Today I went out for a training ride, but because yesterday I just about blew my innards out with an anaerobic threshold test, I was advised to just do a short recovery ride. So, I knocked it down to the granny gear and puttered around for 45 minutes. As I was trying to keep my heart rate in ‘zone one’ on the little mountain behind my place, I began to enjoy the pedestrian pace and relaxing rhythm, and since I was riding just fast enough to stay upright I could appreciate things I don’t usually, such as sounds other than raging wind in my ears and the slowly unfolding scenery in front of me. It was a most enjoyable near-hour.
So, thank you recovery ride; when it all gets too hard during the tough season ahead, I’ll always have you to look forward to.
The Vicious Cycle 
Haven’t been able to ride for a fortnight here due to the rain and strong winds. Can’t wait to get cycling again. And I’m all for nice pottering rides, although in my case they don’t come between tougher ones! I greatly admire your CS500 but if I put one on my bike, it would probably fall off laughing!
Sorry to hear about all that bad weather. Weren’t you saying similar things last year? You really must consider a move to Le Sud, although I’m not sure how your Llamas will take the heat.
No traffic down there, I see. Glad you enjoyed a slow ride. Now you know how the other half live.
I had to be quick with that photo. There were a few cars, but nothing to write home (or in the blog) about. I have a long history of ‘slow’, believe it or not, so it was a little bit of nostalgia today.
“sounds other than raging wind in my ears” What a hoot! How come *I* never get to hear that??
I think you live in an area with few descents..?
The Ozark Plateau contains rolling terrain and moderate hills (I dare not say mountains since our son and other friends would hold me in derision). What I lack is not descents, but muscle….
You’ll killing me with that pictue. It looks like a summer day in Calgary. I have a foot of snow out my window! Hope the knee is recovering.
16 degrees today. I went out expecting 9 or so, like yesterday, so I was a bit overdressed. Good thing I wasn’t going hard enough to build up a sweat. Snow. Hasn’t Calgary heard of Climate Change yet?
Where’s Al Gore when you want to kick him!
Slow is good for training! CyclingTips had a good post about it recently, I think. Or I read it elsewhere. Actually, Tim Ferriss’ blog. Training too hard is counter productive. Consistency and rest are key. And big 5000m ascent days every now and then 😉
tim
It was one of the nicest surprises when I started this training business. Recovery rides and long base rides are definitely my kind of motion. But judging from what’s in store for me in the 2nd Etape this year I think a few of those 5000m ascents you speak of are going to be on the books.
I’m with Rob, though not so much snow, only 4 icy inches. For some perverse reason I have my google home page show the weather here and in Pau. Pau is always preferable. I should add Calgary for perspective …
I’ll save you the trouble…..The default temperature in Calgary is cold.
Oh phooey, I looked anyway and le meteo says 6 degreesF warmer in Calgary than here … plus, I could ski. Rob, do you ride up in the Rockies … Banff, Jasper? I hiked and cross country skied there long, long ago, more than 20 years ago.
Yes, always compare yourself to the less fortunate. It makes life seem so much better!
Hi Suze. I ride in the Banff area whenever I can, not too much in Jasper as it’s a long drive from Calgary just for a day ride. I ride quite often in Kananaskis Country (foothills of the Canadian Rockies). It’s beautiful when the weather is nice.
Perhaps this summer, when no one is looking, you’ll be able to sneak out for a couple of these rides. Although they may not be ideal for most training regimens, they can be extremely productive in other important ways!
Luckily they are at least weekly events so I won’t even need to try and fake the training data before sending it to Rob.
Fake Training Data. Why didn’t I think of that?
I can now report that I have reached the 12,000 mile mark for the year!
I climbed 1,000,000 meters with an average heart rate of 63 bpm.
This is why the internet is such a wonderful thing. Great ideas can spread like wildfire.