There are different types of ride. Different ways of categorising them too. Probably as many different ways as you like. How about we use the bars to raise the bar?
- On top of the bars, in company, chatting away. Leisurely. Sociable.
- On top of the bars on your own, not pushing, just riding.
- Down on the drops, hunkered down against the wind, minimising wind resistance and misery.
- Down on the drops, pushing, slicing through, flying… 🙂
Today was, for no apparent reason, the latter. A flying day. A zone day. Maybe because the sun came out when it wasn’t supposed to. Maybe because I had to be at Sweets by 11:30am and was cutting it a bit fine according to the route I’d planned. Maybe there was no maybe :). It just was. Today just felt like a day for pushing it. Fast and furious and fun. Not that I was feeling that furious particularly ;).
I wanted to see what Shipham Hill was like, post Maratona. Not that the Maratona should have made any difference, but I’ve not been up much by way of hills since. So I started with that. It wasn’t fun. It was hard work. But I didn’t let myself slack off. And if I couldn’t push a bigger gear I made an effort to spin the one I was in faster. It’s always hard because it’s on my doorstep so I’m never warmed up for it, but I’m not going to go cycling in circles just to warm up and see if I then go up it faster. That would be gratuitous. Ever since the advent of Strava, I’ve kinda stopped keeping track of my achievements myself, and let Strava do it for me. However today I was paying attention, I made it door to top in 12:58, and I had a feeling I’d done well. Turns out that’s a whole 57 seconds faster than my last recorded PB, and even Strava reckons I shaved 25 seconds off my PB for the segment there too. Get me!
I guess that going well up there helped with my mental attitude for the rest of the ride. That and the sunshine. Today my legs just had it in them, and I decided to push them and see how long that would last. Even the wind wasn’t bothering me. Blustery and noisy, but down on my drops, it went around me and I went through it. It was so pretty out there. Blue skies, white fluffy clouds, that clear clean light where you can see for miles, and colours seem brighter and crisper and more vivid. Carpe diem. Days like that are few and far between, especially this summer, and are to be savoured and enjoyed.
I was relentlessly cheerful and grateful to everyone. To every car driver that made an effort not to hit me, to let me past, to give me space. To the horse riders that I warned of my impending arrival. To every dog owner who restrained their canine companion from chasing me or otherwise getting in the way. And especially to the cyclists who passed me in the opposite direction. Being nice doesn’t cost me anything right? 🙂
Flying the way I was, I easily got to Sweets on time, with an 18.2mph average, unlike those I was meeting. Not that this was a problem, as there are most definitely worse ways to spend time. I sat outside in the sun, sheltered from the wind, with a large mug of very good coffee. I chatted to the cyclists I overlapped with. Josh, from Tor 2000, arrived eventually, but without Andrew as he’d been struck down by rear mech/hanger issues. At least he knows what to do about them, right? 🙂 Another couple of cyclists happened by, so we all cooled our heels for a while, and chatted cycling as you do. Cyclists are mostly a friendly bunch, and I kinda feel like maybe I’m one of them now. I’ve done enough cycling now that just maybe I know what I’m doing. Well, I have half a clue anyway ;). Leastways I feel a little more confident about my place in the world, and am less inclined to hide in a corner and listen rather than joining in.
I came home in wiggly fashion made up as I went along, over Mudgley Hill and around the back roads. I got a PB up there too, which hurt, but kinda made up for nursing MaxiMe up there on Sunday :). The way home was shorter, a bit lumpier, and the wind was a little more of a hindrance, so my average speed overall dropped, but not by much, probably because I carried on pushing it to make sure it didn’t! It was still whole heaps of sun and fun – so unexpected, and so much better for that. Shall I pick the flies out of my teeth now? *grin*.
Cycling time: 2:00:55 hrs
Distance: 36.31 miles
Avs: 18.0 mph.
ODO: 14812 miles
Bella reckons it looks like this. Which looks a bit like an ear, if you’re me. Maybe it’s like a Rorschach test and depending what you see in it, I shall gain great insights into your psyche… Remember though that “If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you” so maybe we won’t look too closely into that ;). (I just quoted Nietzsche!!).
Talking of the Maratona, there’s a Cycling Weekly video report of the trip now. I’m the one in the purple dress who appears twice in the interviews at the end, twice. Or, put more simply, I’m the talking girl *grin*. Can’t say as I enjoyed watching myself, but then who does? Enjoy :).