Kent Peterson once observed that I’m out of phase with normal randonneurs. Rather than spending time before a brevet identifying and planning for trouble spots I ride merrily along projecting eventual success. Rather than spending time in a ride working out how to reach the next short term destination I project out to the end and obsess over all possibilities that will prevent me from finishing.
I’ve taken that observation to heart. However I still have some work to do in implementing the concepts. Today’s ride is a fine example. Knowing that brevet season was approaching did I spend time on the bike in February and March getting in the miles to maintain fitness and test new equipment? No. Here’s what I did instead.
- February: ride twice for a total of 102 miles
- March: ride twice for a total of 33 miles. Change the handle bar height to take advantage of my improved flexibility and range of motion – after 28 of the 33 miles.
- Today: Set out on a 200km ride at 10:00am. It’s Sunday, will the stores in the small towns on the route be open? How will my new Camelbak work for me? I’ve only worn it on the ride home from the LBS.
New bike fit adjustment, new equipment, food gathered from the cache, effectively the same number of miles ridden in the previous two months as I plan to ride today. This is preparation? At least I spent the time, or most of it, concentrating on moving forward and achieving the next mini-goal.
Given all that the ride went surprisingly well. The stores were open. I was able to out-sprint all the dogs on the route. I felt good right up until the body revolted and my digestive shut down – when it was returning all the food that had previously been ingested. My pace was a bit slower than my normal. I developed quite a few expected aches and pains. A bit of a surprise was the sore butt. The tush had tenderized during the time off. Considering that I couldn’t sleep due to the deep chill and the aches things were probably not going as well as I perceived. Once in bed they demanded attention.
So folks, do not try this on the road. Do some consistent riding, do not just set out on a long ride after a period of inactivity.
Update, April 4: from John Hughes at UMCA, because this will lead to cycling indigestion — overuse injuries, colds, burnout, etc. Ah, yep. that’s right. Three days after the ride I came down with a big cold and five days later it’s just now leaving me. Not to mention the niggling pain in my knee.
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