Week #13 Word of the day was WIND

 

Week #13 - 393 miles

Saturday was a good 122 miles even though the last 50 some miles were into a tough wind. Last week we were able to play the wind game and have a crosswind for a bunch of the day. Not so lucky yesterday. Randy and Larry joined in on the fun and I do have to say it is nice to be riding with people again. For almost a year I have mainly rode alone. Having company on the rides is a nice change. This was my last big day in the saddle before IWAR. Next week will be around 100 miles and then an easy week before the race. I think I am fairly prepared for the event. Even though it seems like I haven't been putting in as many miles as usual, I have still managed to get over 4,000 miles for the year so far. 

Week #12 Another 200 miler in the books

 

Week #12 - 401 miles

Another solid week of training with a 200 miler on Saturday. Larry and I had a good day out on the bike to say the least. We headed to Beatrice first then out around Weeping Water for some hills. The wind was strong for most of the day but we were able to keep it mostly as a cross wind. The miles that we headed straight into were tough. There were also some long stretches of loose gravel. This was all very good preparation for IWAR. We will encounter all of that and more over the 340 miles. One more long ride next week and then I will start to taper off the long rides. I feel like I have most things dialed in for the race, but so much can go wrong in 24+ hours. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and no mechanicals. 

Week #11 Some good IWAR training

 

Week #11 - 348 miles

On Friday evening I got out for 120 miles of gravel with Corey and Rhino. It was great to ride with some folks and a pretty nice course north of town. The bike was loaded up with about everything I will take with me at IWAR. We had a great evening to get the miles in. There wasn't much wind and the temps were in the 40s. I am pretty happy with the set up so far. My lights seem to work well and the bags should hold everything I will need. I didn't have the cue sheets set up, but I will try it next. I feel about a 1000 times more prepared than two years ago when I did it. I know a lot can happen in these long races but having a little more confidence going in will help. Hopefully next weekend I can get in another long ride to prepare. Getting excited to actually be back riding with folks.

Week #10 Finally some warmer weather!!

 

Week #10 - 369 miles

Nice to have the snow gone and some warm temps! Hopefully we are done with our big dose of winter and can get on with spring. I was happy to get in the amount of miles this week considering I am working all week at the store for the sale. Most of my rides this week have finished up in the dark so I have been getting some good use out of the new lights. So far they have worked great. The Seca Enduro has plenty of light on the low function (625 lumes) and the Vis 360 Pro is a great helmet light. It also has a rear light that can be turned off to save battery. Both of these lights will get put to the test this year while racing (I hope). This next week will be similar training with trying to get some miles in after work and probably not a real long ride for a couple weeks.