Taking the Bike Outdoors

This weekend we got a nice break from the cold and snow this winter has brought us. Yesterday it hit about 55 degrees so I took advantage of this warmer weather by heading out for my first road ride of the year. I absolutely hate being inside on the trainer so any chance I can get to head outside this winter I'll take. Since I can count the number of trainer rides I've done this year on one hand and still have a finger to spare I decided to keep this ride short and sweet with a favorite 18.5 mile loop of mine.

There had been black ice warnings over night so I waited until later in the afternoon to head out. There was no way I was risking a crash because of ice despite the warm weather. What I didn't expect was the massive puddles that took up almost half the road. Generally speaking the roads were fine though.

I hate to admit it but I was really nervous about this ride. It wasn't long or hard but I was afraid that I would forget how to unclip and fall over and I was afraid that all of my bike speed would be gone just like with running. I practiced clipping in and out a few times in the parking lot to calm my nervous before I set out.

The first few miles were honestly hell. I'd had images in my head of how great and effortless this ride would be and how it would remind me how much I love riding. By mile 3 I was about to call my mom to come pick me up. I thought my legs had all but died. I kept hearing this roaring and thinking a car was coming until I snapped out of my nerve-induced daze and realized it was the wind. The wind was so strong that at times I was worried I was going to fall over. It took some serious willpower not to turn around and call in quits.

Split Time Distance Avg Speed Summary 1:15:35.5 18.72 14.9 1 4:11.6 1.00 14.3 2 4:32.6 1.00 13.2 3 4:12.3 1.00 14.3 4 4:02.6 1.00 14.8 5 4:22.5 1.00 13.7 6 4:40.3 1.00 12.8 7 4:26.9 1.00 13.5 8 5:00.5 1.00 12.0 9 3:56.9 1.00 15.2 10 3:53.2 1.00 15.4 11 3:43.4 1.00 16.1 12 3:46.1 1.00 15.9 13 4:31.4 1.00 13.3 14 3:26.7 1.00 17.4 15 3:51.3 1.00 15.6 16 3:49.3 1.00 15.7 17 3:39.6 1.00 16.4 18 3:05.6 1.00 19.4 19 2:22.6 0.72 18.1

Luckily by about mile 9 the wind has calmed down some. The second half of the ride wasn't entirely ideal but it surely reminded me why I love riding. You can tell how bad the wind was by looking at my splits from the first half of the ride compared to the second. That first half was rough. It didn't hurt that my speed started to make a nice little return. I still have a lot to work on but it's nice to know I'm not starting back at square one. Running, on the other hand...

Post bike ride puppy walk

What surprised me the most during this ride was how sore/tired my legs felt. I chose a mostly flat route but even on those little hills my legs were burning. I could feel myself getting tired much more quickly than normal. I've been slacking on sleep recently and I'm hoping that's the culprit. Overall this ride left me really excited for warmer weather rides [I may have froze yesterday] and some real triathlon training. I love being in the nitty gritty of training and can't wait to be back to pushing myself and racing strong.