The Road to Nepal is under construction

BUT WHO CARES! (Channelling Ruby Rhod from 5th Element there for a minute). Even a bad day outside on the bike is better than on the trainer, and today was a very good day.

The map will show you where I went. The pavement isn't so good when you leave 773 going down toward Millarville Race Track. However there's one spot about 20 into the ride where you're coming to the top of a hill, and you get a stunning view of the mountains and foothills. That's after a very long hill that's deceptive in places. I thought I was on a flat bit of road, and wondering why I'm only doing 12 Kph. The view makes it all worth it.



What a difference a few days of rest makes! Last Tuesday, an hour at 25 K and I was done like dinner. Today I could have kept going for a while yet. Here's the numbers:
65 K total distance, well, 64.89 according to the bike computer.
2:48 trip time
23.25 Kph average pace
75 rpm average cadence
77 Kph, max speed
129 average heart rate over bike leg

4:50 transition average heart rate 112

1st run K, 7:30 min, 130 average hr
2nd run K, 7 min, 132 average hr

128 average heart rate over whole workout
152 peak heart rate
80 min heart rate
3128 total calories

I started about 10 am, and the weather was PERFECT! Warm, but not too hot, with some nice cool breezes every now and then. My thought was to have a nice ride, with my only goal to keep my cadence up. I even stated that out loud as I got on Estela.

The construction slowed me down a bit. They're paving the transition from the road to the various driveways along the way and it makes me think they're going to put another layer on the road itself. I got slowed down twice, going down hill of course. There were a pair of flag girls holding a STOP sign, till I got close. Then once they realized I was old and out of shape, and not the young buff single rider they were hoping for, they flipped the sign around. I'm just glad they didn't point to the SLOW sign, and laugh at me.

On the way back I was riding with a guy called Marcus, and we had a nice chat about stuff. I don't know if it's the extra weight or what, but Estela goes down hills like a Peregrine falcon after prey. As I get stronger she'll start going up them faster too, and that's all good.

I took a long transition, mainly to take Estela back downstairs, and being careful not to fall down the stairs because of tired legs. The run felt heavy, clump, clump, clump to start, but it gradually got a bit better. I could really feel my legs wondering what was going on. Whereas I could have kept going on the bike, I was happy to stop the run and do some stretching, then have a nice warm shower.

Taking the rest was exactly the right thing to do. I had a couple nights with long deep sleep. I feel refreshed, had a great ride today, and I'm looking forward to getting in the pool tomorrow. I hope everyone else had a great weekend for workouts!

Oh, and I picked up a tighter cycling jersey. (Linda says oooh!) I was tired of the now loose jerseys flapping in the wind. Red and black from Speed Theory, of course, and chatted with IG a bit. While I was there Laura from spin class showed up to pick up her new Cervelo. Very nice!

Weekly totals, which are low because I took several days off.
Swim 1.0 hr
Bike 3.75 hr
Run 1.0 hr
total 5.75 hr, and now that I look at the IGP™ I'm only a couple of hours low.

No number this week because I haven't been to that pool. And last, but not least, the energy drink recipie. I swiped this from Impact Magazine, March/April issue and tweaked a bit. There's some other recipies in there as well.

Make 1 litre hot lemon tea. I use Celestial Seasoning Lemon Zinger.
Add 4 tsp honey
Add 1/4 tsp sea salt. (I actually use about half this)
Let cool a bit, then add a glug of orange juice. They say 8 tsp.

I like to refrigerate it overnight before a long ride. It has a nice clean clear taste, and best of all, it's practically free! Even better for my peace of mind, I can pronounce all the ingredients. I suppose if you wanted you could stir in some protien or electrote powder.