With the countdown now in single digit weeks, the cycle (see what I did there) of do what I can during the week and pack the miles on the weekend is firmly established. Last night was the Fargo with my normal stuff + 8.5 lbs of sand forcing Mesa, my favorite local hill, into submission.
I did take some time to paddle. Jeff's 4-man race boat needed a fill in and it just sounded like too much fun to pass up. 30 miles on a healthy San Marcos river. A fabulous day. I regret that I did not make it a priority to keep paddling while training for TD. So little time.
I'm not sure if it helps or hurts, but Billy Rice roped a bunch of us into this crazy event at the end of April - 500 miles of banjos and pit bulls though the forests of east Texas (CHI St. Joseph Health Gran Fondo/ Grangravel 500). It spurred me into a flurry of bike rigging activity such as putting on the SON hub and Klite, aero bars, and deciding where food can go with the smaller Fargo frame bag.
SheilaT and I took a long weekend for a scouting mission out east. Fun, beautiful and scary. No, huge man at the Point Blank Exxon, I don't want to come with you to see your puppy. And Oy, the dogs out there. Pepper spray is so going in the kit. Maybe bear spray!
We road about 100 miles of the route and camped. Riding into the night was great testing for the Klite. It was fantastic. I do see now why racers carry a cache battery. I plugged the iPhone into the Sinewave USB charger so it would stay charged during the day. Because there is "relatively" little elevation, the phone charged well. Coming into towns when our pace would slow is when I noticed the vibration coming from the phone as it lost and regained the charge. About 4mph seems to be it. Above that, all good. I will get a battery to buffer the charge interruptions that certainly will happen on the divide climbs.
The coolest "training" was my brother coming in from Boston to do the Castell Grind gravel event with me (near Llano, Texas). So so much fun! The cyclists pretty much rent the town, ride gravel on gorgeous flower-lined hill country roads, then party all night. With a training ride on my schedule again the next day - for me it was party lite but super fun none the less.
Gear progress:
Saddles - sticking with the WTB Volt for now.
Shoes - found a new Pearl Izumi shoe with a BOA closure, carbon infused shank and running sole. Sould arrive soon.
Bags - my Revelate Feed Bag from 2011 is starting to look rough. Purchased a new one and also a larger front storage pocket. This should help offset not having as much space in the frame bag.
Helmet - if I don't cut my hair, I'm going to need a new one. The one I bought for 2014 is not very ponytail friendly. Hmmmm
Gloves - really a bit too late, but need to settle on a glove set up. I want to make some sort of pogie for the bars too. Blocking the wind seems to be a bigger deal than actually staying dry.
9 weekends left......
No comments:
Post a Comment