Snow Ride Tuesday, Road Ride Wednesday

It was my birthday yesterday and to celebrate the occasion I took advantage of the light snow we got and ventured out to the trails with a couple buds.  One of the things I like a lot about racing the Enduro format of races this year is that I can still get in rides with friends that are slower than me.  Being able to relax and just pedal on the "regular" sections of trail and then focus my efforts on sprinting the downhills is great and, in my eyes, very conducive to enduro racing.  Sure, there's more to enduro racing and training than just 'sprinting the downhills',  but on days when I out with people who's skill and/or fitness level isn't up to par with mine, it makes the rides much more enjoyable.

The snow yesterday was about an inch or two and perfect for riding.  Nice and grippy, yet fluffy enough to throw up a nice roost if you hit the swoopy bits hard enough.  After getting over the initial cold hands, the three of us had a great, relaxed ride in some awesomely quiet and beautiful woods. Nice one for sure.

Today was a bit more 'training' focused.  Snow had continued to fall last night, so for all intents and purposes I fully assumed I'd be relegated to my first indoor trainer ride in God knows how long.  Waking up and heading into work, the roads were wet, icy, and not exactly good for riding, but as the day wore on, the sun came out, the temps came up, and the roads were good to go by around 2pm.  Happily I got in a short (90 minute), but hard ride with some "natural intervals" included.  I say "natural" because I just went hard when I felt good, and spun when I felt like I wanted to spin.  I like to keep things pretty fluid and unstructured, especially this time of year and especially with this type of racing.

For the first time since I got the road bike, I felt truly strong today-back like how I used to when I was racing XC.  I'd say the biggest difference between my strength then and my strength now is that I'm a bit more hefty these days then I was then.  I feel the extra weight, of course, on the climbs, but also in the way that once I get going I keep going.  In other words, there's a lot of power in these here legs, it's just applied slightly different with the extra 20+ pounds on my frame.

From a bike riding standpoint, the rest of this week is in limbo.  The weather over the course of the next few days is going to be unpredictable, with a chance of a "major" storm hitting us on Friday.  Allegedly, we're going to get anywhere between 2 and 38 inches of snow!  Either this is a freaky weather system or the weatherman is getting lazier by the minute.  I'll try to stay on my toes, check the forecast frequently, and be at the ready with either bike to get in some saddle time.  Otherwise, and more likely, it's back to the gym with me for a bit more frequency over the next week.