Every Tuesday night from now until the time changes again, there will be an unofficial crit race at the Lakes. This has been going on for years, but last year was my first time trying it.
I was more nervous for tonight's crit than I've been all year! It's not my fitness, it's my bike handling skills in a large group of road riders that I doubted. I was content to stay near the back and off to the side for most of the hour. I knew I was working harder than I needed to, pulling most of the time, never really jumping in the draft. But since I was using this as training ride and I don't trust myself mid-pack I was happy to be there. I loved chasing after every corner and bridging any gaps that formed, better workout for me!
We did 17 laps in an hour (truncated Strava file; so I could see average speed {27.3} HR {158} & distance {28.7}). With my warm up and cool down, I ended up with 20 laps & 34 miles.
As Sam Shultz's twitter handle states: "I ride bikes around in circles as fast as I can at various locales around the world; for a job, life is good". I'm not claiming to be nearly as fast as he is, and I still have my first job as being a mother, but other than that; ditto!
I was more nervous for tonight's crit than I've been all year! It's not my fitness, it's my bike handling skills in a large group of road riders that I doubted. I was content to stay near the back and off to the side for most of the hour. I knew I was working harder than I needed to, pulling most of the time, never really jumping in the draft. But since I was using this as training ride and I don't trust myself mid-pack I was happy to be there. I loved chasing after every corner and bridging any gaps that formed, better workout for me!
We did 17 laps in an hour (truncated Strava file; so I could see average speed {27.3} HR {158} & distance {28.7}). With my warm up and cool down, I ended up with 20 laps & 34 miles.
As Sam Shultz's twitter handle states: "I ride bikes around in circles as fast as I can at various locales around the world; for a job, life is good". I'm not claiming to be nearly as fast as he is, and I still have my first job as being a mother, but other than that; ditto!