time- 1:38
distance- 31.44mi
At the suggestion of my diesel-powered friend with whom I rode on Saturday, today I headed out to Dillingham Airport for some repeats. The road out there is a mostly flat, mostly straight stretch of basically clear and smooth-ish tarmac frequented by few cars. A perfect place to get down on the aerobars and hit it hard. I parked at the far end of the road and my lap for the day would be a 10.5 mile out and back, with the turn-around at 5.25 miles at the local high school. Heading towards the high school was more into the wind, so it was a little tougher and a little slower. The back out was quicker with the wind at my back. A perfect place to continue the Search for Fast.
I did three laps. The first was mostly a test lap/warm-up lap. I pushed hard in and back out, holding steady around 20mph. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but that's about where it averaged out to. This was going to be fun.
For the second go-round I took it easy for the first 2.5 miles, holding steady at about 17.5/18mph, then got down and pumped for the second half, trying to keep my speed above 20mph. Worked for the most part. And the five miles back were all about getting going and time trial-ing it.
For my third go I decided to break the first lap into three parts. The first was a cooler 1.25 miles, then I went after it for 2.5mi, then cooler again for the final 1.25. I was saving a little, I admit. Because I wanted explosions and pain for my final five. There was pumping, grunting, heavy breathing, and sweating. You know, stuff that means you're having fun. I decided to, as James May would say, "give it the beans," in the final half mile and I got Kratos up to 25.5mph on that flat road. Granted, that's full out and not terribly sustainable, but it means its doable and can be recreated. And recreated for longer and longer periods of time. I think I'm going to like this. I'll be out there probably twice a month now at least.
And now, the part you've all been waiting for:
BIKE PORN!!!
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| Where did you ride today? |
Looks like a nice day up on the NS. Not ready to rock the Macca/Leito style yet?
ReplyDeleteYou mean the rear water bottle set-up? It's all in the mail on an airplane or, more likely, a boat headed this way.
ReplyDeleteSlow boat from China? Haha. Looks like you have enough space for a bottle between the aerobars. Don't want to do that too?
ReplyDeleteHaven't thought about the aerobar water bottle yet. Might have to get on that too.
ReplyDeleteI have done TT loops around the airport. The wind can get wicked strong out there. Btw, I use an aero bottle on my bike... works well for me. I use a rear mount too if I go on longer rides.
ReplyDelete