'Are you guys in a club?'

What a week! It started off with some simple gym work and Saturday had the hottest, driest ride ever.
The gym work was the normal; Spin bike, followed by 20 minutes of strenght work and then some stretching. I knocked this out M, T, W, missed Thursday. Friday I was off, but spent a fair amount of time cleaning and fettling with the bike for Saturdays epic.
And epic it was. Not a lot of singletrack, and the descents were a bit mild; but the climbs and the views were legion! All in, we did 36 miles but the elevation had to be in the 2,000's. My normal athletic prowess was dropped to that of a wimpering, snivelling worm whilst trying to maintain a 80RPM cadence whilst going up. Add to that, my ego of staying in the middle ring on the first of the 6 big climbs and I was in for a whole lot of hurt.
But, its over, and I feel that I really earned my stripes. At least thats what my farmer's tan/sunburn is telling me.
I'm off to ride in the gym now, and looking forward to my cycle home from work on Wednesday with Fishpool. You have to find opportunities to ride when you can.....

And then, breathe

Not much to say really. Gym, gym and more gym. I haven't gotten outside on the bike or run since Sunday. Good session on Monday, rest day on Tuesday. Small session (sprints) on Wednesday, that I really didn't feel up to; and now hill intervals this afternoon (if I can find the time). Work has been a bit manic right now, with end of year and budget planning for the 09/10.
I'm feeling quite good, and am still stretching. Babysat for some friends last night and spent 20 mins stretching. Either I was bored, or I'm starting to enjoy it. Yep, I was bored! The Apprentice-The Final Five just didn't keep my attention.
Here's to the rest of the week.

Ride, Flow, Ride, and Flow

Ride, flow, ride, flow. Thats about the state of things over the weekend. First, we had amazing weather. Beautiful sun, along with a nice breeze to keep things interesting. The goal was to come back from my back strain on Tuesday, but to be honest on Wednesday, I really didn't think I was going to be riding at all.
The strain came from a simple game with some colleagues on Tuesday in Hyde Park. I struggled home from the A and E and took a long train home. On Wednesday, there was no way I could even think of work. I even tried to work from home, but it was a bust. After seeing the doc, and taking it easy I started to feel better on Thursday. By Friday, it was about 75%.
But, Saturday morning screamed for a ride! I met up with 11 other riders at the start of our local ride. Nice and easy to start, and then I eased up to the front to stretch my legs up a moderate climb. No issues and then, I started to move up a gear. By the end, I felt awesome. A small group decided to try 'the reverse ferret' to add a little more time. All and all, pretty good.
We went over to Leeds Castle and enjoyed the sunshine and the jousting (yes, jousting).
I spent most of Sunday thinking about riding. Originally, I was to meet a training partner at 6.15am for a road ride, but I still don't have a bike to use. A friend was kind enough to let me use his for the RTP, but I didn't pick it up by Sunday. So, I tried to talk him into a MTB ride in the evening.
Instead, I went out on my own and discovered some old local trails. And thats were the ride, flow, ride, flow went out. I really felt one with the bike and just cruised over the trails. Effort was high, and I walked away feeling that I had just gotten a great taste of local training.
So, thats the weekend. And I can't wait for the next. In two weeks the Ferrets have the South Downs Way, now thats should get the mileage up.