Good Training Block

I'm glad to report that I've been getting in some great training lately. The week of the Rocky Hill Race was the first big week at almost 9 hours, followed by a week just over 9 hours and then 10 hours this past week. I dialed in a good route from home to the great trails at Cypress Creek and Cypresswood, and I did that once last weekend and twice this weekend. That gets me 40-50 miles depending on how much trail I ride before coming home. I've also commuted to work a few times, it's ~20 miles each way so it ends up being a 40 mile day when I get home. I'm definitely feeling great on the bike, strong on the road and putting in some fast times on the trail segments. Yesterday at Cypresswood at the mid-point of our 40 mile ride, I put in a good effort on one of my favorite segments, No Brakes. I was rolling fast, knowing I was on track for a great time, and calling "rider!" every few seconds hoping to alert anybody who might be coming backwards. I came around a blind corner and was face-to-face with a girl and her mom pushing their bikes. I came to a nearly complete stop and barely managed to avoid them. It was too close for comfort. I probably wasn't thinking straight because I just told them it was ok, warned them more riders were coming and kept going. But it all happened so fast. When I uploaded my ride I ended up 1 second slower than the KOM, which I currently share with another rider. I was bummed my run was interrupted and I barely missed the KOM, but mostly thankful that nobody was hurt. Putting down a fast run with an interruption like that is also a good sign for my fitness. Here's a video of my effort, the incident takes place at 0:57. I did come across 2 more riders at the end of the trail, but we were both able to make room for each other so I don't think they affected my time too much.

The next race on the schedule is the Mellow Johnny's Classic, this weekend in Dripping Springs. This is also the first round of the USA Cycling US Cup & a UCI C1 event, so lots of big name pros will be out racing on Saturday. Names like Emily Batty, Georgia Gould, Catharine Pendrel, Jeremiah Bishop, Geoff Kabush, Max Plaxton, Sam Schultz, Ryan Trebon & Todd Wells to name a few. We will be there in time to watch the Pro races and get in a preride that afternoon, then I will race on Sunday. This is a tough race, with lots of loose rock and some hard climbs and it usually draws a lot of competitors, but I'm really looking forward to the race and seeing how I can do. I think I will relax a little this week, reading Friel he recommends to take a rest week every 4th week or so. That doesn't mean stop riding, just back off a hair. Hopefully it'll set me up fresh for the race as well.