Frostcicle.

Tonight, it was back to training rides.  Jill has me doing back-to-back night rides in the 15-20 mile range.  The speeds are not as high as would be on a daytime ride, and that's mainly for safety.  The only hitch in this plan is the weather.  It is just plain cold.  See below:

Monday, January 4                                          

Time            7:49 pm      
Conditions   Clear  25°F       
Feels Like    14°F            
Wind            11mph from WNW

Or so says The Weather Channel.  Not too cold if you live in the Battenkill Valley, I am sure; and not too terribly nippy if you live in NC - as long as you are indoors.  I even contemplated the trainer, but I just hate that thing so I bundled up and went for it.  Tonight's ride was aimed at an 18mph average, which is not an absolute given the multiple stoplights on a modified City Loop.

Going clockwise, I was met with a stiff headwind on Country Club and Peacehaven Rds.  This lessened a bit on Polo Rd as I passed Wake Forest.  I have come to respsect the headwind - it is only helping me become stronger.  The real payoff was Indiana Ave, where I had a killer tailwind.  I was essentially moving with traffic and cranking the big gear.  Power development is one of my early goals, and as I'm prone to spinning, I have to force myself into Jan Ullrich mode once in a while.  That man was diesel on a bike.

Coming around to the end I cruised by the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds, where Ken's Bike Shop has put on a spring/summer crit series for years.  I cut my teeth (and broke a shoulder) racing  here in 2005-2007, but hung up my crit wheels after a scary crash in 2008 racing in Brevard, NC.  Still fresh on the brain is my first Cat 5/Citizen crit in 2005.  I showed up wearing my mtn bike shoes and SPD pedals, promptly got dropped on the 3rd or 4th lap and completed the 30 min race in 'personal time trial mode.'  I was hooked.

These days, I prefer road racing.  That said, there is nothing quite like the adrenaline shot of a crit finish.  Although the idea of dicey corners at break-neck speeds through covered bridges gets me a little nervous, the chance to hammer out a metric century in those conditions far outweighs any fear.

Ok, the cold, frozen stats:

Time:  47:19
Dist:    15.3mi
Avg:    19.3mph
RPE:    max = 17 on Peacehaven Rd., min = 10-12 on Indiana Ave.

Here are a few shots of the coach and me having a post-ride dinner.  Coach is having water since her big half-marathon is coming up on Saturday.  I am not.  Woo-hah!

Next stop:  20 mile ride at 17mph tomorrow night, then a bittersweet CLM get-together at NOMA to see Curtis off.