Life On Two Wheels

Along the river and toward the mountains a morning shadow shimmers across the road. The rays of the first light jet through the trees and across a figure gliding upon the road. His breath trails in short spurts, petrified as it hits the icy air. All is quiet except the slight sound of the athlete as he summons himself for yet another days work. Soon the rest of the world will bustle with life as well and the brief simplicity of cyclist and nature will disappear into the everyday struggle of life in full motion; the errands and intervals, the appointments and intersections, and the deadlines and finish lines OutPaceTheRace

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Road... What road?

Stuttgart, Germany
Thursday, September 27, 2007

So if I don’t win now, there’s no excuse.

9/26/2007
The roads are bad for bikes here. Good for cars, bad for bikes. Yesterday I took a look at a map of the area and decided to head west, where the best roads appeared to be. One hour later after navigating a slew of bike paths, cobbles, railroad grades and four lane roads, I wound up in the desired location. Of course the roads were no better and the appearance of a slightly smaller, yet equally congested town to Stuttgart did nothing for the route. Alas I turned around at 1.5 hours to make it into a splendid 3 hour ride… the knowledge that the next day I’d have to face the same roads for an additional two hours loomed inexplicably in the back of my mind…

9/27/2007
The gist of the problem acquired additional gravity when the forecast called for heavy showers the next day. Five hours in the rain on the roads of Stuttgart? Some people may get all excited under such circumstances, but I narrowed the options down to one… which didn’t include riding in either the rain or on the roads. Simple solution: ride on the trainer for five hours. After five hours: 206 watt average with six intervals of six minutes at 330 watts.