So tonight's required workout was a 10 minute warmup, 40 minutes at 130-160 heart rate, and 10 minutes cool down. Not real stressful since my last 200k was at 143 average. So I decided to try and do the whole 40 minutes in the big ring. Alexis went out with me and we warmed up together until a group of 4 roadies zoomed by and I had to play fox and rabbits. Hung on their tails for a couple miles until 1 of the roadies was dropped and I tried to bridge him back up but he was blown or not very strong. At the wide spot on the trail I called "on yer left" and was gone. The leader sucked wheel for a few hundred yards at 23, 24, 25. At 26 he fell behind and at 28 he was a spot on the rearview. I hit 29 and just kept going from there. I was fresh legged - who knows how long those other guys had ridden?
Nothing else interesting other than the setting sun on the trinity, the flying and nesting cranes, and the human squirrel. I called out "on your left" and he ran left. Then right. Then froze in the middle of the path. I had to stop to keep from impaling the poor man. No big deal. I have learned to expect it on the trail and don't let it bug me like some rider's I've seen.
16.48 miles
138 bpm average, 169 max
17.7 average including warm up and cool down - training average more like 21
300 whopping feet of climbing