Thursday, March 26, 2009

No More Bike Path

Something has been missing this year from my training routines. Commuting to work is a major part of my training. I use the commute for recovery, I can get in a short time trial, most days I will do my training rides straight from work, and most of all I can get in some hill climbing work on the ride home. The ride to work is pretty much all downhill, but coming home I can really hit some lung-busting climbs.
However, late last year the bike trail was completed all the way to work. About 85% of my commute can be done on this paved trail. Wonderful, right? Not really. The problem, the trail is pancake flat. So pretty much for the last 6 months I have been avoiding climbing on a daily basis. I've been taking the easy way home and I think it is starting to affect my climbing
Well, no more. Starting today I took the hilly way home, climbing up Woolsey by the VA Hospital and then exiting Wilson Park by climbing up to college instead of going around the park on the flat side. It's a start.
Rain is in the forecast for the next two days with some accumulating snow on Saturday. My ride at Lake Leatherwood on Sunday will probably be a no go due to wet trail conditions. I'll keep my options open and train when and where the weather dictates, gotta be flexible.

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