The bitter cold weather of the North East took its toll on me, and I needed to figure out a way to train outside and finally get a chance to test out my new TT. After a weekend skiing in Killington, VT, we decided (I kind of imposed it on Mariesa) to make the trip down to Raleigh, NC for President's day, hoping that the weather would be nicer.
Saturday: 45F and sunny
After a long drive on Friday night, we made it to Raleigh at around 2:30am, and woke up around 8am, but did not feel like riding outside right away. I did some research to find some bike routes, and it seems like Trek Raleigh, a bike shop about 15 min from where we stayed, had bike courses marked with arrows (red for 50K ride and blue for 100K). I was curious to check it out, so I drove there and started from there.
I did not get to start until around 12pm, which is late, very late compared to the latest I would allow myself to start riding outside in NYC (around 8am). Passed 8am, you're almost guaranteed to have to deal with the infamous angry drivers of New York / New Jersey. I was only hoping that drivers in NC would be nicer to cyclists...Drivers would slow down, wait for the oncoming cars to clear me before passing me. While passing, they would give me a good 3-4 feet of clearance. Amazing! It made the ride that much more enjoyable.
I ended up riding a little over 4+ hours on Saturday on my new P5. Roads were in perfect conditions, with barely any pothole to dodge on rather empty roads. A good mix of rolling hills to get the cardio going and flat sections to get on the aero bars made for a great ride overall. I was pleasantly surprised by it, and could not wait to ride more!
Sunday: Cold and windy!
Not the weather I hoped for, but it'll do. The roads are dry and rideable. the 90min brick ride followed by a 90min brick run did not go as well as I wanted. It was too cold to ride more than 75 min, and the wind got me on the run. Luckily, I found a trail 20min into the run, and was able to run in the woods for a good 55min, completely covered by the wind!
Sunday: Cold and windy!
Not the weather I hoped for, but it'll do. The roads are dry and rideable. the 90min brick ride followed by a 90min brick run did not go as well as I wanted. It was too cold to ride more than 75 min, and the wind got me on the run. Luckily, I found a trail 20min into the run, and was able to run in the woods for a good 55min, completely covered by the wind!
Monday: 21 feels like 13...YIKES!
I had 2.5-3hr ride to do before heading home, and I was not going to let that slide! no way! We drove 7.5 hours for me to train, the roads are dry and in great conditions, and with the bitterly cold weather in NY, who knows when/if I get a chance to ride my bike outside before Oceanside 70.3.
So, as expected, my bottles froze solid after 50min on the bike, my face was freezing and my body didn't want to warm up...for some reason? It was a cold one, and in all honesty, I would not even consider the outdoor option if I were in NY. I would be on the trainer. However, despite all that, I managed to have a good ride in, and am now ready to go home, having accumulating 160 miles on the bike.
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