Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Monday dawned windy, but quite warm. I did some organizing and minor trailer repair, then lubed up my chain and hit the race course. I did two hot laps, with the addition of some singletrack options that aren’t part of the course. I rode probably a little over 40 miles at a mostly brisk pace.

I went quite a bit quicker than I would be advised to ride during the race. I won’t make it past midnight if I try to establish such a hot pace--at least given my current level of fitness. I’m feeling very good and fit, and I think I’ve made good use of my training time. But honestly, I’ve only had about 5 weeks to really get ready for my first 24 hour solo effort. I need to keep a strong sense of my limits or I’ll wind up hurting really badly by dawn.

It was a tiring day, but a fun day too. The best part is that I rode for the whole time in a short-sleeved jersey and shorts. Wow, what a luxury! The weather here still isn’t what you would call hot, but it’s certainly quite a bit warmer than it was for all of January.

I probably won't do many hard rides. Saturday I'll be doing the Tour of Palm Springs, a huge century ride (there are usually ~10,000 participants). I am going to try to go at an easy pace, and I guarantee that I'll do lots of wheel-sucking. But that'll probably be the longest, hardest ride I do between now and Saturday the 17th. Today I'll go tweak my Fisher, adjusting brakes and such so that it won't have a wrench near it for a week before the big day.

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