With the temperatures well above 60F, I took the training wheels off (ok, trainer tire), put on the road tire and headed out for the first outdoor bike ride of the season. I've been anxious to see what sort of effect the winter training has done for me, specifically the isolated leg training which has been having me feel like my peddling efficiency has improved dramatically.
Coming off a 13 mile run yesterday, I didn't want to push things too much, so I ended up doing the bike loop around Wachusett Reservoir. One of the things I learned over the winter is that it takes me about 20 minutes to warm up on the bike - so right out of the gate, I didn't let the relatively fast speed (since it's a gentle downhill for the first mile and a half) get me too excited. Sometimes I am prone to getting that free speed, and boosting it with my own power, only to start feeling fatigued three miles into the ride.
I cruised along for the first several miles, and got to a relatively high elevation point about 8 miles in - and was all set and jazzed for a downhill burst of speed, when I started noticing that something was off with my back wheel. Immediately I started thinking 'oh shit - whats going on. Did I forget to tighten the quick release when I changed the tire? No, I specifically remember tightening the cam level.. what the hell could it be that is getting rougher and rougher back there, killing my momentum and slowing me down!?' So I looked back, and saw what it was.. a flat. Fahrvergnügen!
So I pulled off, removed the back wheel, and started inspecting the outside for the offending piece of whatever it was that poked through and caused the leak. Nothing. Previous flats I've had were obvious pretty quickly - a staple, even a small piece of glass that wedged into the tire and got ground through to the point where it pierced the tube. But this time, nothing. So I removed the tire, and looked at the tire. Nothing. I couldn't find the damn hole. Knowing I have two CO2 cartridges available - I didn't want to inflate it without finding evidence - tires don't just leak air like that spontaneously without a hole. I probably spent a good 25 minutes inflating the tire by mouth (to whatever degree I could), squeezing the tube listening for hissing air, pulling the tube looking for a place where the hole might stretch - couldn't find anything. A couple times I was able to hear air, but it was when the tube was bunched up, so I had no real good way to locate it. I finally gave up and swapped the tire out with a spare I keep with me. I was hesitant to do so initially because being only 7 miles in, I didn't want to end up with another unidentifiable flat later on, and have no tube. However, I had little choice this time around, and knew that around mile 17 I'd be at the reservoir and could stop to submerge the tube and see where air was leaking from, and then patch it at that time - giving me a reserve tube again.
Unfortunately, that meant two stops before the 20 mile mark. Not ideal, but that how the cards were falling today. I took the opportunity to have a Gu pack at that time (I didn't have my homemade stuff with me - I've been trying to Gu's the past few occasions that warrant supplemental energy, so that I could compare). I've decided I have to figure out a batch of chocolate homemade gel - because the chocolate Gu was really good (I think I can use a more dilute simple syrup compared to what I've been using, add in maltodextrin and chocolate syrup - and then tweak from there). The only thing I brought with me was a few Gu packs and 48 oz of water, figuring that should be sufficient.
Most of the rest of the trip was rather uneventful. It was just real nice to be out in nice weather on the road again. Not that I've had a problem with training indoors - I have a setup that keeps me entertained and gets the job done. However, I did end up stopping at about mile 39 at a gas station to get some gatorade. I was feeling a little bonky, and couldn't justify the consumption of another Gu with only a handful of miles left. While I was chugging the gatorade, I took a look at the electrolyte content of Gu - 40 mg of sodium and potassium. Whoopsie! I thought it contained more than that - like at least 150 mg of sodium. So, mental note - when using Gu, supplement with additional electrolytes. Truth be told, I probably should have had a second one around mile 30 or so - but I didn't think of it at the time. Actually, though - I had been thinking of experimenting with electrolyte tabs anyway. I really like carrying just water in my bottles because if they leak (and they do), it doesn't get everything all sticky. Plus, then I don't have to carry around powder, and the water gives me a flavor break from the constant taste of gatorade - not to mention the dental havoc of always having sugar water on my teeth.. So if I have the gel in flasks in my food pouch on my bike, toss in electrolyte tabs into the water every so often - that ends up giving me all three primary nutrition components (except maybe solid food - we'll have to see about that) in a fashion that I can mix and match on demand.
Once I got home, I took off on a short run to keep the runstreak going, and as an opportunity for a brick run. This one was quite different from the brick run last week fresh off the trainer - and by different, I mean a lot suckier. The 1.5 miles was not quite enough to fully feel in the running groove, although it was getting there. And it was s-l-o-w - starting at like 10-11 minute miles, it took probably 1/2 mile before I got into the 9-9:30 min/mile pace. The ole' posterior chain just didn't really want to wake up from sitting on the bike so much.
So all in all, I have to admit to having mixed feelings performance wise. In my mind, I was hoping (against all logic) that the improved cycling motion would net me a solid boost in overall speed - but I was about 15 minutes off my fastest time for this loop. On the other hand, the fact that I was able to come out of the winter season and knock out a 46 mile ride, without having lost significant overall speed, is really encouraging. Plus, virtually all my bike workouts indoors were only 60 to 90 minutes. And who knows how much the stops I had to make affected things - yeah, the timer stops when speed falls below a certain threshold, and the stops are an opportunity for a quick muscle recharge - but anything more than 30-60 seconds still messes with the mojo.
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