Riding is pretty much all I've been doing lately. Last week was training camp, and I ended up putting over 350 miles in over the week. I now know what the verge of over-training is for me, as I came down with a mild cold from a reduced immune system. It was nothing that a day of sleeping couldn't fix.
Training camp was incredibly fun! The first two days were cold but sunny, and the second two days were cold and rainy. Riding in the rain is never really fun, but it is necessary sometimes and seems to make me stronger and more willing to endure pain. For under 40 degrees and pouring rain, the combination of all the cycling clothes I own and soggy-ness made me feel similar to the Michelin Man moon-walking through a car wash. The moon-walking is vital for the visual image enjoyment while alluding to the sensation of your tires slipping out from under you on wet pavement. This happened to me four or five times and never ceases to take my breath away.
One interesting positive of raining and cold is that you must go much slower downhill. While this does eat up your brakes quite quickly, it also helps you from getting too chilly on these descents, because of less wind. Well sort of.... I was still freezing cold, but I suppose that can't be helped.
I know that I am becoming faster for only one reason: John Korioth yelled at me.... twice. John has many reputations in the Austin cycling scene, among which are "Lance's best friend," "The guy who yells things," "College," "Dude that owns the bar," and "Peloton boss." If yells things at you, it's probably because you are chasing down one of his teammates or you are beating him, which means you are doing something right. I got yelled at for semi- working with the Austin bikes team on a break and for some semi-deserved nudging of people during the final pack finish. I have never been more thrilled to be yelled at. Don't misunderstand that I have a lot of respect for College and show my appreciation for him by following him on Twitter. In any case he continues to be one of those people that I find extremely interesting.
