A great ride this Saturday, finally. It's been too long since I have gone out for a long-ish ride. I had 4 hours to use and decided to see what I could do on the fatbike in that time. Instead of exploring side trails and risk pushing the bike I thought a tempo ride would be in order. Something where I can see if my heart rate training and riding have made a dent of improvement. I also wanted to assess the sodium thing.
I geared up as I were going out to race the ITI, with the exception of a sleeping bivy and chose the Teller road. It was covered with enough snow to simulate a really solid trail ride, not enough for grinding and has great rolling hills for climbing. The temps were a perfect 5 - 15 degrees with very little wind.
I managed 21 miles in 2 hrs 6 min and turned around. At the turn around I drank half a liter with nuun tabs and ate a gu. Ten miles later I drank the rest of the liter and took an S-cap. I rode and it felt easy. A fantastic ride completely the opposite of the other day. I finished up at the house in 3 hrs 56 min for a total of 42 miles. I could've gone all day at that pace.
What I found interesting is that for longer rides I inherently go at the slower HR & wouldn't even need a monitor but it was extremely helpful in limiting a blow up on the climbs. Average was 129 with a high of 158 but mostly stayed around 140 while riding. Initially I thought the nuun, s-cap and gu were to much sodium but felt really great with no adverse affects. Energy levels were solid and I was able to play with the family afterwards. The next day nothing abnormal or sore.
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| Ptarmigan flying off. |
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| Can see the Teller road snaking off in the distance. What a great day for a ride. |
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