In The Bank...

Hi All! I'm a day late posting, (not my usual Sunday post!), but I was a little tired and pressed for time yesterday. I just finished a two-day training block that left me feeling completely whipped! I was originally scheduled to race the Santiago Canyon TT Saturday, but I had some trouble dialing in the TT bike Friday night, and rather then go to the race not sure how the bike would perform, I set a goal for myself to get ten hours on the bike over the weekend, which is my usual weekly total. Without any real routes planned, somehow I managed to get the ten hours right on the mark.

5'15" in the saddle Saturday. I left my house around 8:30am, and decided to head out to Palomar Mountain. I knew this ride would guarantee me at least five hours in the saddle, and also give me a solid, hard workout that only Palomar can give. I rode at a fairly moderate tempo on the way out. Up Lake Wohlford Road at a decent pace, then pushed on to the market at the base of Palomar. I stopped at the market to take in some calories, and decided I had enough fluids to reach the top. BIG mistake!

At that point, I already had two hours in the saddle, and still hadn't consumed both my bottles. The climb up Palomar is approximetely 12-miles, and takes quite a bit of work. After downing a Clif Bar, I hopped back on the bike and started up the mountain. I decided that I would time myself to the split at South Grade Road. Typically this takes about thirty minutes to reach riding at a moderate pace. That's the pace I decided to keep, nothing too hard, but not too easy either.

When I reached the split I looked down at the Garmin and noticed I reached the turn in 27-minutes! At that point, I decided that I might as well keep track of my time to the summit. South Grade typically takes me 45-minutes or so to climb, and again I decided to ride this portion at a moderate pace.

As I climbed, there was a lack of high-speed motorcycle traffic due to a couple of Highway Patrol present on the mountain. What a treat! Nice and quiet. About half way up the 7-mile climb, I noticed a small group of cyclists ahead of me. This is always a welcome sight when climbing. It gives you that added boost to push a little harder. I made it a game to catch each rider and basically try and beat them to the top. Good and bad!

That extra motivation allowed me to go a little faster then I probably would of without them, but it also caused me to go a little too hard for the state of dehydration my leg muscles were experience from lack of proper hydration. About two miles from the summit my left thigh began cramping up pretty bad. There was no way I could continue to pedal. I pulled off the side of the road, hoping the cramps would work themselves out. A lot of the riders I passed on the way up, were now passing me back! After about a minute and a half, the cramps finally let up enough to continue on. I manged to pass back all the riders who passed me, and reached the summit in 42-minutes, 44 if I count the 2-minute stop I made for the cramps.

69 or 71 minutes to the top! A new PR for me either way. I won't get in to the details of the rest of the ride other then to say the descent was miserable due to more cramping in both legs all the way down!

Sunday was a good, hard 4'45" in the saddle spent with John Bailey of Bailey Bikes all the way down to Fiesta Island and back. Wouldn't of made it back home if not for a stop at a Bruegger's Bagel in La Costa. 78 and 81-miles respectively for Saturday and Sunday, 10-hours total, hours and miles in the bank! Hoping to cash them in for the Omnium TT and RR this weekend! I'm looking forward to a well deserved rest week! Hope all is well, ntil next time...