A solid blast on the bike today, notably calling it Fast Tuesday as this is the best way to describe the fledgling chain gang I have put together to bring us on and get the FTP up and the legs moving thus equalling power and speed. Fast Tuesday forever in bike shop folklore. We converged at Steve's house in Newton Abbot and basically 'had it'. 30 miles in sub 1 hour 45 and overall, including a slow in and out of Newton. 32.4 miles in 1 hour 50 all told. Newton was oddly busy, but such is the life of a Devon town situated neither here nor there, though it is a cool place to live for sure. You are next door Dartmoor, climbing mecca or the seaside if a bucket and spade are your thing.
Steve, James and I rode full gas up to the cusp of Dartmoor, via Teign Valley, which is sooo like Wye Valley it is uncanny. A fast rolling road offset by river and bridge. Close your eyes and it could be the same place. We hammered it to the North West tip of Exeter which was nice. We have not yet concluded a 'through and on' but it will come. We all took turns on the front and some stand out data for example is 20.2 mph for 23.28 minutes in brutal wind so it bodes well for the coming year and rapid improvement for all. I am perplexed by my data however as my heart rate was high; 50 minutes in zone 4, though my power begs to differ with 29% of the ride in Zone 1 power and 16% in Zone 2 power which means I have and can tap into zone 3 / 4 with room to spare, it is just a case of learning to unleash that power and sustain it again as frankly I have not ridden like this since 2012. I know, I bore myself but worth noting that HR up and power down is usually a sign of fatigue. Stands to reason I have ridden nearly 1000 miles in 9 weeks. Time to factor in a break. Half term next week. Ideal. I've not had a week off work since October 2016.
I expected a new FTP today and a bulk of the work in Zone 3 and 4 but alas no. But it may be as ever that my bike riding skill-set is better suited to 'endurance' over top end speed, though the average speed today was 17.6 mph over the 32 miles. Anyway, it is food for thought and I loved being out on the bike today. James typically rode like a metronome and is a bloody animal and Steve, himself another Bristol legend who migrated south like me also has fast legs. We all love aero bikes ! Nice to ride with like minded people. And, in the words of the ill fated New Labour "things can only get better" !
(Below, click on the images to make big).
No comments:
Post a Comment