Week 16

Date
April 19th, 2012

Distance
105 miles

Time
6:25:09

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Headed towards Kingsbury Grade on Foothill Rd.

Ride Report
I'm taking it relatively easy for a week and then I'll start training for my next double. The weather was so nice that I couldn't resist getting one climb in, so I headed out to Kingsbury Grade and back.

Week 15

Date
April 14th, 2012


Distance
210 miles

Time
14:32:52

Route Map/Profile

Weather

It could have been worse. Friday was cold and rainy all day.

Picture

Ride Report
This was the long-awaited Mulholland Double. Total time was 14:32:52 and ride time was 13:50:49. I tried to spend as little time off the bike as possible, but it's amazing how off-bike time adds up on rides like these. As far as my performance goes, if I had to give myself a grade I would give a C. I ran out of gas towards the end a little more than I would have liked, but I didn't completely bonk and have to take a break like I did at the Devil Mountain Double last year. For the most part I managed my calories well and rode within myself. I was just missing that extra little bit of form to make it a great ride instead of a good one. I think next year I might sign up for an easier double early in the year and see if that helps.

As for the Mulholland Double itself, I highly recommend it. I have never done any riding in Southern California, so I didn't know what to expect along the route. I came away pleasantly surprised with how many scenic climbs there were, and it's always a fun experience to ride along the coast. Here's the ultimate test- Would I ride it again? The answer is an enthusiastic yes.

Week 14

Date
April 7th, 2012


Distance
134 miles

Time
09:15:38

Route Map/Profile

2 laps of this...

...plus 2 laps of this.

Weather

The wind picked up later. It didn't feel like it hit 68 degrees out there.

Picture

Hawk

Ride Report
I had a bad day. There's not much more to be said about it. I didn't have my climbing legs at all and I just generally felt like garbage. On top of that, my computer (Cateye Strada Wireless) no longer works. (I thought the batteries died, but I replaced them a few days ago and it turns out that my computer is broken.) I didn't see much use in riding an extra 20 miles or so just to stick to the planned mileage for the day. I decided to call it a day, put this ride behind me, and hope to recover from whatever it was that put me in a funk.

This ride was my last big training ride before the Mulholland Double, so there couldn't have been a worse time to have a bad day. The only positive note I can take from this is that I had a similar bad day a week before the Terrible Two last year, but I ended up riding pretty well at the Terrible Two. I just have to hope a similar pattern plays out this time around.