A case study of base face.
It’s still a month away. You’ve got plenty of base.
If those words were being spoken about an upcoming DJ set, then I’d probably not take them completely with a grain of salt. When they are in reference to a 160km event with a shitload of hills, and the sum total of post-KT riding can be counted on a couple of hands and half a foot, then the magnitude of them becomes a little bit greater. A lot greater, actually.
Having a base of fitness to call on isn’t something to be sneezed at. Years of riding does give you an in-built reserve of muscle memory and hopefully some leftover cardio capacity, but being match-fit will only ever come from actually playing the match. I can comfortably jump back on the bike and into our group with not too much trouble, keep the pace and take my turns. But the false sense of security is quickly wiped out when there’s a rise in the road, or someone decides they want to ride twice as fast and the rest start chasing. I’ll usually be smart enough to sit back and not try to mix it up, and be thankful that at least the head is still operating at acceptable levels. I mean, they have to wait for me anyway. Right? Guys?
FRB‘s are pretty frequent at this time of year (in the lower half of the world at least), and the mix of emotions they cause can be as painful as the riding. You make it through in fairly good shape, not having maxed anything out, and you feel like this is not so hard after all. Then in the middle of the night the cramps hit, legs reminding you that they’ve been criminally neglected as they protest at the shabby treatment they’ve had to endure. The lungs do their best to eject the phlegmy detritus that an almost forgotten dose of clean, fresh air is attempting to overpower. Sweat oozes from pores with an aroma of sweet victory mixed with bitter defeat. The Head has it’s usual “ahh, she’ll be right, couple of weeks you’ll be flying” spiel down pat, and you are duped into the scam with an overly agreeable “damn straight, buddy.”
You know that’s not true, but you persevere, because eventually it does come back. The base has served you well, layed the foundations, poured the concrete around the reo and now only needs the bricks to be placed on top, one at a slow, tedious time. By the end of summer your temple is standing proud once again, yet just waiting to be covered in tarpaulins and plastic over the windows when the skies grey and the cold war is lost once again.
Still a month away, you say?
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Yes Brett, nothing is definite until it is definite.
Beautiful, @bretto. I'm going through this now; end of August, I was flying, just amazed at how easily I was chomping up even the steepest local climbs. Then it was off to South Africa to write, back home to start a new job, and next to no riding over a six week period of time.
The Cogal of the Fallen Leaves was a big fucking bluff from start to finish, and the pain of watching the group go up the road on the last quarter of the route as steep punchy hill followed steep punchy hill.
The only honor was that as I caught back up to the group as they refueled at a service station, I decided to head up the road instead and hold onto whatever rhythm I'd managed to fall into, certain the group would catch me back.
Turns out, the support car missed me taking the turn to complete the route and the rest of the bunch bailed on the rest of the lap, making me the only one to complete the route. Painfull, but that's what those rides are for.
Two weeks, that's the mental cliff that I fall off when trying to keep on the #1
If away from it for the two weeks then the brain starts writing cheques that the body cant cash !
I fight off the FRB like it is death. I have not taken more than 2 days in a row off the bike in over 5 years. I absolutely refuse to face that feeling.
@frank
So that's where you went. At least you finished. I've got all year to meditate on the V and to start riding hills instead of flats.
@EBruner
That sounds... amazing, actually.
@EBruner
What are you, a Pro? Jobless? Definitely single and no kids... or at least not over 40.
You should be ready for race 3, @brett, includes 5 x 1100m gravel sector.
http://www.cyclingseriesnz.co.nz/race-three
or race 4, nice finish up Admirals- 20mins of pain.
Circuit profile Masters
@piwakawaka
I might have a crack at the gravel race, always wanted to do that one. But Admirals can fuck off!