HRIDE: Week 8/9 Training Report

Sorry to keep you all waiting on an update, but with these darned winter temperatures that just don't seem to want to warm and the Passover/Easter holidays, training slowed again over the past two weeks. However, there were a few milestones to report on.

Two Saturdays ago the team hit the open road. After meeting in Central Park, we cycled in pace groups over the George Washington Bridge and into North Jersey. This first time out was a little hairy, with riders of varied levels of experience being lumped together with traffic and city streets to navigate, but it was a welcome change from the park. Each weekend from now on we will ride out of the city, increasing our mileage by the week.

Another thing of note is that my bike has finally been fitted to me, thanks to my coach, Felix. What this means is that Felix, who knows a heck of a lot more than I do made a ton of miniature adjustments to the bike and components, so it is the perfect size for me and the way I ride. I am feeling more comfortable on my bike now and will be even more grateful for this following the lengthy rides to come.

The highlight of weeks 8/9 was my alternative training ride in New Jersey last weekend. My friend and teammate Lauren has been on leave from her job and, sadly, weekday training rides for some time now. She has been spending time with her dad, Al (for who we ride), as he is undergoing some massive treatments for his leukemia and is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant in the coming weeks. So I joined Lauren for a 25 mile NJ ride over the holiday weekend, that had just enough hills to make us complain (look out Tahoe!) and more scenery then we could have asked for.