Voting day great ride

Today is election day in Alberta. It's probably the most interesting election in living memory, and I hope everybody went out and voted. Because if you don't vote in this one, where the race is close and every vote could count, and there are clear differences between the parties, then you will NEVER vote and are a lazy ungrateful bastard to boot. Exceptions for people out of the country since before it was called.

I had to share a 50 m lane today, but there was lots of room. Swam 45 minutes, my usual routine, feeling a bit on the slow side, but not wanting to push it.

Why?

A bike ride outside, on one of my favourite routes! That's why. Out 22X to the Welcome to Kananaskis Country sign and back. Overall it worked out to 27.9 Kph average speed, which is faster than race pace on that same ground from previous years. However today I was just trying to spin smooth and strong, but not being the Incredible Hulk or anything. It went really well until about the 2.5 hour mark where I started to get a little uncomfortable on the bike, and was starting to feel a bit weaker.

Winds were light on the way out, with the headwind picking up more and more the further west I got. The last bit before turnaround was tough sledding. Which makes right after turnaround sweet. I had a tail wind most of the way to Priddis, then it turned into a cross wind from the south. This is quite typical.

Most of the way out the hills seemed much smaller than I remember, and I wasn't spending much time in granny gear. There are two killer hills on the way back, at least they used to be killer hills, and they weren't bad today at all. I could feel that I was recovering faster from efforts, and could stay strong longer. This is all good.

It was a perfect day for a ride, warm, but not too hot. I took lots of water and a bottle of my energy drink, but had water left over. Someone told me train heavy and race light. So that was an extra 2 Kg of water I didn't drink, but I'm more than that lighter myself from last year, so it's all good. There is new pavement in two sections, which is really nice. There is a couple K near the turnoff for Priddis Greens golf course, and then a long stretch, starting from the top of the big hill above Priddis valley almost all the way to the Bragg Creek turnoff.

I'll have to check the calibration of my bike computer. I think the distance is a little short, but even so, I'm happy. I'm riding stronger than the last couple years, and completely put the credit on having the power meter on the trainer. That number doesn't let you slack off.

The best part was just being outside today. The mountains were sharp and clear, it was warm, there wasn't much traffic, so all in all, a great day for a bike ride.

Now, I'm waiting for the election results. For the first time since I moved to Alberta, half my life ago, I have no idea how it's going to turn out. I think it's safe to say there will be a blog or two out of the results.