Bike D. Eisenhower

Three weeks tomorrow (but who's counting?) marks the first day of my first major holiday of the year.  The missus and I are off to The Netherlands for a week's bike touring.  The Tour de France starts there this year, so they're going to get motivated by watching the shaven, oiled pros do their thang first.  Thereafter, it's a joyous week of pootling along well-appointed and safe cycleways from city to city, stopping only en route for excellent Dutch coffee and cinnamon biscuits.

There is nothing on Earth as enjoyable as arriving at your destination under your own steam, carrying your own luggage on the bike.  You feel tired, yes, but not jaded or disspirited.  On the contrary, you feel absolutely alive - your senses singing with information.  A quick shower the slough off the muck and it's on to the hors d'oeuvres and drinks.  And they, believe me, never tasted better.

Before I can enjoy the genteel face of bike culture, I must endure a few more weeks of racing.  I say 'endure', but the truth is I'm enjoying it more and more as the weeks go by.  It's always like this, competitive cycling.  It's miserable when you're not fit enough, and one always begins the season not fit enough.  It's nigh on impossible to recreate the intensity of racing when training.  But I'm finally starting to feel some power in the legs.  Also, the mental aspect of the game is sharpening up too.  My concentration is must better, as is evidenced by my changing perception of the length of each race.  At first they appear to last for months, but as you get more and more in the zone, the duration drops dramatically.  Last week's race was over before it began.

I'm hoping to get so fit I forget the whole thing one week.

The need for speed

I need to go quicker.  It's a month into the time-trial season, and I'm not tearing up any shrubs.  I'm still a full minute slower than I was this time last year.  This despite the fact that I'm on a better and, you'd have to hope, faster machine.  Perhaps I'm over thinking it?  Perhaps I'm not?  Perhaps both?

Last night's attempt at cycling immortality was actually faster than the previous week's, but not by much.  Worse still was the fact that I felt like I was flying, and yet I still could not break the mythical 28 minute barrier.  I used to post 27 minute times at a canter and think very little of it.  What's happened in 12 months?  I'm probably lighter now than I was then.  Maybe I'm being too conservative.  Maybe I just need to give it the beans, as they say.  That said, I was shattered by the time I sprinted across the line last night - absolutely spent.  I don't believe I could have gone harder in the final 2 miles had someone pointed a blunderbuss at me.  I need, I think, to get angry, like Mr T.  I might black up next week, to spur myself on.  On second thoughts...

So, off training tonight.  I really should apply some science to my training, but it's turgid stuff, to be honest.  I'm not sure I could put myself through it.  What I do need to do is improve my VO2 max, which is about as much fun as it sounds, by the way.

Ho, hum...