My patient and loving wife remarked the other day "You're really training hard!"
Thickheaded Scot that I am I responded: "Not hard. Consistent. Better."
(Nothing passes without some resistance. Could be the `blood.')
Having committed to doing a 24 hour race in Texas in mid-April (Bessies Creek 24) I'm afforded an external structure in my habits and thought. Some day I'll have the courage of a Buddhist (let the present percolate into your consciousness). But for the moment I'm a willing servant to the simple distraction of a carrot in front of my nose.
Bessies Creek 24 is a 21 mile loop course that you keep riding until the 24 hours is up. BC24 has 80 feet of climbing each 21 mile loop. And I live in mountainous terrain where I climb 80 feet just to get the mail!
Racing on flat terrain is completely different from climbing 5,400 feet in 54 miles. To assume that mountainous road cycling translates effortlessly to the steady pacing of a full day of balanced and steady effort is ... a bad assumption.
So. What am I to do in my training?
Fortunately, though there is nary a level lick of road in these parts ... I've been granted a favor by my new found cycling friend, Mike Cash. Several months ago he took me out to the Chino Valley Loop. Just 12 miles north of me there is a rare high plateau in these parts: Chino Valley.
Today I delighted in several loops of about 9 miles each for just under 3 hours and 44 miles. Flat!
Flat Training # 1
Flat Terrain # 2
With the discovery of this local flat terrain added to the steeply challenging hills and mountains ... this is training terrain!
Consistency. And balanced hard work.
BC24 here I come!
If you change your route just a tad you won't have to cross the highway (89). There is a spot about 100 feet from Reed Rd (on the Outer Loop Rd) for parking. Ride on the Outer Loop to Road 1 West turn right and go all the way to Road 5 North, turn right again and ride to Reed Rd. Turn right once again to your starting point. This will be just shy of 18 miles per loop. Although going south on Reed Rd is a slight climb to Center St.
ReplyDeleteNacho
Thank you, Nacho. This is useful information and I'll give it a go.
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