i was back at the cottage this weekend and went for my second reconnaissance ride on the route that will be the race course on july 18th. last time i got lost but i was ready and knew the route this time and, after completing the entire 40k course, i doubled back and re-rode a couple of sections in order to get as familiar as possible with them.
it's a tough, challenging ride. the course is mostly short ups and downs, tight corners, and one or two big climbs. it's hard to get a rhythm going because just as you're settling back into your saddle after a quick climb, you get around the next corner and you're back out of your saddle climbing again. the longest, straightest, flattest section is only a couple of hundred metres. you really have to keep your head up and prepare yourself for what's coming up next.
my ride was on sunday morning which was sunny and beautiful, but on saturday morning, which was wet and rainy, i went for my weekly long run. there's nothing like running in the rain, and i even saw a white-tailed deer while i was out there. i had just reached a dead end and was turning around to head home when it spotted me from where it was grazing just off the road in the bushes. startled, it sprinted a bit further away and eyed me down as i got closer, turned around and headed in the other direction. i'd never seen a deer that close in the wild before.
the nice thing about doing long workouts in the morning while you're at the cottage is that you can enjoy the rest of your day guilt free. sitting on the dock, drinking wine, eating freshly grilled foods and all of the other fruits of a relaxing cottage weekend taste so much sweeter when you're not reminding yourself that you're still on a workout schedule, whether you like it or not.
it's a tough, challenging ride. the course is mostly short ups and downs, tight corners, and one or two big climbs. it's hard to get a rhythm going because just as you're settling back into your saddle after a quick climb, you get around the next corner and you're back out of your saddle climbing again. the longest, straightest, flattest section is only a couple of hundred metres. you really have to keep your head up and prepare yourself for what's coming up next.
my ride was on sunday morning which was sunny and beautiful, but on saturday morning, which was wet and rainy, i went for my weekly long run. there's nothing like running in the rain, and i even saw a white-tailed deer while i was out there. i had just reached a dead end and was turning around to head home when it spotted me from where it was grazing just off the road in the bushes. startled, it sprinted a bit further away and eyed me down as i got closer, turned around and headed in the other direction. i'd never seen a deer that close in the wild before.
the nice thing about doing long workouts in the morning while you're at the cottage is that you can enjoy the rest of your day guilt free. sitting on the dock, drinking wine, eating freshly grilled foods and all of the other fruits of a relaxing cottage weekend taste so much sweeter when you're not reminding yourself that you're still on a workout schedule, whether you like it or not.
