Riding without a computer at the Bear Mountain Classic may have given me the confidence to bomb that descent a bit more aggressively than I would otherwise. Unlike at Battenkill, I know that I wasn't eyeing the speedometer every few seconds, watching it climb higher and higher. We were over 50mph - of this I'm confident - but I had few of the wide-eyed high-speed what-if jitters that I sometimes get when I know how fast I'm going. Ignorance is bliss.
It's important to ride, to just ride. Not for work, or to get to work, or to race and feel good about winning or bad about losing, so I'm starting to get very excited about tomorrow morning. I need some fast/casual fun/hard no-demands hours in the saddle. Housatonic Hills is coming up, and I can't let track racing, with its fast scratch races and endless sprints, make me forget how to ride for longer than a few minutes or slower than 27mph (when necessary).
I have no interest in hitting a mid-season physical or emotional wall, which means that here on out it's going to be important to monitor how I'm riding and racing so that I can keep feeling good and avoid burn-out. And that means opening up time for fun rides over the river and through the woods, for the dual purpose of fulfilling the sacred duty of going somewhere aimlessly, and getting strong(er, still), so that I don't get caught out in the sprint (that's my face peering out from behind the rider in red).
Friday, May 15, 2009
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Friday mornings are for breakfast in nyack with friends.
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ReplyDeleteSounds like you're about where I was for my "Riding Naked" and "Snap the Leash" posts, and I'm glad to hear it. I *still* have not attached the old computer to the new bike, though it has officially gone on the "I gotta get to that" list. I don't seem to be in a rush. I've gained more valuable about riding in the few months w/o the computer than I did in the 1.5 years with it. Part of me kinda wonders how much more I can learn, how far I can grow without it...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your "naked" rides!!
^Exactly. And I have a nice ride to look forward to this weekend, up in coastal Rhode Island. At this point in the season, after a lot has happened and a lot is yet to happen I definitely want to avoid a messy burn-out. I'll probably have to start planning a few intentional non-racing weeks, and a few more minivacations, too.
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