Bet you can tell I’m starting to get back on the bike and excited about it. How else would you explain two blog posts two days in a row? It is true. I’m starting to have fun again… even fun training.

Last night certainly was a test of that fact. The warmer weather has gotten me out on the road a bit more and that certainly helps my psyche. However, my schedule still puts me outside daylight hours sometimes and I find myself back on the trainer.

Such was the case last night. I took a deep breath before mounting the bike because I knew it was going to be a long one. Two hours riding along the roads of the Upstate flies by quickly. Two hours going nowhere in my basement… not so much.

Thankfully, I had recorded Stage 2 of Paris-Nice and it would last an hour and a half. I could make it that last thirty minutes in silence, or I could put on some tunes to help pass the time. All I knew is that I had to get it done.

I set up my trainer in the basement facing an old computer desk. I can easily reach the desk by leaning forward over the bars. There I keep my cell phone and prop up my iPad so I can watch Netflix or live programing streaming from my TV. Next to the desk I have an oscillating fan on a stand. Without it, I would fry!

The plan called for two hours at Endurance Miles pace. That means I was to ride between 115 – 185 watts the entire time. I determined that I was going to stay within the plan because I knew that Tuesday evening I was to do another CTS Field Test. I didn’t want tired legs for that effort.

When I first started off I felt kind of stiff. I didn’t push it but just kept spinning and not worrying about the wattage. I knew that once I got warmed up the wattage would come easily. Sure enough, after a few minutes I was in the sweet spot. My cadence fell into a rhythm of around 90 rpm and wattage settled in around 150 watts. My heart rate was a steady and comfortable 130 bpm. Even in the warm basement, I was hardly breaking a sweat.

Meanwhile, a very interesting race was happening in front of me on the iPad. The crosswinds had wreaked havoc on the peloton and there were groups of riders split up along the course. A lead group of 21 that included Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van Garderen and Levi Leipheimer. I will admit that I was pulling for Phinney and Van Garderen. Here were two American riders at the ages of 21 and 23 making the break in a powerful field of riders. I was pretty impressed with Phinney and his willingness to bury himself to keep the break alive and protect Van Garderen. It bodes well for the future of the US in the international peloton.

Even with the cycling, it seemed to take forever to make it through the first thirty minutes. As I finally neared the end of the first hour, I started wondering if I might find a reason to cut things down to an hour and a half. Another hour seemed like it would be an eternity.

I stopped for a couple of minutes for a “natural break” at the one hour marker. When I got back on, I shifted the gearing to raise my cadence and lower the wattage. I was still within the range called for, but I figured it would be helpful for my legs and save something for Tuesday evening. You can see how that alteration changes my wattage and heart rate.

Well, during the first thirty minutes of the second hour the action in the race heated up. Before long I forgot I was spinning and caught myself at times upping my cadence as I was racing along with the guys on the screen! Once I got to thirty minutes to go, I was actually feeling very good and enjoying myself. I’d have no trouble making two hours.

During the last thirty minutes, I put on my headphones and started listening to music. Once I shifted into a harder gear so I could stand and give my seat a break. Then I stopped paying attention to the meter and just let my cadence go along with the various songs playing into my ears. You can probably see that on the graph above. The first hour is pretty consistent. The last thirty minutes jumps around.

Finally, I dropped into a very easy spin for the final five minutes or so. I have to admit, I could have kept going. What started out as a dreaded trainer ride turned into enjoyment. Yeah, I think things are starting to come around.

 

Tags: Time-Crunched Cyclist

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 at 8:52 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.