20.4 mph. It was a nice trip and I enjoyed the fast ride trying to just go with it and not use too much power. I averaged 202w (normalized power 230w) to Campton and then someone turned on the fan.
I never, ever use an Ipod while riding but I brought it today to distract me from the wind on the way back and it did a nice job for awhile. The wind was pretty relentless across the flat fields and there were plenty of lean-ins as the wind blew me sideways. At times I felt as if I was going backwards.
My power for the second half was 238w (normalized power 268w) and my speed was only 16.8 mph. In terms of work, I did 925kj on the way out and 1206kj on the way back. I decided to take Bold Springs to the Belmont shortcut over to June Ivey and then do the dirt road that we used to do on this ride until late. It took out 4 miles and in hindsight it did not matter because I ended up back at the parking lot with enough time left that doing either Stock or Jack Pittman or both, I still would have been close.
I was pretty hammered after it was done and I only rode 50 miles. My complete ride stats are: 50 miles in 2:43; average power 221; normalized power (based on what it felt like because of terrain) was 250w; speed 18.5mph; work, 2132 kj, cadence 84rpm!, training stress was 200 which is 20 points lower than when I have done this ride as a group.
Second half shuffle playlist:
15 steps: Radiohead
Whistle for the Choir: Fratellis
Distant Sun: Crowded House
China: Red Rockers
John, I'm Only Dancing: David Bowie
Where you Going Northern?: Game Theory
Canary in a Coalmine: The Police
5.15: The Who
Jungle Boogie: Kool and the Gang
Cecilia: Simon and Garfunkel
Thousand Miles From Nowhere: Dwight Yoakam
The Modern World: The Jam
West Coast: Coconut Records
Upside Down: Jack Johnson
A Few Minutes of Silence: Paul Westerberg
Electrolite: R.E.M
Accidentally in Love: Counting Crows
She's Gone: Hall and Oats
Girls Talk: Dave Edmunds
Wierd Fishes: Radiohead
Every Word Means No: Let's Active
Picture Book: The Kinks
Sweet Jane: The Velvet Underground
Magic Man: Heart
Church on White: Stephen Malkmus
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2 comments:
Bob, that was an impressive solo effort in that wind. I also like the eclectic playlist.
When I got to the end of Tom Miller and saw my speed I knew the way back was going to suck. When I crossed the little bridge at the bottom of the hill on June Ivey, a gust hit me sideways and I thought seriuously that I was going to end up in the water.
My ipod is mostly 70's and progressive stuff. It keeps it interesting.
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