Friday, Friends, and Flying!

The bend in the road marks the start of
the Pink Lake climb...topping out at
11% incline at its steepest.

Joy here...After yesterday's super tough double workout that had my legs screaming, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it for our Friday morning bike ride up that steep Pink Lake climb that I've struggled with on many a bike ride this summer (including just on Tuesday when I rode in the late afternoon). But Cili Padi and Superdave were coming along at 7:30am with their neighbour, and The Trainer was bringing along a friend who rode the "Share the Road" ride with me, and The Man was also ready to go.  So with everyone counting on me, I wasn't about to just roll over and go back to sleep...despite my legs begging me to do just that!

And as we rode out and met up with the crew of Friday morning riders and began rolling our way to the park, my legs began to wake up a bit.  With each turn of the pedal they warmed up just that little bit more, and so by the time we pulled into the parking lot I felt ready to go.

So as we started riding into the park proper, sticking together in one, big group, our "Share the Road" guest rider pulled forward; he was very strong and very fast, and served as the perfect carrot dangling out there before me.  Like a bull who sees red and has no choice but to charge, I felt that I had no choice but to turn my legs just that bit faster.  So off I rode from the group, pulling myself ever closer to that fast rider up the road.  I stopped long enough to enjoy a serene moment with a beautiful, full grown doe standing at the side of the road, her big ears flicked forward and her white tail upraised as she eventually bounded away into the trees.  Other than that pause, I was simply flying.

The end of the Pink Lake climb, Pink Lake itself, named
after an Irish-Canadian family who settled the area in
the nineteenth century.

The rest of the crew caught up to me as I watched the deer, and as they rolled forward towards the start of the climb, I clipped back into my pedals and caught up to them.  In no time, I had passed the group itself and began to fly up that climb.  I made it to the top and found our fastest rider waiting at the top for me.  We waited for the rest and had a good, long chat with everyone up there by the scenic view (with a few autumn leaves even starting to show up on some of the trees).

And even though I rode strong and I rode hard today, those legs of mine were tired.  I felt heavy, and I think I'm ready to take a bit of a pause.

It's a good thing that I'll be out of town from Sat-Wed, and that Thursday is my birthday, and Friday is my birthday party, because with all that fun and frivolity going on, I won't have any real chance to ride, and so I'll have a bit of a forced break from the bike.  While normally I would feel frustrated with this forced break and my inability to train when travelling, I'll admit that this week, I'm definitely looking forward to having a bit of a break.

Joe Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible, which is an excellent resource both for the novice and the experienced cyclist makes a point of stressing just how important proper rest and recovery is.  Friel writes:
"Physical and psychological breaks from training are normal and necessary.  No one can improve at an uninterrupted pace forever.  If you don't build rest and recovery into your training plan, your body will force you to.  It doesn't matter how mentally strong you are:  You need frequent breaks from training."

Thank you, Dr. Friel!  I will take that advice to heart and give my legs a much-needed break.  And you, dear readers, will likely get a bit of a break from my cycling adventures for the next week...

...unless I change my mind! ;)

Over and out,
Joy