It Was a Very Happy Thanksgiving
I had four days off work for the holiday, weather more like late April than late November and time between family visits to ride, its was a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Thursday - Thanksgiving Day. We did not have to be at Aunt Mary's house until 6:00 in the evening. I decided to get out on the bike for at least 3 hours and maybe 4 hours, if the legs could handle it. The ride time I had gotten in the last 10 days was an hour and 20 minutes on the trainer Wednesday night. I was afraid of the fitness I would have lost during my lazy beer and beach layoff. The temps were suppose to be near 60 and I was anxious to start rolling. The first 2 1/2 hours flew by. The ride had been mostly flat to rolling and I was feeling great. Finally, just before I hit the 3 hour mark, the legs started to go weak. I had eaten most of a Power Bar and sucked down a couple of gels but I was definitely starting to fade. I even started to cramp a bit on the last hill out of the valley but a very good ride. 55 miles in 3:10...nothing to set the world on fire for sure but still a good ride. I didn't over do it at Thanksgiving dinner, one plate of food and only a taste of pumpkin pie.
Friday - I rolled out at around 10:15 for another 3 or 4 hour ride. I didn't feel much of Thursday's ride in my legs. I thought they might feel a little heavy to start but instead they felt ready for a long ride. I did a few more hills and rollers than the day before but never felt the tiredness of cramps from the previous day's ride. I did 65 miles in 3:45. I would have ridden another hour but I had told Karma I would go (gasp!) shopping with her. So I cut the ride a little short.
We headed out for a couple of shopping stops. I told Karma I needed to stop by Wheelie Fun to schedule a meeting with Bob to discuss the procedures for team sponsorship with the shop. We get to the shop, I leave Karma in the car and run in to schedule the meeting...I just want to get on Bob's schedule for next week and then leave...only will take 5 minutes. The next thing I know, I'm rolling around the parking on a single speed mountain bike trying to match Bob's jumps off a homemade plywood ramp. Actually, I wasn't even close to Bob's jumps...he's nuts on a bike. After the jumps, we were running match sprints on single speed mountain bikes, between Bob, Ryan, Bill, Dave and myself, across the parking lot. Dave's an old BMX'er and blew everyone away. The 5 minute stop lasted over an hours...but it was a lot of fun.
Saturday - I left the house, on the bike, at 7:45 to meet Jeff E. and Ryan at the shop for a ride at 8:00 AM. A cool morning but considering it was November 25th, 40 degrees felt downright balmy. My legs were tired and sore. We did a couple of bigger hills that really hurt and I was a bit worried about getting dropped but the pace stayed civil and I stayed with the guys on the climbs. I ended up with 4o miles.
We had to leave the house at 10:00 to make it to Mom's by noon for our family's Thanksgiving dinner. We have always celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend after the actual day. That way, we get to spend the whole day together without having to rush off to an in-law's house. It was exactly one year since the last time we were all together in person with Dad. We always have a great time when my brothers, sister, kids, niece and nephews all get together. We're loud, we tell bad jokes and repeat the same stories we told last year, but we have a lot of fun.
Sunday - I woke up at 4:45 AM and could not get back to sleep. I decided to get and watch some early Sunday morning TV. There's not a whole lot of interesting stuff on at 5:00 AM on a Sunday morning. I finally decided to straighten up our storage room. I rearranged a few things and put a few things away that had been just tossed into the room. I found a big stash of old cycling magazines. When I first started to look through the stack, my plan was to toss most of them out. The best I could bring myself to do was toss out the old catalogs. Why I can't throw away 6 year old issues Cycle Sport and VeloNews, I have no idea.
I planned another 3+ hour ride for Sunday. I was on the bike at around 9:20. I told Karma I would be back by 12:30 at the latest. She was planning to fix lunch for us. That doesn't happen very often so I didn't want to miss it. My legs were tired. 8 days of beer and beach followed by a lot of bike time was really catching up. I was good on the flats but as soon as the road tilted up the legs said no more. I got in another 55 miles of good rollers before I finally got home.
Thursday - Thanksgiving Day. We did not have to be at Aunt Mary's house until 6:00 in the evening. I decided to get out on the bike for at least 3 hours and maybe 4 hours, if the legs could handle it. The ride time I had gotten in the last 10 days was an hour and 20 minutes on the trainer Wednesday night. I was afraid of the fitness I would have lost during my lazy beer and beach layoff. The temps were suppose to be near 60 and I was anxious to start rolling. The first 2 1/2 hours flew by. The ride had been mostly flat to rolling and I was feeling great. Finally, just before I hit the 3 hour mark, the legs started to go weak. I had eaten most of a Power Bar and sucked down a couple of gels but I was definitely starting to fade. I even started to cramp a bit on the last hill out of the valley but a very good ride. 55 miles in 3:10...nothing to set the world on fire for sure but still a good ride. I didn't over do it at Thanksgiving dinner, one plate of food and only a taste of pumpkin pie.
Friday - I rolled out at around 10:15 for another 3 or 4 hour ride. I didn't feel much of Thursday's ride in my legs. I thought they might feel a little heavy to start but instead they felt ready for a long ride. I did a few more hills and rollers than the day before but never felt the tiredness of cramps from the previous day's ride. I did 65 miles in 3:45. I would have ridden another hour but I had told Karma I would go (gasp!) shopping with her. So I cut the ride a little short.
We headed out for a couple of shopping stops. I told Karma I needed to stop by Wheelie Fun to schedule a meeting with Bob to discuss the procedures for team sponsorship with the shop. We get to the shop, I leave Karma in the car and run in to schedule the meeting...I just want to get on Bob's schedule for next week and then leave...only will take 5 minutes. The next thing I know, I'm rolling around the parking on a single speed mountain bike trying to match Bob's jumps off a homemade plywood ramp. Actually, I wasn't even close to Bob's jumps...he's nuts on a bike. After the jumps, we were running match sprints on single speed mountain bikes, between Bob, Ryan, Bill, Dave and myself, across the parking lot. Dave's an old BMX'er and blew everyone away. The 5 minute stop lasted over an hours...but it was a lot of fun.
Saturday - I left the house, on the bike, at 7:45 to meet Jeff E. and Ryan at the shop for a ride at 8:00 AM. A cool morning but considering it was November 25th, 40 degrees felt downright balmy. My legs were tired and sore. We did a couple of bigger hills that really hurt and I was a bit worried about getting dropped but the pace stayed civil and I stayed with the guys on the climbs. I ended up with 4o miles.
We had to leave the house at 10:00 to make it to Mom's by noon for our family's Thanksgiving dinner. We have always celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend after the actual day. That way, we get to spend the whole day together without having to rush off to an in-law's house. It was exactly one year since the last time we were all together in person with Dad. We always have a great time when my brothers, sister, kids, niece and nephews all get together. We're loud, we tell bad jokes and repeat the same stories we told last year, but we have a lot of fun.
Sunday - I woke up at 4:45 AM and could not get back to sleep. I decided to get and watch some early Sunday morning TV. There's not a whole lot of interesting stuff on at 5:00 AM on a Sunday morning. I finally decided to straighten up our storage room. I rearranged a few things and put a few things away that had been just tossed into the room. I found a big stash of old cycling magazines. When I first started to look through the stack, my plan was to toss most of them out. The best I could bring myself to do was toss out the old catalogs. Why I can't throw away 6 year old issues Cycle Sport and VeloNews, I have no idea.
I planned another 3+ hour ride for Sunday. I was on the bike at around 9:20. I told Karma I would be back by 12:30 at the latest. She was planning to fix lunch for us. That doesn't happen very often so I didn't want to miss it. My legs were tired. 8 days of beer and beach followed by a lot of bike time was really catching up. I was good on the flats but as soon as the road tilted up the legs said no more. I got in another 55 miles of good rollers before I finally got home.
posted by Doug at 7:49 PM
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