Feeling Loopy

Most of us cyclists have a handful of reliable routes that we ride.  I am no different.  Whether I’m heading south into Vischer Ferry or north and west toward Charlton, my routes are a point to point affair – beginning and ending in my driveway.

Surprisingly, one thing that had never occurred to me was to define a loop course and do laps around it.  About a month ago, I decided to do just that.  It took some getting used to, but I now consider it a welcome addition to my cadre of routes. 

My observations:

1. Directions: It’s weird riding 11 miles and only making one left turn.  Like most of the terrain out here, it’s rarely flat for more than a half mile.  You’re either going up or down.
2. Poor man’s hill repeats:  There is a nice Berg about 5 miles into the loop.  Every lap takes me up it one more time.
3. Passing the finish line (temptation):  I always set out with a predetermined number of laps to complete.  However, if it’s one of those days that I have dead legs, it’s very tempting to just bag it early when I see the start/finish line.  I haven’t done it yet, but it has crossed my mind.  Also, there are two points along the way where I can take a shortcut home.  I always ignore them and consider them for emergencies only – a storm fast approaching, a mechanical problem, bonked, injury, etc.
4. A nice way to measure out a ride:  It’s almost exactly an 11 mile circuit.  I ride about 2 miles total getting to and from it.  That way, it’s easy for me to know how many calories to bring along and about how long the ride will take (One loop takes about 40-45 minutes).  It’s funny, but when I do the longer point-to-point rides, I feel weird not doing the whole route.  When I ride the loop, it’s ok to only do one circuit because I’m crunched for time.

All in all, I’m glad I did it.  Once again I prove to myself that there can be something more to discover on roads you’ve ridden countless times.

Paris-Nice Perspective

For the second time in three years, the final stage of Paris-Nice was an exciting do-or-die stage.  In 2007, it was Alberto Contador taking the race with great panache from Davide Rebellin (who would win it in 2008).

Although Versus only televised the first and last stages, I was able to keep up with the race via Velonews’ daily coverage.  The biggest take away from this race for me was the end of the Astana Myth of Invincibility™.  On two occasions, Contador was isolated from his teammates and vulnerable.  On stage 7, he bonked spectacularly and lost a big chunk of time, and cost himself the race as a result.

I can’t think of this ever happening on the old “Blue Train” US Postal teams.  Can you imagine Lance without an escort in the critical mountain stages?  Can you imagine Lance not being focused enough to eat when he needed to?

Obviously, Contador is no amateurish chump.  It just baffled me that a team with such talent could let that happen to their leader.  They should have done better.  On paper, they should have ruthlessly dominated that race.  But, as Kenny Mayne said, the games aren’t played on paper, they’re played inside your TV set.

Proper Riding Nutrition – Eat To Win!

I ran across this today: the Tour De Cupcake.  Eat for time bonuses.  It might just motivate me to race!

I admire their business model.  They must have poached it from the Tour De Donut.  I guess nobody has to worry about bonking.  Can you feel the love?

(thanks, Fritz)