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Rainy but Happy New Year
Last night's celebrations left us feeling pretty jaded, but neither that nor the dull, grey and wet weather was going to stop us getting out for the first ride of the New Year. The weather did however shorten the ride a bit. A 2hr out and back through the Surrey Hills over Ranmoor via Crocknorth Road and Ranmoor Common Road to Box Hill, only to find the cafe at the top closed (I should've known better).
The hills made up for the lack of distance and the rides over Christmas seem to have done my legs some good. I was climbing comfortably today but my descending was dire. The rain made it tricky but more frustrating was the jacket I was wearing, the slightest hint of speed/breeze and it would blow up like a balloon and I found myself wearing an airbrake that would have brought the Space Shuttle Columbia to a halt on a postage stamp. It was old MTB waterproof that I thought would be a little warmer than my lightweight but I'll just add another base layer next time.
So, not a perfect, but a satisfying start to the cycling New Year, I hope yours has started well.
Happy New Year!
Slow and steady
Time restricted me to two solo 2 hr rides over the weekend, but I can't complain, the weather was great and I'm feeling nicely tired this evening. The New Year's Day ride will be a chance to get more miles into the legs with a longer ride in a group. I'm a bit frustrated with my fitness on the bike at the moment. I was hoping there would be something remaining from earlier in the year and while it's not back to square one, I am definitely having to take things slow and steady at the moment while I get back into a routine. Out of interest I was looking around for some articles on residual fitnesss and what effects how quickly it can drop off, but as yet can't find much. I'll post more on this if I find anything.
On a different note, one professional cycling generation seems to be handing over to the next. Some of Lance Armstrong's greatest rivals have decided to throw in the towel this year. I bet they thought those final years without Armstrong might allow them to go out having swelled their palmares. However, none really managed to improve and have either left under a cloud of doping suspiscion or were unable to reach there previous levels on returning from injury (Heras retires , Beloki retires, Vinokourov retires , Ullrich retires).
One rider who seems intent on returning to win is Ivan Basso. Although, it will be some years before he rides for a ProTour team as his suspension prevents him from signing for a top level team for up to 4 years from its start (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/dec07/dec28news). I wonder what happens if Barloworld get promoted during this period, is Basso then allowed to race in ProTour races?