Memorial Day Weekend training

Ahh..another of my favorites...the 4-day training block!
My normal week of training looks like this:
* Wednesday Night...45 miles at Mach 2 on a slightly hilly and almost always windy course.
This is THE mid-week ride in my area! (22-24mph average with sections of 30+)
* Friday morning...38 miles fast! A flat multi-lap loop course that brings out a pretty speedy crowd! (20-22mph)
* Saturday...60 or 75 miles depending on the race schedule. Race Weekend: it's a 60 mile loop at LT pace, with a desciplined
paceline. No races: it's a 75 mile race simulation ride over a fairly hill course.
* Sunday...always my long day at 100+. I ride out to Windermere (20 miles) for the signature ride of the week in this area. It's
a huge crowd that breaks into a 1/2 dozen groups. The "racer route" is always fast! The course is tough, taking in
most of the famous "hills" of Florida (they're short, but steep!)
Typically, I ride a 245-265 mile week...every week of the year! Hey, it's Florida!

Memorial Day Weekend was my first chance to ride a 4-day "block". After last years "over-training" debacle in preparation for LA to Boston, I have decided to cut back on my mileage and focus more on quality workouts. Friday, I did the usual route and then added a few more miles for a total of 45 miles. Saturday was 75 miles out to Errol Estates, with a few extra miles tacked on at the end for a total of 92 miles. Sunday was a 104 with the middle 60 miles at race pace with the group. Monday was a moderate group ride with about 100 people. They were going pretty easy and stopping every 20 miles, so a few of us decided to go "off the front" and make a little spicier! Got in just short of 100 miles. Just short of 350 miles total over the 4 days. I'll try to sneak a couple more of these "blocks" in before the end of July. Since most of these miles are being done at close to a 20mph average, knocking out additional miles at "cruiser speed" should be a snap!

This weeks Wednesday Night ride was the hardest ride I've done all year! The wind was fierce out of the east which forces the group into the gutter on the windy stretches. If you're not on your toes...you're done! We started with 35+ and ended up with 4 at the final sprint! I was wiped from just hanging on...having shirked pulls at the front the last 3-4 miles! My legs are toast!

Two weeks in China!

I've been training really hard since the February break at the beach in anticipation of two weeks off the bike, shooting in China April 17 - April 30. It was a pretty aggressive itinerary: Beijing (Great Wall and Tiananmen Square), Chengdu (Panda Breeding Center), Guilin (Li River and Yangshuo), Shanghai and Hong Kong. Katie and I lived in Hong Kong in the summer of 2005, but, other than her trips to Shenzhen we never made trips into China. China is an amazing place. Bejing is one huge construction project...getting ready for the Olympics in August. Shanghai is flurting with critical mass in regards to people, cars and buildings fighting for what little space is left in this grossly overcrowded city. The countryside in Guilin and the Li River are absolutely breath-taking. Hong Kong is...well, Hong Kong. After close to two weeks in China...it was oddly comforting to get there. A trip to my favorite restaurant at the Peak brought back plenty of memories. Katie and I would sit out on that patio on weekends, enjoying a cheeseburger, fries and the view. It was a long trip...made longer by the fact that I was unable to sleep! By the time I got home (26 hours of flying and layovers) I was thoroughly exhausted. I really missed Katie and was glad to be home.





Shanghai at sunset from above the Bund






Shanghai at sunrise








Li River cormorant fisherman












It was tough to get back on the bike. I still have a bit of respiratory congestion that I refer to as "Hong Kong-fuey". Chalk it up to my wimpy American immune system...unaccustomed to being surrounded by millions of people.