The rain that washed over the neighborhood only an hour before was now a dream. The roads were once again dry. Better than that, the air was cool — or at least not as warm.
Sunshine Cycle Shop finished up getting the Felt AR back into road bike form from its time trial iteration. It was a different feel as the bike rolled down the drive to do its work during an interval workout on Piney Mountain. The differences between it and the Giant TCR Advanced are more noticeable once you use one or the other for an extended period of time. The TCR is like a sparrow nimbly darting here and there. The AR is a hawk swooping down in a power glide.
As for Piney Mountain, it isn’t really a mountain. It is a sizable hill. It is definitely nothing to sneeze at while pedaling an 18 pound bike up it eight to ten times at over 400 watts.
That is what showed up on the TrainingPeaks iPhone app. Fifteen minutes of warming up. Then it would be time for 8 to 10 climbs at 350 to 400 watts up to where the road flattens. In between each effort was to be a 5 to 7 minute recovery. Finally the intervals were to be followed by fifteen minutes of cool down.
How to approach it? Should the pedals be turned at a high cadence or should the muscles be called upon to cry uncle by pushing a low cadence? As the AR rolled past the starting line – a marker signifying the end of small bridge – the pace was determined. The computer showed 110 rpm at 350 watts.
Of course, that didn’t last all the way to the finish. The revolutions per minute dropped into the 90s and the wattage climbed at times over 500. The first interval went into the data bank with a 430 watt average at 103 rpm. The data showed the max cadence at 134 rpm up the 5% grade.
Now the objective was to repeat that at least 7 more times. One attempt after another rolled under the wheels. This was starting to be fun!
The wind which seemed to be cooled from a distance rain was a refreshing welcome at the top of the hill. The recovery ride lead over the hill to the gate leading into George Hincapie’s community. His house was slightly visible among the trees on the highest point of Piney Mountain.
After turning around at the gate the recovery route continued following the road back down to the intersection of Pleasantburg Drive (Hwy 291). It was shortly after 5 PM so at times lines of cars would make the turn onto Piney Mountain Road as they took a short cut over to State Park Road on their way home. There was also one cyclist that looked as though he was starting out on a ride that would take him over Paris Mountain. A few moments later another cyclist was coming down Piney looking as though he had already ridden over Paris Mountain!
Do you ever have those moments when you are riding and you look down and get mesmerized by the rhythm of your legs moving up and down? The whiteness of winter is long gone replaced by the brown of hours of riding in the sun. Your quad muscles are swelling from the effort.
It is almost as though you are detached from them. They are merely engines propelling your vehicle forward. They would keep spinning even if they disconnected from the signals of your brain. The thought crosses your mind, “Whose legs are these, anyway?”
That is when training is fun. Even the oxygen depriving final few meters of an effort brings a smile to your face. You are a machine. You can do anything!
Time was passing. It was time to get home to watch Things Two and Three while Thing One and her mom went to her school’s open house. Time to do one more interval to the top – no high cadence on this one. Click. Click. Click went the SRAM shifters as the chain dropped to a smaller ring on the rear cassette. No need to look at the computer. The numbers would show up later.
The top approached and it felt like a launching pad to the sky. A steady 550 watt effort to the finish at 75 rpm — standing all the way. Done – a workout with a feeling of accomplishment. The perfect medicine for rider questioning his abilities.
