My First Strava KOM

It was really nice this morning and then the wind shifted this afternoon to be off Lake Superior and it was in the 50's with a wind chill in the 40's by the time I went riding. I had my bike jacket on tonight and I was probably a bit warm with it on but I would have been really cold without it.

I decided to do my "one hour loop" via Schultz road. I was feeling pretty good after the first 10-15 minutes and decided to push the effort some like I would in a race. On the hilly section my goal was to not shift down into the small ring (succeeded). I know I was able to do that last summer so I should be able to this summer as well. It takes a lot of effort though.

Once out of the hilly section it was just cruising at what felt like a 6-7RPE in some mostly flat to gentle rolling roads.

Then I made the turn for home. Wind was mostly a cross wind and I pushed it pretty hard. About halfway through the trees went away and the wind was a bit more of a factor and a just kept pushing at about a 7-8RPE and when I got home, I finally got the Strava KOM for that segment.

I was actually pretty shocked by the average and NP on this ride. I didn't think it was that high. So apparently I can still put out some power when I want to and it gives me some confidence to go and do it.

I need to ice my knee tonight though.

Fun and Busy Weekend

Memorial weekend and we finally got some nice weather here in northern Minnesota! It is kinda sad how 65 degrees is considered "hot" up here this time of year.

So Saturday I was up early for a 6am MRI downtown at the hospital. I am still trying to get to the bottom of the knee pain so this was the next step. Then I ate my bagel on the way to play golf. Walked 6 miles of hills playing golf with friends, and had a light lunch after. I had packed my bike and my stuff in my car so after golf I changed clothes and drove my bike to the starting point on Scenic Hwy 61. From there I road to the Mocha Moose Cafe and back, which is about 30 miles round trip.

I did this same ride a year ago. Today however it was windy. So I had a quartering tailwind on the way out and the opposite headwind on the way back.

Still getting used to the tri bike. I was having a hard time keeping my line with all the wind gusts. I have the clip pedals on the tri bike for riding outside. The left knee was bugging me most of the ride today, just had to fight through it.

It was a fun ride. Then for more "fun" I decided to add a short 10 minute run off the bike for my first "brick" of the season. That went well too.

The rest of the weekend was more golf, and a bunch of yard work (mowing, tilling the garden etc) and of course there were burgers and brats!

This weather sucks!

So yesterday it was 38 degrees, 32 with the windchill and raining! As much as I wanted to do a 25 mile ride outside, it just wasn't happening. So I was left to Zwifting (is that a verb?) on the trainer.

Then today, I was going to try running again, but I woke up to 2 inches of snow/slush on the ground.

So I was relegated to the elliptical in the basement today. Probably a good choice for the groin muscle too. It had bothered me earlier in the week. So I just keep doing the strengthening exercises and wait for it to heal up.

Mmmmmm Donuts.....

So my second outside ride on the tri bike, this time planned to be a bit longer. The position is very comfortable, I don't have any issues with that. My knee felt pretty good. It bothered me a bit at the start and anytime I put some serious power into it. Towards the end of the ride, the knee just felt "stiff" not sure how else to describe it. So I still have some issues there.

I did the same ride that I did on my road bike a few weeks ago but added a little distance to it. The training plan called for 1:20 "easy" ride.  However, it seems when I am on my bike I want to go fast. So I don't know how to go "easy" outside.

Wind was out of the south again so the hilly part was into the wind. As I was climbing one of these hills I smelled donuts. I thought that was really odd, there aren't any stores or anything where I was. I crested the top of the hill and there was a bait shop that had a mini-donut trailer in the parking lot for the opening day of fishing season. I have a major weakness for donuts. Good thing I didn't have any money with me. I did stop to take a picture.

The rest of the ride was uneventful and free of additional hunger inducing smells.

Evening Swims

So I had some things going on this week that prevented me from going to my 2x/week morning swim class. My daughter still had swim team practice in the evenings and they generally kept a lane open for lap swimmers. So I asked her coach, who just so happens to be the morning coach too, if I could use the free lane. She of course agreed, and set me up with a workout both evenings this week.

So I was swimming alongside the swim team kids (all 12 or under) and we were all the same speed. Just when I think I am making some progress with my swimming, I get humbled yet again.

It was weird swimming at night. A couple of years ago I did all my swimming at night but since joining this tri-swim class, all my swimming has switched to the early mornings. There was nothing bad about it, just odd.

First Outdoor Ride on the Tri Bike

So after a week of travel to Ohio for funeral services, I was able to get back outside for a ride today. So the weather was halfway decent, warmest it will be in at least a week so I decided it was time to take the tri bike off the trainer, put on some clip pedals and see what it is like to ride it outside.

It is like learning how to ride all over again. I wont say that it is "unstable" but it is differently stable and it will take a bit of getting used to.

The first few miles I was kinda weaving a bit, but gradually it settled down. Adjusting to the wind was different too. Cross winds made me feel a bit unstable, but again, it is just a matter of getting used to it I think.

I took it relatively easy for 3/4 of the trip and then put some power down on the last couple of miles. Nothing too crazy, just seeing how it feels putting some power in.

It was fun and different than riding on the trainer, and way different than the road bike.